Petitions and surveys are essential tools for building your campaign’s email list and recruiting new online donors. According to data from CampaignInnovation.org, 52% of political donors reported signing an online petition.
Campaigns should always allocate budget for paid promotion of petitions and surveys on Facebook and other platforms, but conversion rates – the share of people completing them – will increase if you select topics that are timely and relevant. Choosing the right topic can save you money, get more sign ups, or both.
A successful petition or survey uses a topic that is already in the news and will spread more easily online. Here are four ways you can identify effective topics.
Scan News Aggregator Websites
News aggregator websites, like DrudgeReport.com or AllTop.com/politics, are holdovers from the early days of the web but still serve as an important point of entry for millions of internet users. A link from the Drudge Report can drive significant traffic for a website.
Do a quick scan to see what stories are on the front page and whether they might tie-in to an issue you’re campaigning on.
View Recent Facebook Posts from Popular Conservative Influencers
Link posts from the Facebook pages of popular conservative influencers like Ben Shapiro, Dan Bongino, and Jeanine Pirro are regularly among the top ten best performing on the entire platform. This helpful Twitter account keeps track.
Visit these pages to learn what’s setting the agenda for political conversation on Facebook each day.
Check Out What’s Trending on Twitter
Twitter trends are another source to gauge what news is driving the conversation, particularly among journalists. This can offer you a sneak peak at what will be driving the news cycle – and political reaction to it – a few days early, giving you a head start to prepare.
Visit the Facebook Ad Archive
You can see what list building petitions and surveys other advertisers are paying to promote on Facebook. Just look up the pages for similar candidates and organizations in the Ad Archive here.
A post that has been running a long time or with significant investment is a sure bet for a successful petition or survey topic.
The better you get to know your own supporters, the more you’ll recognize topics for petitions and surveys that will drive email list building. Playing it safe with a non-controversial topic is a trade off that will drive up your costs and lower your conversion rate.