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Find tools for communicating your campaign in our Campaigning Tips section.
Get a website
Websites are a useful way to keep your members up-to-date with your activities. They can also a good way to attract new supporters and get people to take action on your issue. If you lack the resources to set up your own site, you could use a commerical community network site, such as MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn or Orkut. These sites allow a group to set up a profile, and add photos, videos, flyers, etc, that can be shared with members of the group.
Emails and instant messaging
Email is a powerful method of getting your message right where you want it - in a community activist's inbox. You can email members regular updates, newsletters and meeting minutes to keep them informed about the group's activities and motivate them to take action. Just be careful not to spam them by sending too many emails and always offer them an "unsubscribe" option within the email. If your email prompts them to forward your message on to a friend, you may collect even more members!
Learn more about creating email action alerts and an email subscriber list with NetAction's Virtual Activist training course.
Instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) allows you to chat easily to others in your group in when they are online. It has a much faster response time than email and some IM tools allow you to send files, SMS and share photos. Skype offers instant messaging and free phone calls to other Skype subscribers anywhere in the world.
Telephone trees
Telephone trees are great for reminding people about meetings and getting people along to important events. When you only have a small budget, they're a cost-effective way of reaching everyone on your contact list.
The phone tree relies on the commitment of each group member to make a few calls or text messages each. The way it works is one person calls three people, then those three people call three people each and so on and so on. This can be adapted and extended for your needs (it doesn't have to be three calls each).
Here's what a telephone tree may look like:
Get the message right Make sure the phone message is short and simple, with all the necessary information. If it's a text, you can set the exact message you want. If you're doing a big call around, it's worth writing the information down for the callers so they get it right.
Check phone numbers It's important to keep an up-to-date phone list so your callers don't waste phone calls on old numbers and people who thought they'd been taken off the list.
Newsletters
Newsletters can be for member only but you may want to also use them to recruit new members and alert others in the community about your issue. A newsletter may be emailed to your subscriber list or printed on paper and distributed using foot power.
Things to consider when starting a newsletter:
- Will it be sent as an email or a paper copy?
- How big will it need to be?
- What is your printing budget? Or do you plan to photocopy it?
- Will you be mailing it out, giving it out or trying to sell it?
- How much time and energy can you put into each issue?
- How often will it come out? Monthly, quarterly, weekly?
- Where are you going to get content from?
When starting out, it's best to think small rather than big. You can always expand your newsletter as it grows but it won't look so great if it suddenly shrinks!
Finance and distribution
The main methods for covering newsletter production costs are:
- Charging a subscription fee
- Incorporating costs into your group membership fee
- Charging for advertising
- Obtaining sponsorship
You may want to apply for a grant for your newsletter.
Newsletter distribution
If you choose to email your newsletter to members, it is a simple matter of compiling your email list and clicking Send. Emailing is fast, direct and save trees! If, however, you are distributing a hard-copy version and trying to recruit new members, you will need to ensure there are adequate distribution channels, such as:
- group meetings
- local shop counters
- like-minded organisations' headquarters
- mailout to members
- inserted in other people's mailouts
- delivered to local letterboxes
Content
What you say in your newsletter depends on what you want it to achieve. Here are a few ideas for content:
- Report on recent activities
- Recent policy decisions
- A calendar of upcoming events
- Calls to action
- Membership renewal reminders
- Acknowledgement of work by the organisation and its members
- Fundraising event promotion
- Letters to the editor
- Your group's contact details
- An means of unsubscribing from the mailing list
Legal considerations
Defamation is the publication of material that is likely to injure the reputation of a person or to cause ordinary people to think less of that person. Contempt of court may occur if you publish material commenting on a matter before a court, or if you show disregard for the authority of a court judge. Copyright protects your or other people's work from being used without authorisation. You should not publish material in your newsletter that you have taken from other sources without first obtaining permission from the author/photographer/artist who holds the copyright.
Design and layout
Design and layout are best left to the experts. You may be able to enlist a volunteer who is a graphic designer, web designer (if you are publishing your newsletter online) or design student to help you out. If you do decide to go it alone, remember to keep the same easy-to-read font throughout. Good fonts for print are Arial, Verdana and Times New Roman. For reading online, go for Arial or Verdana. Keep the design simple. Take hints from your favourite magazines and newsletters.
If you use a designer, ask them to create an editable newsletter template so that you can insert the text and images yourself for each issue.
Writing style
Most importantly, you want your content to be easy to read and understand. Being clever isn't necessary but if you can be original while still getting the message across, go for it.
Further info
Tech Soup offers information and advice on online technology, such as blogging, to non-profit organisations.
Become an online activist at NetAction: Learn how to campaign online and create email alerts.Add your activist events to this Australian activist website.
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