The Campaign Workshop Blog, is hosted by The Campaign Workshop - an advocacy and political consulting firm. We write about tactics for advocacy, membership, civic engagement, and progressive politics.  We post weekly, and also publish ebooks, host webinars, and The How to Win a Campaign Podcast. Sign up to learn more.   

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advocacy engagement

Advocacy Engagement, Tactics and Strategies Evolved

by Martín Diego Garcia (He/Him)

Engaging individuals in advocacy efforts is an essential part of creating lasting change. But it can be a challenge to get people to take meaningful action, and even more challenging to keep them engaged over the long term. That's where the advocacy engagement funnel comes in.

Grasstops vs Grassroots Advocacy

Grasstops vs Grassroots Advocacy

by Ben Holse (He/Him)

Grasstops and grassroots are both an important part to any successful advocacy campaign. Maybe you’ve heard the term and have asked, “What’s the difference?" They sure sound the same. Well, you're not the only one scratching your head.

volunteer recruitment

Volunteer Recruitment That Rocks | Grassroots Campaigns

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

Volunteer recruitment is never easy - but when done right, volunteer recruitment can build on itself. Here are 16 rock solid volunteer recruitment tips to get your grassroots campaign started:

Diverse group of people holding one another in solidarity.

Community Advocacy Basics: What You Need to Know

If you are thinking of working for a community advocacy group, here are some tips to get you started. As we have seen, both globally and locally, the best advocates for change are people who can tell a story that move people towards action — no matter their age or walk of life.

Remote Work

Remote Work: How to Boost Your Company Culture

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

We are now three years from the start of our remote work journey, and we have built a company culture based on remote work - we are not a hybrid workplace - we do have access to offices, but we are still focused on making remote work a vibrant experience for our team. Keeping a good remote work culture and building job performance and mentorships remotely means having a discipline and multifaceted approach to a flexible workplace.

Union Printers

Why Should My Campaign Consider Union Printers?

by Stephanie Khani (She/Her)

Post-pandemic, unionization efforts experienced a surge of support in the public sector, from coffee chains to online retailers. It is estimated that in 2022 alone that more than 16 million people were represented by a union and 60 million workers wanted to join a union but were unable to do so (Economic Policy Institute). Public support for unions continues to grow in 2023.

Advocacy Campaign

Advocacy Training: 7 Questions w/ Martín Diego Garcia

by The Campaign Workshop

Martín Diego Garcia has devoted his professional career to building a more representative democracy. For the past nine years. Martin has developed advocacy training, and trained and developed the leadership abilities of thousands of candidates, campaign operatives, and advocates. He is passionate about uplifting marginalized communities and advancing a progressive and inclusive political agenda.

email list

Email List Hygiene: A Clean List Makes for Better Email Marketing

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

Let’s face it, most folks don’t spend enough time working on their email list hygiene. There is always something wrong with your email engagement. If you are working with emails, you can always fix something.

 Opposition Research

Using Opposition Research to Boost Your Advocacy Campaigns

by Tobias Cebulash (He/Him)

Opposition research is an important component of any advocacy campaign’s messaging strategy. This research is more commonly associated with candidate campaigns — however, being able to articulate a contrast with the other side is equally important in the advocacy space. So, where to begin?

Advocacy Strategy

Advocacy Strategy and Advocacy Tactics: What is the Difference?

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

You and your organization have worked hard to create great policy. Now, how do you get Congress or your state legislature to turn policy recommendations into policy reality? You need a clear and detailed advocacy strategy that outlines your overall goal and effective tactics that will help you cross the finish line.

Advocacy Myths

12 Advocacy Myths That Hurt Your Organization

by Tobias Cebulash (He/Him)

With advocacy campaign season in full swing, it's time to clear the air on some common advocacy myths about what will and won't hurt your advocacy group.

advocacy campaign consultants

Do Nonprofits Need Online Advocacy Campaign Consultants?

by Ben Holse (He/Him)

Online advocacy and digital engagement can grow your movement and hiring an advocacy campaign consultant can help, but achieving real online advocacy results can be tough in both execution and budget.

Advocacy Message

Using your Campaign Goals to Craft a Strong Advocacy Message

by The Campaign Workshop

Advocacy message development can be challenging, so we are here to help! You and your team will want to develop a consistent message that aligns with your values, but at the same time, you will want to craft one that will be applicable to any number of audiences you are reaching out to. How do we begin to boil all that down for messaging?

Define Advocacy, Magnifying Glass

Define Advocacy - Definition, Tactics & Terms

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

Advocacy, defined in the simplest terms, is about fighting for something you believe in. When we talk about advocacy, the issues and tactics may change, but the core is about supporting a cause or policy and working to create the change we want to see in the world.

advocacy Tactics Smiling woman and man carrying pink block on grid

Advocacy Strategies and Tactics Evolved

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

Advocacy tactics and advocacy campaign strategies will continuously change with the times and so must we. Public affairs campaigns are now common on smaller federal issues as well as state and municipal issues.

People meeting around a table piled with papers

Advocacy Plan: Where do I begin?

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

Developing an advocacy plan with clear goals strategy and tactics is often overlooked - especially in the busy world of non-profits. Organizations that put energy into writing a clear and comprehensive advocacy plan will tell you a thoughtful strategy and a strong plan are critical to campaign success, as well as short-term and long-term organizational growth.

Brain made out of yellow paper

Independent Expenditure Campaign Planning

Here at The Campaign Workshop, we have written a lot about independent expenditure strategy in the past, but the key takeaways never change:

  1. Know your goals.
  2. Do no harm.
  3. Don’t duplicate efforts.
campaign slogans

How to Craft a Campaign Slogan

by The Campaign Workshop

What are campaign slogans, and do you really need one? Read more to find everything you need to know about a campaign slogan and how to write one that will motivate people to vote for you.

Online Advertising

Online Advertising Doesn't Mean Instant

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

While it’s true that the world of online advertising is fast-paced- banking on instantaneous programs is a good way to fall short of your goals. Planning for a digital program will give you time to really define your goals and make sure your campaign has the right components, creative, and timeline to achieve them.

ice cream cone  dropped on the ground -  Local candidate mistakes

Local Candidates- Don't Make These Common Campaign Mistakes

by Martín Diego Garcia (He/Him)

Campaigns for local candidates are different than those for bigger races. While you will still have to work to raise money, local candidates will depend in large part on the community for the resources and volunteers that they need. Local candidates also tend to go without the aid of consultants or those with expensive experience working on a lot of campaigns.