The Campaign Workshop Blog

Peer-to-Peer Texting is Changing: Understand the Landscape

Whether you like peer-to-peer texting or hate it, it is essential to understand it if you run an organization or a political campaign. This is due to a changing landscape with real implications for fundraising, organizing, and voter turnout activities in the short and long term.  Textpallooza: Over the past two election cycles, the volume of peer-to-peer and political texting has increased with almost no end in sight. There is a lot to like about texting as a communications medium. The…

Julie Rodgers and Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story

Julie Rodgers is a writer, speaker, and leader in the movement toward full inclusion for LGBTQ people in Christian communities. Rodgers has been featured in Pray Away, a documentary about the “pray the gay away” movement, where she talks about her experience as a survivor of conversion therapy. She played a key role in shutting down Exodus International the largest conversion therapy organization in the world. Rodgers is currently serving as a Teaching Fellow at The Faith and Justice…

Do Not Buy a Political Email List – Learn to Build One

There are ads all over the internet to buy a political email. As easy as it sounds, do not do it – do not buy a political email list. They are waste of money, can hurt your online reputation and upset constituents. Instead, build a list organically. Building a political email list is a daunting task, but with a few tactics, planning and patience, you can increase your supporter base.  What is a political email list?: We define a political email list as an email list of folks to engage,…

7 Questions with Tim Gibbs

Tim Gibbs has worked in the public policy sphere for more than 20 years, where he helped pass impactful laws at both the municipal and state levels. In the last five years, Gibbs played a critical role in passing over 100 local ordinances, including successfully advocating against the sale of flavored tobacco products within various urban and rural areas of California. Gibbs also has significant ballot initiative experience. One of his successes includes the approval of Proposition 56 in 2016, which increased…

What is an Advocacy Message and How Do I Get One? 

Advocacy message development can be challenging.  Join us as we go through the basics of developing an advocacy message, as well as more advanced steps to build an advocacy message that goes the distance.   Advocacy message definition:  An advocacy message is a core statement that you use to define your advocacy mission to the public. In a public affairs or public facing advocacy campaign, the message is critical to ensuring folks understand what you are about and what you want to accomplish.…

7 Questions with Josh Greene of The Mather Group

Josh Greene is the CEO of The Mather Group - where he focuses on utilizing Wikipedia, SEO, retargeting and pay-per-click (PPC) as means to improve clients’ online presence and website traffic. Josh worked in corporate marketing before starting the Mather group and has a keen understanding of how SEO and web presence can enhance a brand. This week, we asked Josh 7 questions about his work.  In what cases is it beneficial for a company or organization to have a Wikipedia page? In almost all…

What Does Political Organizing Look Like from our 2021 Crystal Ball? 

We’ve written a lot about political organizing and tactics like canvassing and phone banking in the past. But what does the future of political organizing hold in a post-pandemic world? Will digital be more important than in-person? How will grassroots and tech work together? What will the role of data be?  As a former grassroots political organizer who likes to stay up-to-date on all the latest trends, allow me to dust off our crystal ball once again and give you our take on…

Gigi Georges Discusses Her New Book Downeast: Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America

Gigi Georges, a Brooklyn native who now splits her time between New Hampshire and Downeast Maine, wrote her first book after an extensive career in politics, public service, and academia. A former White House special assistant to President Bill Clinton and State Director for Senator Hillary Clinton, Georges has taught political science at Boston College, been a program director at the Harvard Kennedy School, and served as a managing director for…

IssueVoter: Maria Yuan discusses civic engagement

IssueVoter founder Maria Yuan decided to start the nonpartisan platform after working on a successful political campaign in one of Iowa’s swing districts and for a Texas State Representative. The organization seeks to increase civic engagement and communication between constituents and their members of Congress. In this interview, Maria discusses her experience running IssueVoter and how her platform connects constituents with their Congressional representatives.     1. Why did you start…

Digital Campaigns - Make Digital Advocacy Easy to Find

When it comes to digital campaigns an organic approach is often overlooked. The first place most of us look to answer a question is online. But often digital advocacy campaigns and political campaigns forget about search especially organic search in their digital strategy. Start with a plan: Advocacy organizations, Associations and political campaigns need to plan for organic search - specifically Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in their digital campaigns.…

Care2 Petitions: What You Need to Know 

Molly Connors is the Director of Business Development for Care2, a social network for good with 50 million members starting Care2 petitions and sharing stories that inspire action. Care2 helps connect nonprofits and mission-based brands with supporters who are passionate about their causes. Molly has over 20 years of experience in marketing with over ten years focusing on the nonprofit space. She is an expert in helping businesses and nonprofits grow their revenue and impact. We chatted with Molly Connors…

Joe Weston Teaches Us About Leadership, Resilience, and Stress 

Joe Weston is the founder of the Weston Network, which trains corporations, governments, and other organizations on communication, productivity, and time and stress management. Joe Weston works with individuals to build their self-confidence, enrich their relationships, and gain clarity in their life goals. Joe Weston’s book, Mastering Respectful Confrontation and his Respectful Confrontation workshops teach participants how to de-escalate conflict, improve their resilience, and…

Own a Strategy to Make Your Political Endorsements Count 

Campaign endorsements can still make a big difference in politics. But to make your political endorsements count, you need to have a strategy to collect them and amplify them. Be intentional about what political endorsements matter and how you will use them. Which endorsements matter?  Endorsements, when used right, are a great way to build momentum, but when they are used wrong, it can be a huge waste of time, overlooked potential or even charge momentum for your opponent. Good…

Reflecting on Robinson’s Rules for Campaign Staffers

Will Robinson of the New Media Firm penned his rules for campaign staffers over 25 years ago and they are truly words to live by.  Over the years, these rules have saved money, time and jobs for many campaign staffers who have heard and lived by them. Whether you are working on a candidate’s campaign, ballot measures, or independent expenditures, these campaign rules will help.   Here is our interpretation and commentary of Will Robinson’s rules for campaign staffers, including some of our…

Nonprofit Blogging Is Easier Than You Think

Nonprofit blogging takes a lot of work, but it is easier than you think. Learn how to harness thought leadership, storytelling and simple tips to write blogs and long-form content that engages and converts. This is probably the most meta blog post we have ever written: a blog post about writing a blog post! But blogging, especially for nonprofits, labor unions or trade associations is not always intuitive for folks. Many people who are asked to write a blog post for their organization have never had…