Strategy

By the title, this should be the shortest post in the history of our blog. The typical answer to this question, and the way we teach our candidates, is that the candidate has two main jobs: to raise money and to meet voters. But these tasks are often easier said than done.

As a first-time candidate, you’ll have a steep learning curve and a lot of information thrown your way. Whether you’re still deciding if you want to toss your hat in the ring or you’re just starting to get your campaign moving, it’s important to be critical of yourself and of the advice you hear to decide if you're ready to embark on this journey. 

As we move into 2025, more people will be dedicating time and resources to creating digital political advertising plans. The Campaign Workshop has been actively involved in digital political ads for over a decade, and each year we have seen a growing emphasis on the importance and effectiveness of digital advertising within political campaigns. 
Why spend money on digital political advertising now?

Can you spot mistakes in your campaign? As a trainer and consultant for over 20 years - Here are some warning signs to help you spot and course-correct a losing political campaign.

During this midterm election season, the media landscape is an important place for campaigns and organizations to look as they plan for the fall.  As we continue to see, all elections in the US have become more and more nationalized.

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. So Here are some of our favorite non-political books. 

Bernie Horn is the Senior Director for Policy and Communications at the Public Leadership Institute, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that works with a network of 13,000 progressive state and local policymakers on a wide range of economic and social issues. Bernie Horn is the coauthor of Voicing our Values: A Message Guide for Policymakers and Advocates, which describes how progressives can more effectively frame their arguments to persuade audiences. Below, Bernie Horn shares some tips on how to shape your progressive campaign strategy, get people to realize they agree on the issues, and make policy debates more accessible to voters.

When you get into politics, you can have tunnel vision.  Binge watching House of Cards and the West Wing is not going to help you run a better campaign or advocacy organization. The fact is, campaigns are like running a small business.

In our last blog post, Digital Advocacy: Advertising Campaign Goal Setting Part I,  we talked about how to develop digital advocacy strategy, cost per acquisition (CPA) campaigns, email programs and the best ways to utilize ad testing. In today's post, we take a closer look at using tactics like paid digital advertising, social media and analytics for digital advocacy. You can also read more about this in our latest ebook, Guide to Digital Advocacy.