The Campaign Workshop Blog

Advocacy message development can be challenging. Join us as we go through the basics of developing an advocacy message, as well as more advanced steps to build an advocacy message that goes the distance.

Thinking about how to use QR codes for politics and advocacy? Whether you are in politics, membership, or advocacy spaces and do any kind of targeted communication, you need to think about how QR codes can be useful for your work and what the limitations are.

As the use of cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, grows, more and more nonprofits are accepting bitcoin donations, but what are the upsides and downsides of taking crypto donations? Should all nonprofits get on the crypto donation caravan? Read for our take on cryptocurrency for nonprofits.

A political campaign website is one of the most important early investments a campaign can make. Your website gives voters a place where they can learn more about your campaign and where you can spin your narrative however you want. Until recently, websites costed thousands of dollars to develop and required many months of careful planning and plenty of time to build.

What does a campaign mail firm do? Admit it, this is a question that a lot of people have asked but never got a clear answer. Well, never fear, after producing winning Democratic direct mail for over ten years, The Campaign Workshop is here with answers.

Thinking about virtual training? As a company, we create and run political, campaign, and advocacy training programs for groups and organizations. Since 2009, we had done all our training in person, but Covid-19 changed that. We now do a mix of virtual and in-person training on a wide range of topics from advocacy, and candidate training, to board facilitation.

Virtual fundraising is not easy. These tips will help you build a virtual fundraising event plan. No matter the size, let us share our experience on what fundraising mistakes to avoid and how to launch and execute a successful virtual fundraiser.

Virtual meetings don’t have to suck. Due to COVID-19, most organizations are Zoomed out, but virtual meetings are not going away anytime soon. Learn how to get the most out your Zoom meetings while being informative and engaging.

Whether you like peer-to-peer texting or hate it, it is essential to understand it if you run an organization or a political campaign. This is due to a changing landscape with real implications for fundraising, organizing, and voter turnout activities in the short and long term.

There are ads all over the internet to buy a political email. As easy as it sounds, do not do it – do not buy a political email list. They are waste of money, can hurt your online reputation and upset constituents. Instead, build a list organically. Building a political email list is a daunting task, but with a few tactics, planning and patience, you can increase your supporter base.

Tim Gibbs has worked in the public policy sphere for more than 20 years, where he helped pass impactful laws at both the municipal and state levels. In the last five years, Gibbs played a critical role in passing over 100 local ordinances, including successfully advocating against the sale of flavored tobacco products within various urban and rural areas of California.

IssueVoter founder Maria Yuan decided to start the nonpartisan platform after working on a successful political campaign in one of Iowa’s swing districts and for a Texas State Representative. The organization seeks to increase civic engagement and communication between constituents and their members of Congress.

Molly Connors is the Director of Business Development for Care2, a social network for good with 50 million members starting Care2 petitions and sharing stories that inspire action. Care2 helps connect nonprofits and mission-based brands with supporters who are passionate about their causes.

Joe Weston is the founder of the Weston Network, which trains corporations, governments, and other organizations on communication, productivity, and time and stress management. Joe Weston works with individuals to build their self-confidence, enrich their relationships, and gain clarity in their life goals.

Campaign endorsements can still make a big difference in politics. But to make your political endorsements count, you need to have a strategy to collect them and amplify them. Be intentional about what political endorsements matter and how you will use them.

Will Robinson of the New Media Firm penned his rules for campaign staffers over 25 years ago and they are truly words to live by. Over the years, these rules have saved money, time and jobs for many campaign staffers who have heard and lived by them. Whether you are working on a candidate’s campaign, ballot measures, or independent expenditures, these campaign rules will help.

Nonprofit blogging takes a lot of work, but it is easier than you think. Learn how to harness thought leadership, storytelling and simple tips to write blogs and long-form content that engages and converts. This is probably the most meta blog post we have ever written: a blog post about writing a blog post!

Canvassing is special to me. I love knocking on doors. I think it is still a vastly underrated form of communication. Post COVID-19, canvassing is coming back in a big way and campaigns should plan for it now. Why do I think canvassing is so special? Because of the connection, direct contact grassroots combined with paid ads make with targeted voters in a personal and systematic way.

Is political polling dead? In the campaign world, this is one question comes back to haunt us every election cycle After polls (and the media outlets reporting on them) suggested an inevitable landslide for Hillary Clinton in 2016, Donald Trump’s victory shook the American public to its core and undermined our collective confidence in political polling.