Grassroots Tips

Four tips for conservative online organization

July 22, 2013 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Comments Off on Four tips for conservative online organization

online organizationWhether everyone in politics realizes it yet or not (still “not” for many people), online organization is not only here to stay, but it represents the quickest, most impactful and cost effective form of political organization.

And when it comes to organizing and campaigning on the Internet – (and before you get down in the weeds of all of the tools and things you can do online) – there are some fundamental tips you should keep in mind in order to be more successful.

Online Organization Tips:

1) Be Visible:

Voters or activist expect to be able to find you (and information about you or your cause) online.  A basic website is a minimum threshold for credibility of any serious organization.

If they can’t find you, they can’t interact with you.

Generally speaking, a website gives you an Internet headquarters, or “hub”, to operate from.  It’s a place to park critical information about your group or cause, to promote action items that your supporters can act on, and make it easy for your supporters to join your cause, reference your information and pass it on to others.

You can create a site or blog easily enough with services such as WordPress or Blogger.  Short of that, you can easily create your own online “group” (for free) with services like Ning, Google and Yahoo.  These can be public, private or moderated, however you see fit.

2) Keep it Fresh:

How often do you come across sites that look abandoned, or have out-dated information?  And how often will you go back if that’s the case?  Keep that in mind when maintaining your online presence.

Think like the type of person you want to attract.  What information are they looking for?  What are they likely to act on if you make it easy for them?  In addition to the “fixed” information you might add to a site (such as fact sheets and information about your group or issue), you can keep sites fresh by adding a blog, (even letting several supporters help keep it updated), or adding newsfeeds on related topics with RSS feeds, etc.

The better and more useful the content, the more people will visit, and the more often they’ll forward the site and/or its content on to others.  This means that the site can become an email list building machine.

3) Get Social:

If a website is your Internet “hub”, then think of social media as the spokes.  And it can take your Internet presence to a whole new level.

Given that social media is an “opt-in” type of medium and also tends to be much more personal in nature, it can give you or your cause much more credibility when people share your links and information with others.  In other words it’s like the Internet version of “word of mouth” advertising.

According to Pew Research, around 20% of all Internet users that were surveyed indicated that they either received or shared political information via a social network in the run-up to the 2008 election…and I’m sure it was higher for 2012.  These are real people that live in the “real” world where you may be looking to identify volunteers for a precinct and/or church based organization.

Social media enhances your ability to aggregate small expressions of support from a large number of people into a greater whole, (in fundraising for example) – which means that it provides leverage.

If people are a primary resource in politics, then the “other’ people that they know are potential resources as well. Social media makes it easier to leverage your chief resource.

4) Be Outgoing:

Don’t just create a web presence and wait for the world to come knocking at your door.  Do some promotion.

In the business world, you wouldn’t spend time creating a product for sale and then keep quiet about it. You would advertise.  The same principle applies here. You make use of the tools you have (and those you can get) to let people know you’re there and why they should be interested.

The Internet offers a constantly expanding menu of ways to reach out.  The most familiar is email and, given that virtually everyone who’s online has an email address, it’s the most fundamental.  The newer avenues are the social networks mentioned earlier.  Set up profiles for your site on those services and link them back to your site. Send an email to your list letting them know that you’re up on those networks, (“Hey, we’ve got a Facebook page up – click here to check it out, and then pass it on!”).

By regularly posting messages on those services with links back to pages or blog entries on your site, you “push” your content to a larger audience than would otherwise be exposed to your message.

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Can you think of any other general tips you’ve learned about successful online organization by way of experience?  Feel free to pass them along in the comments.

(Get more tips like these in my “Grassroots 101 Training Series“.  Check it out!)

More on the importance of precinct organization

July 8, 2013 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

precinct organization

So, why is precinct organization so important?

As I’ve said before, the old “all politics is local” truism is pretty much true because politics is all about people – and “local” is where the people are.

In other words, that’s where the (potential) power is.

But since successful politics requires organization, that’s where precincts come in, because they’re the most local (or basic) unit in American politics.

Virtually everything in politics is built around them, like a series of large, overlapping political jigsaw puzzles.  That means that, when it comes to elections or issue based lobbying campaigns, a focus on local precinct organization can have a big ripple effect on the things you care about.

So, how do you get started with precinct organization?

The best way to organize anything is to put someone in charge of it.  For precincts, that means “precinct captains”.  A precinct captain is someone who serves as a point of contact between the people in their local neighborhood and outside conservative political groups and activities.

