The Campaign Workshop Blog

If you are anything like us here at The Campaign Workshop, you are still reeling from the effects of November 2016. There is only one way to help us heal from America’s worst-case scenario. Don’t get mad, get organized! To that end, we have put together an ongoing series called the Resist Tool Kit.

When it comes to a digital advocacy campaign Twitter is a great platform. Unlike more traditional platforms, there aren’t budget minimums you need to worry about and you can reach a lot of people very quickly. There are also a lot of great targeting options based on Twitter’s user data. 

A good habit can be the ingredient for success in running your personal life and your grassroots organization.

If you have never set up a Twitter account, consider this to be your crash course! Twitter is becoming increasingly important to both political and advocacy campaigns, but with its ever evolving features and unique vocabulary specifically for the Twitter Platform, it can be hard for some to jump on the bandwagon. Here is a simple guide to a fast twitter account set up:

List building is an art and a science. When you start a campaign your friends and family are pumped up, you have some committed volunteers, and maybe you even have an official campaign Facebook page.  One key question remains, can you raise the money?  This is where list building comes in.

Determining the size of a digital buy is a question many folks ask, but there is not a set formula for determinig a digital spend percentage. Politics is not cookie cutter. In order to build a winning digital budget, you need to make sure you create a strategy to define your goals and determine your tactics based on your goals and target- not just based on tactics alone.

After working with a few campaigns, you really do get a sense of what it’s like to work on a winning campaign. These campaigns share a few key qualities that ultimately contribute to their success.

When you first file your candidacy for office, in many jurisdictions your paperwork will ask you to declare a campaign chairperson. You expected that you’d need to hire a campaign manager at some point, but why do you need a campaign chair? Anyway, you think, I’m sure Cousin Larry could do it.

Here at The Campaign Workshop, we always stress the value of storytelling with strong visuals in political and advocacy advertising. In other words, using photos or footage of authentic people looking straight into a camera and speaking candidly about things they’ve experienced, makes communications materials more compelling. There’s far more potential to persuade folks through testimonials than there is through wonky policy white papers – the question is, why?

Campaign mistakes force folks to learn and adapt – in a perfect world. In reality, plenty of campaigns fail to reflect on their flaws before gearing up for their next fight; they recognize that a problem exists, but don’t always take the time to address the bad habits that cause them to keep repeating their mistakes.

I am a big fan of nonprofit content marketing, but many folks who are new to the world of online content tend to skip blogging, or creating content on their websites and go straight to outside content sites. I look at outside content sites as more like renting an Airbnb than buying a home. You can enjoy a rental unit, but you should spend most of your time working on your house. There a few reasons for this:

Whether it is for advocacy or fundraising, nonprofits spend a lot of time list building. With the right plan, an organization can grow and engage through their list. But done the wrong way, list building can be a waste of money and resources. Here is some advice on list build for organizations:

Do you hate or love your political consultant? As the world of political consulting has grown, so have issues that organizations and candidates face with their political consultants.

No matter how many advocacy campaigns you have done, people will always have a ton of questions about advocacy metrics to judge how successfully those campaigns were run, and if they were effective.

The political website: it’s a requirement for any candidate for office, but that doesn’t mean it should be just another item to check off your to-do list! Being intentional when setting up your website by keeping a few key political tactics in mind will ensure that you are providing voters with an enjoyable, engaging, cohesive experience.

At The Campaign Workshop, we always love hearing about and trying out new online video platform to help us and our clients. One online video platform we absolutely love and were able to learn more about is Wistia. As video becomes increasingly important in content marketing, Wistia does what most video tools can't do- help you increase your site’s SEO through their platform.

You’ve decided to run for office - congratulations! You’re probably wondering how to get your message out to the community, and you might be a little overwhelmed by all your options. it's time for your campaign budget to come to to the rescue.