What will your methods be?

There are many different methods you can use to campaign.

Letter Writing

Research who you need to write to and write to them directly. State why you are writing in short, clear points. People are busy and your letter needs to be read and understood quickly. If you need to give a lot of information, include this in a back-up document, such as a short report. Make it absolutely clear what you are asking the person to do, and make the role they have to play in your campaign sound straightforward. Get information to people in good time so that they can read it and get back to you for further information if they need to. Make sure your contact details are obvious. Keep copies of all the letters, reports and information you send.

Freedom of Information Requests

Everyone has the legal right to request information held by Scottish public bodies on any subject they choose. This can be very useful if you are trying to find out more information about the issue you are campaigning on.You can make a Freedom of Information request from the following public bodies: government departments and local assemblies, local authorities and councils, health trusts, hospitals and doctors' surgeries, schools, colleges and universities, publicly funded museums, the police, non-departmental public bodies, committees and advisory bodies

Petitions

Petitions are a good way of publicising your campaign and are an easy way for people to show their support and are very useful for gathering strength in numbers. Traditionally, organizers have collected petition signatures in-person, either on the street or by going door-to-door. These days, the power of the web has made it much easier to collect signatures, with geography no longer posing a constraint. Email and social media sites have also made it that much easier to spread the word about a campaign. To achieve the strongest impact, a petition should be just one component or tool in your campaign.

When producing a petition you have four options
  1. Publish a printed petition: this will need to include a brief headline and description about what your campaign hopes to achieve. This will allow you to get people's signatures in public places, at events and meetings. Make sure that you keep hold of any completed paper petitions that you receive.
    Find out more about how to do a petition here.
  2. Publish an online petition: An e-petition, also known as an online petition, is a petition that is posted to a website. Anyone can access the website and electronically sign the petition by adding his or her name and/or email address (sometimes additional information is required). The petition can then be sent to its target via email or a print-out that is mailed or hand-delivered to the recipient. Due to the anonymous nature of the people signing the petition and the absence of face-to-face contact with signees, there is much greater potential for abuse that could make the petition illegitimate. E-petitions may be taken less seriously since anyone can set up an online petition for any cause. It can also be challenging to verify signatures in order to give some authority to the petition.
    Find out how to do an e-petition here.
  3. Petition the Scottish Government.
    Find out about how to do this here.
    Read about one befriending service's petitions to the Scottish Government here.
  4. Petition Westminster: e-petitions are an easy way for you to influence government policy in the UK. You can create an e-petition about anything the government is responsible for.
    Find out about how to do this here.

Produce information about your campaign

Posters, postcards, car stickers and leaflets can be very effective tools in a campaign, although the design and printing of these can be very expensive. Many of the large national organisations have good examples of promotional materials they use in campaigns and it is worth visiting their websites to find out more. Keeping a file of eye-catching adverts might also give you a good starting point.

Organise an event

Holding events, such as demonstrations or publicity stunts, can be a good way to show how many people support your campaign. Examples might include: marches that will be noticed by the target of your campaign; holding a rally outside an important building or place; handing out leaflets in busy places; holding a street stall in a busy place to attract attention and communicate with potential supporters.

Attracting the attention of Local Councillors, MSPs and MPs

You may wish to get a local politician involved in your campaign as they may be able to put pressure on to change a decision. Before you contact them, think about what you are campaigning about, who is responsible for it and who can change things.

Involving the media

Using the media correctly is vital to any campaign. If you get it right it can make a huge impact on whether your campaign will be successful or not.

Press releases: the first step is often to write a press release which can be sent to journalists about the campaign. Press releases can be very effective if they are linked to other events e.g. World Aids Day or Learning Disability Week.

Information on how to write a press release can be found here.

Click here for more information on working with the media.

Radio: can be a good way to get exposure - but be prepared to appear on air. Contact the radio station at least 24 hours before you want your story on the radio.

Information on how to give a great radio or tv interview can be found here.

How to attract interest: Your story is most likely to be picked up by a journalist if it is about something new and interesting. If an important person or a celebrity is involved, this can also help improve your chances of getting the story printed. If you are giving your story to the local press make sure that your story contains information about a local issue. Remember that the journalist might want to interview other people involved with your service e.g. clients, volunteers and their families so make sure you have a list of people who are willing to speak to the media beforehand. Before the interview think about what you want to say and how you want to say it. Consider what the journalist might ask you and practice some answers.

How to find media contacts: look through the national newspapers and note down the names of journalists who write articles on issues that cover the third sector or your client group. They are usually more useful than writing more generally to news editors. The best free contacts information available online:

  • MediaUK: A large directory of more than 3,000 national and regional media outlets (only has general switchboard numbers)
  • askCHARITY Media Directory: A free contacts directory for charities. You cn also register your details so that journalists can contact you if they are writing an article you can help them with. It has insider information for charities on who to approach in media outlets with your stories
  • NUJ Freelancer Directory: A directory of 1,500 freelance journalists.
  • Clever Communications: This is a free book for charities who want to know more about working with the media. It includes a directory with hundreds of useful resources and national media contacts for charity communicators.

Other ideas: writing a letter to national newspapers, calling local phone-in radio programmes.

Using online tools

Using the internet can help your campaign to reach a wider audience.

  • Websites: Websites can help to promote and raise the profile of your campaign. They can also be a good place to direct people for more information about the campaign. However, websites can be expensive and difficult to manage if you are not already doing this.
  • Email: Emails are a great way to contact people who support the campaign (as well as others) without spending much money. You can use emails to tell people about meetings or events that you are organising. Try and set up a mailing list for the members of your campaign and don't forget to add people who have signed a petition or told you that they are interested. Remember to put a relevant topic into the subject of your email so that it less likely to go into people's junk boxes.

Using social media

Social Networking Sites: social networking sites e.g. Facebook and Twitter are now used to promote campaigns. You can use social networking sites to find supporters and communicate with them on a regular basis or invite them to attend meetings, write to their local Councillor or to sign an online petition.