The Campaign Workshop Blog

Writing a Blog Post is Easier than You Think

This is probably the most meta blog post ever written. A blog post about writing a blog post. However, writing a blog post is not always intuitive for folks. Often, people who are asked to write a blog post for their organization don’t get the direction they need to write an effective post that yields traffic. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect! Become a master blog writer with these tips: All good blogs have the following elements: One headline and multiple subheaders If you notice this post…

Campaign Managers Should Always Be Thinking About Leadership Development to Build Long Term Capacity and Remember That Everyone Has Leadership Skills.

Every good campaign manager is always thinking about how to develop and grow the leadership skills on their team. Everyone dreams of retiring someday, but many campaign managers and organizers often think there will be no one to pass the baton to. We also hear time and again that campaign managers and organizers wish there were more skilled individuals to help with the large workload they are…

Make Sure Your Political Campaign Is Ready to Run Ads on Facebook 

Since the 2016 election, Facebook has been working on making sure that every political campaign that advertises on their platform is verified to do so in the United States and has made their ads more transparent in terms of who is paying for them. This, of course, is a good thing so that we don’t have another situation like we did during the 2016 election where foreign entities tried to interfere. However, it does present a challenge for political campaigns of all sizes. After…

Logistics to Produce a Great Candidate Video

You want to make a great candidate video. But hiring a video crew, even for a few hours, can be expensive. Video shoots also often take longer than expected and it can be hard to manage all the moving pieces. Get organized with some of our tips below and make sure you get the most out of your candidate video shoot. Volunteer Recruitment The first thing you’ll need to make an impactful candidate video is a group of volunteers. Anyone running for office should come across as engaging and warm. The most…

Political Direct Mail Cost: How Do I Know I'm Getting a Good Deal?

How much does political direct mail cost? How can I do it for less? This is a question that is often asked but the answer is not always as clear as it should be. To answer the question, think about cost drivers: printing, mailing and postage costs are the major driving factors when it comes to campaign mail costs. But there is more: the cost of creative, strategy and design can impact the cost per piece of your political mail.  Political direct mail costs vary anywhere from a…

Why and How to Make a Campaign Manager Contract

Whether you are a candidate who decided to run for office and you quickly found out that you couldn’t do it alone or you are a campaign staffer hired to work on a campaign and you want to make sure you know your compensation, having a campaign manager contract or other agreements is critical. As the days get longer and the campaign picks up, it’s easy to forget to formalize the campaign manager and campaign staff roles. Make sure you have a campaign manager contract or campaign staff letter of…

A Campaign Manager Is Worth Every Penny

Running for political office is a daunting task that can be exceedingly taxing without a campaign manager at the helm to help run the show. For first-time candidates in particular, getting a viable campaign off the ground is more than a full-time job. Fundraising call time alone is all-consuming, taking up to three to six hours per day of your time five days a week. With so many moving parts to a campaign, there’s no harm (but rather, lots of value) in investing in a campaign manager. A full-time manager…

Is Your Campaign Team Dysfunctional?

The dynamics within a campaign team can be really stressful, but they don’t have to be. Taking a hard look at your organization and addressing potential dysfunctions is a foundational activity for building a strong, cohesive team. One of my favorite business books is Five Dysfunctions of a Team. It’s an easy book to read, and although it’s a business book, the concepts are incredibly relevant for nonprofits and campaigns alike. Campaigns and nonprofits operate under tight deadlines and budgets and it’s no…

7 Questions with Kelley Dietrich on Campaign Trainings

Kelly Dietrich is the founder and CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee, the largest organization in the country singularly focused on providing free campaign training for Democratic candidates, staff, and local leaders. He’s spent more than twenty years in Democratic politics working campaigns all across the country at every level of government. His specialty is new campaign creation,…

Campaign Management Should Be a Two-Way Street 

Good campaign management means everyone wins. When I first started to work in politics and was running campaigns, I learned how important managing up was.  As a canvasser, the shift goals I was given were not always achievable. Even so, I wouldn’t always let the folks above me know or push back. As a canvasser, I should have felt empowered myself to manage up. The managers and field directors should have set a tone that would allow canvassers to speak up as well. If your canvassers can’t reach…