The Campaign Workshop Blog

10 Questions You Should Not Be Afraid to Ask When Hiring a Political Direct Mail Firm.  

At The Campaign Workshop, we encourage and work to keep an open dialogue with our clients. When hiring a Democratic direct mail firm (or any political direct mail firms for that matter), there are a number of important questions that you should be asking during the hiring process. Here are our top 10 questions to ask when hiring a direct mail firm for your political…

How to Use Coalition Building to Make an Impact 

If you’re a member of an organization that has spotted a need for change but doesn’t know how to make a meaningful impact alone, coalition building may be the answer for you. Though you may know the change you want to make, the hardest part is figuring out how to get started. Do you have enough resources, money and otherwise, to make this happen? Are there people out there who also care about the cause, and is there anyone who might be inclined to work against you? How will you reach all the…

What Can a Political Consultant Do for My Campaign?

For any campaign, it’s crucial to hire the right people—and in many cases, your team might include a political consultant. So, what exactly is a political consultant? How does a consultant differ from a campaign manager? Do you need a consultant? and if so, how do you go about finding a good one that you can afford? If these are the sorts of questions that plague you, this is the blog post for you: political consulting explained by…

Here Are Some of the Things That Digital Political Consulting Firms Can Do for Your Campaign.

These days, digital political consulting firms can be part of an army of consultants campaigns hire – including mail, phones, and general strategy. But digital is a pretty broad term and many digital firms can wear multiple hats. As a result, there is a lot of confusion about what a digital consultant actually does. Before hiring a digital consultant, it’s important that you have a clear sense of the services they can offer and what you’ll need to…

Navigating the Pros and Cons of Political Yard Signs

Political yards signs are everywhere during elections—and we all like them as much as the next political junkie, but very early on we were taught that POLITICAL YARD SIGNS DON’T VOTE. We have heard all of the excuses of why your city is different and unique, and that if you don’t have more campaign yard signs than your opponent, you will lose. Reality check: it has been our experience that this is absolutely not true.  First off, there is no such thing as a cheap yard sign. This might be…

What Are Campaign Slogans and Why Do They Matter?

Below you will find everything you need to know about campaign slogans and how to write one that will motivate people to vote for you. A word to the wise, if you haven’t yet developed a campaign message, you’re going to have trouble coming up with a winning campaign slogan, so we’ll politely suggest that you need to pump the breaks! Need help nailing that down? Check out our blog…

How to Stretch Your Political Campaign Advertising Dollars

Not every candidate has a large budget for political campaign advertising. Digital advertising is generally the most cost-effective paid media strategy, especially if you use self-serve platforms. With platforms like Twitter bowing out of the political space entirely, there is a lot of concern about running political campaign advertising online. Google has already significantly limited the targeting opportunities available to political advertisers and Facebook’s requirements for…

Connect With Voters by Creating an Engaging and Concise Stump Speech

Here is our ultimate guide to writing a great stump speech. We all know that the candidate is the campaign’s best asset, and the stump speech is the best campaign tool for delivering a 7C’s (clear, concise, contrastive, connective, creative, compelling, consistent) message and personal story about the candidate and campaign.  WHAT IS A STUMP SPEECH?  A…

Issue Advocacy Campaigns Need to Expand Their Reach–Here's How

At The Campaign Workshop, we love issue advocacy campaigns. As consultants, we get to work on a wide variety of campaigns and with a wide variety of clients. While we could never pick a favorite, working with a group of passionate people to make a substantive change on an issue they care about is our jam. People working on advocacy campaigns are the experts in their issues and are a true resource when we are working hand in hand on crafting a campaign to reach a wider audience. One…

Best Practices for a Non-Profit Print Ad

Whether it’s for Coca-Cola, AARP, or your local 4-H club, the goal of a print ad remains largely the same: get the reader to take an action. That action could be buying more pop, calling Congress, or raising a prize pig. To make that happen, you need to catch people’s attention and then clearly and concisely tell them what you want them to do. A print ad can be expensive, so make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Below are a few of the best-practices we have used to create advocacy print ads for…

Learn a Few Best Practices on Political Writing

Recently a student at Queens University, Stephen Crotty, reached out to The Campaign Workshop with questions for his paper on political writing. Stephen’s questions were really thoughtful and forced me think critically about some of the things I do when communicating for politics. Stephen kindly agreed to let us repost his questions and my responses as a 7 questions post.  What are the most prevalent genres of writing that workers in political campaigns encounter? Studies have shown that a voter…

End Your Year with Book Recommendations from Our 7 Questions Participants!

Throughout the year, we’ve been lucky enough to speak with so many people who are experts across many different fields as part of our 7 Questions series. These folks made some book recommendations that we want to highlight and share with you.  Below we’ve featured a book from each category that we think is particularly compelling, but each one presents unique and exciting ideas: Women’s Issues:…

Why and How to Always Do Advocacy Campaign Testing

No matter the size of your nonprofit, advocacy campaign testing should be a key component of everything you do digitally. Testing allows you to find out which tactic, message, strategy, etc., is the most effective in accomplishing your goal. Instead of relying on a hunch of what the best thing to do is—which we are often wrong about—tests allow us to find what really works. The big advantage that nonprofits have over political campaigns is that they are ongoing operations and often have larger…

Advocacy Budget: Defining Your Bottom Line Will Save You Time and Money

Get ready, I’m about to crack advocacy budgets wide open (pun intended, and it won’t be the last). I know you’re on the edge of your seats, but this is really no chicken and the egg conundrum I’m about to solve for you. When you’re looking to develop an advocacy program, your budget should always come first. This may seem counterintuitive when you begin talking to consultants (like you’re tipping your hand and about to get taken for a ride), but it’s really important for a…

Cross a Name Off Your List with Our Holiday Book Gift Guide

It can be hard figuring out what to gift everyone for the holidays, but we’ve got your back. If your friends and family aren’t readers, we even have cookbooks for those looking for a less traditional read. In fact, there are options for all interests and ages. Our staff had some great recommendations for what to pick up for the folks you care about. And, hey, maybe pick up one for yourself while you’re at it! Check out our holiday book gift guide:  Biography/Memoir: A good look at a…