Turn Your Activist Email List into an Advocacy Community

1
Turn Your Activist Email Listinto an Advocacy
Community

• Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D.
• Internet Advocacy Center
• 202.223.1333
• alan_at_joemocracy.com

2
Information, Action, Community

• How can the Internet serve the advocacy
  community?
• Escalating online engagement
• Inform citizens and policymakers
• Activate citizens
• Build communities from mailing lists

3
Left vs. Right Origins of Power

• Citizen Model
• Interlocking memberships
• Shared stake in public goods
• Bottom up strategies are advantageous
• Top down strategies provide guidance

• Corporate Model
• Interlocking directorates
• Shared stake in private goods
• Bottom up strategies are threatening
• Top down strategies tightly control

vs.
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Exploiting the Citizen Model

• Progressive causes resonate best with citizens
  because citizens have a personal stake in the
  issues.
• Some conservative causes (like taxes and
  religious issues) share this characteristic.
• Most conservative causes (like corporate
  subsidies and tort reform) do not.
• When citizens have a personal stake in a cause
  they need less handholding when advocating for
  the cause.

5
Give Them Community

• Providing an online community platform to
  activists
• Allows activists to bond by sharing insights and
  experiences with each other,
• Empowers activists to initiate local action and
  recruit new activists, and
• Provides on-the-ground sources of intelligence
  for advocacy campaigns.

6
Meta Communities

• Creating a portal for like minded advocacy groups
  helps create meta communities
• Example Youth Policy Action Center
• http//www.youthpolicyactioncenter.org/

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Online Community Components

• Discussion Forums
• Chatrooms
• Blogs
• E-Newsletters
• LISTSERVs
• Viral Marketing Tools
• My Advocacy Page
• Personal Mailing List Manager
• E-Postcards
• Action Tools

8
Farm Out Your Labor

• Progressive organizations too often struggle with
  inadequate resources.
• The Internet offers opportunities to to farm out
  your labor to your activists.
• This simultaneously lowers organization costs AND
  more effectively engages activists.

9
Turn Your Activist Email Listinto an Advocacy
CommunityThank You

• Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D.
• Internet Advocacy Center
• 202.223.1333
• alan_at_joemocracy.com