Congratulations! You’ve thrown your hat into the political ring. You’ve shared your passion with family and close friends and they’re all in.
Now you need to get more volunteers.
Begin with community groups who share your interests and concerns. For example, if your main issue is better resources and treatment of Veterans, then think about going to the local VFW, or stop by an American Legion Post. Get to know the leaders of these organizations. Tell them why you want to help as an elected official and ask for guidance in recruiting volunteers from their organizations.
The same applies for any of your issues and concerns. If your campaign focuses on environmental issues, find local groups who share your interests and see who can help. Get on the list to have information emailed to you regarding their meetings. Hang around afterwards to meet with the attendees so you can exchange ideas. You’ll be surprised how much you learn from these informal gatherings.
Remember to collect e-mail addresses. Reach out to the people you meet at these meetings and gatherings and be sure to ask if they would help with your campaign. Let them know you are grateful for any time they can offer. Be sure to stress that if it’s only an hour, that is helpful.
Ways to utilize your volunteers are many. You may have older volunteers who can only work on projects at home. These volunteers can be helpful in labeling and stamping mailers, or handwriting postcards with your short, prepared script to send to voters. Give them a list of potential donors to follow up with via emails, again with a prepared message from you, but only after YOU have contacted them personally with a phone call or a visit. It’s hard to overstate how important direct, one-on-one contact with your constituents is to the success of your campaign.
Other ways to put your volunteers to work include asking them to distribute campaign literature and carry signs with them, so they can be easily handed out among their friends and contacts.
Try to travel with your volunteers. It’s nice to have a small entourage as you make your way into a local meeting or speaking engagement. You can have a volunteer who is only responsible for filing your calendar with speaking engagements and keeping you on track as to where you need to be and when.
Of course, you will want a team of volunteers to help you to door knock. Door knocking and meeting the voter face to face is the number one key to being successful. Election day you will want to have a few volunteers who will have a presence at the polls, wearing a T-Shirt with your name or holding your sign.
Never forget they are volunteers. Treat them with the respect they deserve, occasionally give them a little something nice as a gentle thank you as you all tackle the tasks at hand. Go get ‘em!