The Campaign Workshop Blog

Every First-Time Candidate Should Take a Political Campaign Training 

Here is the scoop on political campaign trainings: There are lots of decisions candidates need to make before they start a run for public office and a political campaign training can help provide some clarity for first time candidates. In our opinion, attending a political candidate and campaign training is a must for any potential candidates. Whether it is how to decide the best opportunity to pursue or how to create a contrast between you and your opponent, most folks need…

Bob Blaemire on His Book about Senator Birch Bayh, Birch Bayh: Making a Difference

Bob Blaemire began working for Senator Birch Bayh while a freshman in college and remained on his staff for the next 13 years. After Bayh's election defeat in 1980, Blaemire formed a political action committee, the Committee for American Principles, to combat the influence of the New Right in American politics. In 1982, he began a long career providing political computer services for Democratic candidates and progressive organizations. An early participant in…

Lessons and Favorite Posts from TCW’s Political and Advocacy Campaign Blog

In 2013, we started our political and advocacy campaign blog. The goal was to disseminate completely free information on campaign strategies and tactics to progressive political candidate and advocacy campaigns. And, most importantly, do it well. We wanted to help people win their campaigns at all levels of office regardless of how much money they had in the bank and whether they could afford our services of strategic consulting, direct mail or digital advertising. At…

If Political Ads Are No Longer Allowed to Run on Facebook, What Will That Mean for Your Campaign?

Yesterday, Twitter announced that they will stop allowing political ads to run on its platform which has the potential to have further implications across the industry. Will other companies follow suit? Facebook has received a lot of flak lately from both the public and the government centered around political ads. From the use of users’ personal data to a lack of…

Tackling gender equality in the political sphere with Susan Markham and Stephenie Foster

Susan Markham and Stephenie Foster are the founders of Smash Strategies, a firm that provides strategic advice on gender equality and women’s leadership. Susan comes from a background of empowering women to participate in politics both in the U.S. and abroad, recruiting and training women candidates, and supporting the aspirations of thousands of women to be equal and active partners in leading democratic societies. Stephenie has also worked nationally and…

Smart Political Campaigns Should Harness Facebook Live

There are only so many hours in a day, but after knocking on doors and raising money, Facebook Live is something candidates should do on a weekly basis. The ubiquity of live-streaming digital video and Facebook’s drive to increase it on the platform has made it a necessity for campaigns to engage with. Here are some quick tips and a basic explanation of why campaigns should embrace Facebook Live and other online videos. What problem does Facebook Live solve for your campaign?  It can be…

Backlinking Can Help People Find Your Political Campaign Website Faster

So, you’ve built a political campaign website—congrats! Now you want to make sure folks in your community can actually find it. The next steps to build on the momentum for your new political campaign website is to focus on SEO (search engine optimization) and work on a backlinking strategy. The first question you may have is: what is backlinking? One of the most important factors that Google's algorithm considers when determining search results is the types of pages that…

How to Win the Game of Digital GOTV

Digital GOTV over the past couple of cycles has really moved into a must have for every campaign. In the past, GOTV tactics were limited to door-knocking, phone calls, and depending on the level of the campaign, maybe some TV spots. However, in the digital age, there is a whole new set of effective options that you can use to mobilize your supporters on Election Day. Whether you use mobile devices to track canvas crews,…

Cost-Effective Mail Tactics for a Winning GOTV Strategy

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all political campaign, but there’s one strategic element that no campaign can afford to leave out: GOTV. A strong get-out-the-vote (GOTV) program may get you the handful of votes you need to win your election, whereas failing to make that final push to get voters to the polls may hasten your demise.  While we recommend making GOTV a core element of your campaign plan and budget from the outset, there are plenty of ways to bolster your strategy in…

Talking progressive politics and political technology with Nathaniel Pearlman

Nathaniel Pearlman hosts The Great Battlefield Podcast where he talks to political entrepreneurs and other leaders in the world of progressive politics. He also founded Graphicacy, a company that helps organizations present their data in informative and persuasive ways; Timeplots which sells informative graphic products;…