And Now For Something New...

03:30 PM Sep 13, 2005

Much is being said about how to build your list, flog your blog and encourage action online, so here is a retro concept ---offline organizing. This morning I attended a workshop by Civic Action Strategies on turning online activists into offline activists. Quick translation---getting email addresses is not enough.

Often times the gap between having your supporters take action online and encouraging them to participate in offline events such as strategy sessions, film screenings and community events is more difficult to breach than you would like. However, these activities are key to fostering strong relationships with your constituents and keeping them interested in your issue.

Some helpful tips from the training on initial offline engagement strategies:

• Encourage face-to-face or phone interaction to supplement online outreach efforts

• Target community outreach to build on existing relationships ( religious, occupational, voluntary)

• Create polls and questionnaires to get supporter feedback on what community activities they would participate in

• Use educational conferences to help train people to become community organizers for your issue

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