Although media consensus paints causes and candidates, blue for liberal and red for conservative, the USPS is color blind and regards all mail politically directed, motivated or otherwise, the same.  However, when the USPS sees RED (tags) on mail, it acts quickly on ALL political mail!

Advocacy and fundraising don't always mix but when they do it can be magic for an organization. I have written over the past year about the difficulty of getting true engagement for nonprofit advocacy groups. The ice bucket challenge has done an amazing job of engaging people who have not participated in advocacy in a long time as well as getting folks who had done some advocacy work but never for ALS.

This year’s Netroots Nation conference marks the progressive online community’s ninth and largest yet. More attendees, more panels, more progressives and certainly much more press than ever before, spent three days in Detroit, MI learning from and teaching one another.  Here are some highlights from the conference itself, and the overall impressions I got while there.

How much should a campaign training cost? Here at The Campaign Workshop, we believe it's important to train campaign staff by providing individuals who want to become campaign operatives the opportunity to go out and gain hands-on experience. If your goal is to work on a campaign, we suggest finding a training program with a strong track record and high attendance.

In the world of Digital Advocacy, what’s all the rage right now? Leveraging your Facebook audience to grow your email list. A well-targeted Facebook campaign can obtain "Likes" at a fraction of the cost of running traditional digital ads.

So you studied political science in college and read fascinating theories about politics, social movements, theories of change and a whole host of other things.  Now, freshly graduated, what are you going to do with your degree? You could go work on a campaign at an entry-level position, knocking on doors, answering calls, processing donations or other data.

We are big fans of Code for Progress. They have a great mission and hold a yearly job fair. If you are you looking to hire an app developer or data analyst, check out the Code for Progress job fair. For more information about Code for Progress visit them here. If Code For Progress is not a fit for you but you are looking to work on a campaign, you can check out lots of great programs here.

Last week, The Campaign Workshop hosted a interview training event for Code for Progress at our office that included a stellar cast of entrepreneurs, TCW staff, and an amazing group of fellows that are about to take the job market by storm.

A Political consulting firm comes in a variety of different shapes and sizes. Each undoubtedly has its own strengths, weaknesses and areas of expertise. However, regardless of the medium in which they specialize, there are a few traits that stand out in any good political firm. Below is a general, but crucial list:

Opposition research, or “oppo” for short, is something we have mentioned in this blog before, but have not discussed at length. Such an omission is unforgivable, and can only be chalked up to missing the obvious. Like, for instance, when a newspaper has a typo in its front-page headline because everyone was looking for little, nuanced stuff but missed the big, glaring oops! before going to print. So let’s right this wrong now, shall we?