The Campaign Workshop Blog is hosted by The Campaign Workshop, an advocacy and political consulting firm. We write about tactics for advocacy, membership, civic engagement, and progressive politics.  We post weekly, and also publish ebooks, host webinars, and The How to Win a Campaign Podcast. Sign up to learn more.   

Section Heading

A picture of hanging red telephones for GOTV

How can campaigns call cell phones for GOTV?

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

For the longest time you could not call cell phones in an efficient way but now Stones Phones has some exciting new technology to make it easier to call cell phones using volunteers or paid phone banks. We asked Marty Stone 7 questions on calling cell phones for GOTV. 

Digital GOTV plan A suburban community of colorful houses.

Digital GOTV Plan Why You Need One

by The Campaign Workshop

A good digital GOTV plan, is not your father’s get out the vote effort. It used to be that GOTV was driven by walk lists, yard signs, door hangers, coffee and doughnuts. But as folks start to focus more on digital GOTV, having an actual plan to push turnout digitally is a must in our interconnected world. You still need the doughnuts and door hangers, but digital will add a layer of outreach that you did not have before.

Sponsored listening process for 7 GOTV questions with Pandora
Two people looking at phones to plan their winning digital ad campaign.

Winning Digital Ad Campaign: Plan First

by The Campaign Workshop

Looking for a winning digital ad campaign? These days every campaign has some kind of digital ad component to it, but how does that result in electoral outcomes? Results vary and really depend on what kind of campaign you’re running. Here are some clear steps to develop a winning digital ad campaign.

Four progressive minority candidates and their creative.
nonprofit website migration

Nonprofit website migrations should not kill your SEO

by The Campaign Workshop

When you launch a new campaign, advocacy or nonprofit website make sure you're ready to put in the work. The actual process of transferring the website is not the backbreaking work, it's the diagnostic tests and reports you'll need to run to test your site's functionality.

Digital political targeting: think beyond cookies

Digital Political Targeting: Think Beyond Cookies

by The Campaign Workshop

Digital political targeting can be tricky to navigate, but when done right, it can make digital ads work effectively and efficiently.

Top Campaign Voter File Tips

Voter File Tips for Your Campaign

by Ben Holse (He/Him)

On any campaign, having access to good voter file is important. For good reason, the trend on most modern political campaigns has been to be data driven. But there are many pitfalls to avoid when using political data and a lot of ways that political data can go wrong. So it’s important that there’s always a human on the other end of that data asking questions and using reason instead of just taking the data at its face value. Below are a few top tips on how to successfully use political campaign data.

Tips for winning a runoff election
internship interview

Political Internship - Tips for Your First Interview

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

Political internship interviews can be challenging. All political greats start somewhere. a political internship can help teach you important skills necessary for future success in the political field- it will be your first political job. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand interned for former New York Senator Alfonse D’Amato during college, while Virginia Senator Mark Warner interned for three different Connecticut Democrats throughout high school and college. But with other exceptional candidates vying for the same internships as you, securing your first political internship can be difficult. You need to set yourself apart from these candidates to seal the deal and start your journey into the world of politics. One way to differentiate yourself from the sea of wannabe politicos is to master the internship interview. From one political intern to a future one, here are important tips to keep in mind as you get ready for interview season:

campaign fundraising
Executive Director

10 Tips for a New Nonprofit Executive Director

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

Whether you have been a nonprofit executive director in the past or this is your first time as a new executive director, taking over an organization has its challenges. Follow our 10 tips to make your transition into a new executive director job smooth:

Internship

A Day in the Life of a Political Intern

by The Campaign Workshop

After hitting the snooze button, the political intern wakes up. Already having their work clothes packed, they grab a quick breakfast and head off to the gym.

Advocacy books - spreading your message

Advocacy Books: Using Your Personal Story for Political Communication

by The Campaign Workshop

Everyone has a story to tell. For politicians, advocates, and change makers, how you tell your story is essential. A great way to do this is through writing a book about your life. Every major politician of the last few decades has penned an autobiography, telling their story of how they achieved the American Dream. Political advocacy books include how the writer grew to overcome obstacles and persevere to make the world a better place.

Crafting a Political Survey

Political Survey: Top Tips For Crafting Political Polling

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

I am not a political pollster, and I don’t play one on T.V. But, I am a big consumer of political polling and spend a lot of time working with pollsters to craft political surveys. When it comes to creating a political survey, we often see folks make the same mistakes.

Campaign Manual

Campaign Manuals: Our Running List of Political Manuals

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

Campaign manuals and eBooks on politics (especially good ones) are hard to come by. So here is a list of our favorite campaign manuals to help progressive candidates win campaigns. These campaign guides come from experts in a range of different fields. They cover everything from debate prep to messaging. Here is a run-down of our favorite eBooks and campaign manuals by Meg Ahern, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and more:

people on their phones and reading in a coffee shop

What is Relational Organizing and How Can it Help My Campaign?

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

Relational organizing and neighbor-to-neighbor postcards have been a mainstay of political campaigns since the late 1970s, and for good reason. Politics is about relationships and harnessing the power of those relationships is essential to secure campaign success. 

Slack for Political and Advocacy Campaigns

Slack for Political and Advocacy Campaigns | Campaign Tools

by Joe Fuld (He/Him)

Looking for a good organizational campaign tool? Today I am going to explain why every political and advocacy campaign should use Slack to coordinate and streamline group communication.

7 Questions With Aly Sterling

7 Questions With Aly Sterling

by The Campaign Workshop

Aly Sterling is the founder and president of Aly Sterling Philanthropy, a non-profit consulting firm that specializes in fundraising, board governance, strategic planning, and executive search partnerships. Most recently, Aly partnered with a legal aid foundation in Los Angeles to lead their first-ever capital campaign for a new building headquarters. She also served as fundraising counsel to a prominent healthcare system managing multiple regional and national campaigns raising more than $85 million.

Create Positive Social Change with the Resist Podcast List

Create Positive Social Change with the Resist Podcast List

by The Campaign Workshop

Why the Most Positive Social Change is to Subscribe to the Resist Podcast List
I love a good podcast. Amongst all the Fox News dog whistle rhetoric, it is good to hear positive social change.  This list is a compilation of favorites from the TCW staff and we know you will love them too. Listen, get inspired, and go instill positive social change throughout the world. Welcome to The Campaign Workshop’s Resist Podcast List.