Advocacy Basics

Executing a successful and impactful advocacy campaign requires time, dedication, and organization. In today’s day and age, there is strong competition from various advocacy issues fighting for attention, so to run a successful campaign, you will need to be ready to hit the ground running.

Todd Rogers is a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and is a behavioral scientist who has done research on increasing communication skills between families, educators, and students, employees, consumers, and voters. He is the faculty director of the Harvard Behavioral Insight Group, which focuses on using behavioral science for public good. Todd co-founded the Analyst Institute, which focuses on measuring and improving the impact of progressive campaigns on voter communication and everyday labs, which works with school districts to reduce absenteeism and increased learning by better communication with families. He is also the author of the new Writing for Busy Readers, which came out in September of this year, and is a practical guide for writing more effectively and practically to increase communication skills. This week we asked him 7 questions about his work and career. 

You can check out the Podcast interview here. 

Susan Markham is a partner and co-founder of Smash Strategies. Previously, she served as Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), director of Women's Political Participation at the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and a senior strategist here at The Campaign Workshop. Susan is a passionate advocate for gender equality and female empowerment, and advocates for the critical role that women play in politics and development. She also just recently released her new book Feminist Foreign Policy in Theory and in Practice. This week, we asked her 7 questions about her work and career path.

You can also listen to this interview with Susan Markham on the How to Win a Campaign podcast. 

Should I use Substack for Non-Profit communications?  Substack is primarily a newsletter and blogging platform. Think of it as a more user-friendly version of Medium that has garnered a large following. Many people I know regularly post on Substack. Initially, I explored Substacks focused on branding, organization, and food, but the platform's political content has grown, and I now follow a few political Substacks.

Brandon Wolf is a nationally recognized gun safety and LGBTQ+ civil rights advocate and public speaker. Brandon is a survivor of the 2016 shooting at Orlando's Pulse Nightclub. After losing two of his best friends that night, Brandon set out to honor their and the other 47 victims’ legacies with action. Brandon is a co-founder of The Dru Project, a non-profit organization that helps fund higher education to empower youth and future leaders in the LGBTQ+ community. We asked Brandon 7 questions about his experience and career path.

Advocacy strategies can be time-consuming to create and difficult to execute. We have written often about the core elements of an advocacy plan, but taking the time to develop your advocacy strategy is an important step. But where do you begin? Try using strategy tools.

When you’re a part of an advocacy campaign, spotting issues and fixing them are not always easy. In the realm of advocacy, there will always be bumps in the road, that is the nature of making change. Identifying common advocacy hurdles and proactively planning for solutions is a good strategy that can improve your campaign. 

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.

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.

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.

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.