How to Get Your Petition Noticed (and Meet Your Signatures Goal)
So you’ve created a Petition with a clear goal and target. How do you get people to look at it?.
Promotion and awareness of your petition has three main components:
- Share your Petition with your circle of influence.
- Attract signers to your Petition.
- Encourage the signers of your Petition to share it forward
Craft a Compelling Message!
A successful petition has clear goals and a concisely-communicated message that resonates with people. You can do this by:
- Writing an eye-grabbing (short!) headline.
- Write a summary that tells people why they should care and take action on your issue.
- Keep everything short and easy to read, using paragraph breaks and bullet points when appropriate.
The following questions can help hone your petition language:
- What action needs to be halted?
- What can we do instead?
- What benefits can be achieved, in the long or short term, by changing course?
Be sure to urge your petition supporters to sign and share, but also suggest examples of concrete actions that can be taken to make a difference on the issue.
“A picture’s worth a thousand words.” Make it look pretty! Photos, videos, and other media go a long way and help bring your issue to life and helps establish an emotional connection. Here are some tips:
- Images should tell a story consistent with your campaign.
- In photos, use images of individuals rather than groups to create a more personal connection between the viewer and the cause.
- The emotional response should match the overall positive or negative tone you’ve set for the petition.
- The ideal image shouldn’t require additional explanation.
- Graphics and diagrams can also be effective.
Promoting Your Petition
Promotion of your petition doesn’t just happen once. It’s key to share your petition repeatedly on different social media platforms with family and friends so there are multiple opportunities to become aquainted with your issue.
It’s important to stay engaged. Keep your petition signers updated of any new developments on the issue, whether they are victories or setbacks.