• Make Your Non-Profit Print Ad Pop

    Dec 23, 2019 by Ben Holse (he/him)

    Rainbow slinky on a pink backdrop

    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 clients that make an impact. 

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  • Types of Ads for Digital Advocacy Campaigns

    Feb 21, 2019

    iPhone surrounded by holi colored bowls to symbolize choices.

    How to Find the Right Ads for Your Digital Advocacy Campaign

    There are so many different types of ads that it can feel overwhelming to choose which ones to use for your digital advocacy campaign. You can certainly use all of them, but there are some that are likely better suited to your campaign than others, depending on your goals.

    Static Ads

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  • Advocacy Campaign Testimonials to Move the Needle

    Feb 04, 2019 by Elena Veatch

    advocacy campaign testimonials: A busy terminal with lots of people of all ages and races.

    Advocacy Campaign Testimonials Make Impact 

    Advocacy campaign testimonials have a unique ability to highlight the human impact of your issue. By recruiting community members who have been directly affected by your issue to share their stories, you can make the seemingly arbitrary stakes of policy decisions more tangible for people.

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  • A Guide to Budgeting for Your Digital Advocacy Campaign

    Jan 21, 2019

    An image of piggy bank with money coming out of it's head

    Digital Campaign Spending: What to Include in Your Digital Advocacy Budget

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  • Advocacy Strategy: Integrated Campaigns for the Win

    Jan 10, 2019 by Elena Veatch

    A board with a fifty colored stickies on it

    Mail and Digital Belong Together in Your Advocacy Strategy

    The art of crafting a well-integrated advocacy strategy is akin to making a great book-to-film adaptation. When you find out a book you love will be made into a movie, you hope the story, characters, and message won’t be lost in translation across mediums. A good adaptation will capture the theme and boil the plotline down to its most important elements—after all, few among us have time to catch a twelve-hour movie (though I personally would be on board with a marathon re-cut of The Shining).

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  • Non-Political Books for Politicos

    May 10, 2018 by Elena Veatch

    non-political books for politicos

    10 Non-Political Books Every Politico Should Read

    *Originally written by Joe Fuld and updated by Elena Veatch 4/3/18

    When you get into politics, it’s hard to resist the all too common tunnel vision of focusing only on politics. But be careful – binge watching Veep or The West Wing is not going to help you run a better campaign or organization; nor will reading solely political books.

    The fact is, you are running a business. And while we like to think of politics and business as totally separate realms, it’s tough to run any political operation without a Business 101 crash course. So, take a break from the latest Clinton campaign staffer or Obama aide memoir you are probably reading, and check out some of our non-political book recommendations. Below are ten non-political books that will be helpful to any politico running a campaign, a non-profit, or really any operation.

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  • Sourcing Great Photos of Trump Without Breaking the Bank

    Jul 10, 2017 by Sophie Thurber (she/her)

    trump photos

    Trump Photos to Up Your Digital Advocacy Game 

    Digital advocacy in Trump’s America means (for many of us) a near unending need for Trump photos. Unfortunately, buying rights managed photos of our fearless Commander in Cheeto means running up an epic tab pretty darn quickly. But fear not (at least with regard to photos… I can’t make any promises regarding the rest of what’s going on at this point) – compelling photos of Trump are still available to those of us who don’t have deep pockets and an unlimited Getty account.

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  • Facebook and ActionSprout: Integration for Digital Advocacy

    Jul 06, 2017 by Sophie Thurber (she/her)

    digital advocacy

    Digital Advocacy Integration for Action

    Digital advocacy is about engagement and capacity building—likes are just a starting point. Over the last few years, Facebook’s algorithm has evolved, as has its advertising options, making it easier than ever to capitalize on the audience you’ll find there and turn likes into actions that advance your advocacy goals.

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  • Digital Advocacy: Advertising Campaign Goal Setting Part II

    Jan 30, 2017 by Sophie Thurber (she/her)

    Digital Advocacy

    Digital Advocacy Advertising: Making the Most of My Campaign.

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  • Get Out the Vote with Social Media: Digital GOTV

    Oct 06, 2016

    How to Use Social Media for Get Out the Vote

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  • Member Public Affairs Strategies to Remember

    May 16, 2016 by Joe Fuld (he/him)

    Member Public Affairs Strategy

    Member Public Affairs Strategies to Remember

    Member public affairs strategies can be an amazing way to move your issue forward. Membership organizations should have a head start when it comes to public affairs strategies, but that head start is often complicated. Membership organizations tend to have bureaucratic structures that make it difficult to work nimbly, especially when it comes to public affairs. Because of this, some member organizations have avoided using member-based public affairs strategies and they are missing out. 

    Here are some ways to use your membership to enhance public affairs strategies by turning them into member public affairs strategies.

    Membership Storytelling

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  • Digital Campaigns and the Googlization of American Politics

    May 02, 2016 by Joe Fuld (he/him)

    google for politics

    Digital Campaigns and the Googlization of American Politics

    Searching for answers on the web has become a fixture in our lives. Want to go to a movie? Search the time and showings. Buying a house? Search for listings. Interested in a candidate or a local issue? Ask Google.

    But when it comes to political and advocacy digital campaigns, why do many folks ignore tactics that drive search results for digital campaigns?  Why is the web relegated to an intern or volunteer instead of seen as a strategic tool?

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