Primary Goals for Effective Precinct Captains:

1: Identify ten other conservative activists

In order to put the meat on the bones of any organization, you need people, and that means identifying others who are willing to help.  Try to identify at least ten.

2: Identify as many other conservative voters in the precinct as possible

Once a core group of activists has been identified, what should they do?  Why, identify other fellow conservatives of course.  (Successful politics is about addition and multiplication!)

3: Inform and mobilize precinct volunteers

Once a list of identified conservatives has been put together, the next step is to inform them and get them involved.

4: Stay informed

Keep up to date on current events in the area and identify potential projects and opportunities for activism – and pass the information on to others.

More details on precinct captains here.

Five Tools for Precinct Organization

If you’re serious about organizing, focus on doing the basics.  Here are some tools you’ll want to use:

1) A list of all registered voters in your precinct

This is your first priority…who’s registered to vote?

2) “Prospect” lists

Having a “warm” list of prospective conservatives makes your organization job easier.

3) Blank voter registration forms

If people aren’t registered, they can’t vote.  And if they don’t vote, they don’t count.

4) A map of the precinct

Make it easier to organize by knowing who lives where.

5) Maintain a political events calendar

Let your people know what’s going on and how they can get involved.  Things like local elections and public meetings are cyclical.  Start a calendar.

More details on precinct tools here.

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These are just some highlights on why precinct organization is so important.  The takeaway here is the importance of thinking local – and doing the basics.

The rest will begin to take care of itself.

(Get more tips like these in my “Grassroots 101 Training Series“.  Check it out!)

Three points on importance of political organization in churches

July 1, 2013 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | 1 Comment

Church organization pointsAs I have mentioned before, it’s hard to imagine conservatives being more successful at the ballot box without being joined by even MORE conservatives at the ballot box.

That means that in order to win, we have to do more to identify, educate and mobilize others who think like we do.  And to make the best use of our time and leverage our existing relationships, it makes sense to spend some time focusing on organizing in churches.

Importance of Political Organization in Churches

1) Churches are where the conservatives are

The statistics don’t lie.  Conservatives are more likely to attend church than liberals.  Very conservative individuals attend more frequently.

If you want to look at it from a partisan standpoint, all you need to know is that Romney beat Obama by 20 points among those who attend church at least once a week.

Again, it’s a matter of hunting where the ducks are.

There are hundreds of thousands of churches all across the country that bring their members together every Sunday, and they can have a tremendous impact when they are informed and motivated.

Sadly, people in most churches are little better than others when it comes to the basics of citizenship, such as registering and actually voting on Election Day.  On average, only about half are actually registered, and about half of those that are will cast a ballot in most elections.  Not a recipe for political success.

Given that the average race is usually won or lost by about five percent, the possibilities are obvious.

2) Organize with “Church Contacts”

In order to organize something, somebody has to be in charge, or else not much gets done.  That’s where a church contact comes in.  A church contact is simply someone whose job it is to serve as a point of contact between their church and outside conservative political groups and activity.

The three primary goals of church contacts are:

  1. To identify fellow conservatives
  2. Make sure they are registered to vote
  3. Keep fellow church members informed.

(Get details on “how” to organize churches with church contacts here)

Since politics is cyclical, the activities that a church contact would focus on will vary from season to season.  But whether it’s preparing for an election, or educating people on how to lobby those who have been elected, there’s always something to do.

Once somebody is actually in charge, things are more likely to get done – and people in the church know who to go to in order to stay informed or get involved.

3) Know what churches can and cannot do in politics

As I’ve mentioned before, there’s always a lot of confusion over what churches can and cannot do in politics.  Of course a lot of this confusion is generated by liberals who don’t want to see churches dominated by conservatives get more politically involved.  (Go figure)

The thing to know is that there is a LOT that they can do that most of them currently don’t do.  Most of what pastors and church members hear about it being legally “taboo” is garbage.

Lack of knowledge leads to fear…and that leads to inactivity and ineffectiveness.

That said, it’s important to get informed and know the rules.  So click here for the full list of What churches can and cannot do in politics.

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Remember, politics is all about math, and our job is to focus on addition and multiplication.  That means getting more conservatives involved – and churches are full of them.

Have any other thoughts or experiences with political organization in churches?  Feel free to share in the comments below!

(Get more tips like these in my “Grassroots 101 Training Series“.  Check it out!)

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