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Online Campaigning with Change.org

A Beginner’s Guide


1. Change.org and Our New Petition Tool

2. What Can You Do With Online Petitions?

3. Choosing a Campaign and Targets

4. Writing a Winning Petition

5. Sharing and Spreading the Word







Change.org

Change.org

change.org/petition

change.org/start_a_petition

Change.org Petitions

• Easy to use

• Real-time delivery of letters to targets

• Powerful sharing tools

• Email opt-in for nonprofits

• FREE







• Pressure targets

• Promote your issue and build awareness

• Recruit new supporters

• Take advantage of the news cycle

What Can You Do With Online Petitions?



























Great Online Campaigns

• Address clear and specific issues

• Are timely

• Target decision makers

• Are easy to understand

• Appeal to a broad audience

• Get straight to the point

All About Targets

• Choose targets who are decision makers whenever possible

• Think about who might be easiest to influence with an online petition

• Targets don’t need to be well-known, but they need to be relevant

• Don’t be afraid to choose more than one target

• President Obama isn’t always the best target

Some Great Targets Besides President Obama

• Cabinet Officials (Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary, EPA Administrator, etc.)

• Senate and House Committee Members

• Local Officials (Mayors, School Boards, Utility Comissioners)

• Business Leaders (CEOs, Corporate Social Responsibility Officers, Communications and PR)

• University Presidents and Deans, NGO Leaders, Celebrities







People Don’t Read on the Web...

...They Scan

Writing Great Petitions

• Clear Crisp Headlines

• Short

• Broken into “bite sized” paragraphs

• Note the first couple of words in each paragraph

Writing Great Petitions

• Intriguing headline

• Even shorter!

• No links needed

• Note the first couple of words in each paragraph







Sharing and Spreading the Word

• Sharing is the key to success

• Start with email, Facebook, and Twitter. In that order.

• Built into Change.org

• Your friends, followers, fans, and contacts are are your outreach team











• Top petitions appear on weekly leaderboard and get highlighted via our weekly e-newsletter


• Top petitions in each cause are featured as well


• Top petitions in each cause are featured as well


Real World Example

• Great sharing success

• Simple to understand, broad appeal

• Builds awareness

• Useful for offline lobbying efforts

change.org/start_a_petition

Questions?

[email protected]

Education

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