How to Recruit Volunteers to Your Campaign

So you’ve decided to run for office. That’s great!

By now you know that campaigns are not won by candidates alone.

You need to find those wonderful people who will volunteer for you and help you achieve your goals. It's 100% doable, but it does take a lot of time and effort.

Before putting your volunteers to work, you need to recruit and prepare them to ensure the success of your campaign.

As you build your team of volunteers, your campaign will begin to see the value of the extra help.

You’ll be able to knock on more doors, send more letters and emails, make more phone calls, and engage with even more voters than before. All of these things are necessary for victory, and you can’t do it all alone.

Here are three tips to help you recruit the best campaign volunteers.

1. Ask your friends and family

Recruit volunteers by asking friends and family

Contacting your friends and family is a good place to start.

They are likely to help you in any way they can to win your election.

Before you ask them for help, think about what they can do to serve your campaign.

Do they have a large online following so they can share your social media posts? Can they help with campaign finances? Think about what service they can provide and ask them for help.

Also, your friends have other friends. Ask your friends and family to reach out to their friends and family to see if they can also recruit volunteers for your campaign.

It’s about giving voters ownership of your campaign’s success and making sure they know they are a crucial part of your campaign.

Ask them to own their role and recruit other volunteers!

2. Use social media

Recruit volunteers by using social media

Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other platform, social media can be the perfect place to recruit new volunteers.

Someone re-posting or sharing your request can lead to an influx of new volunteers.

Ask your friends, family, and others to "Like" your campaign page on Facebook and follow all of your other social media accounts.

You can also make a more targeted appeal for volunteers by creating a strategic social media plan.

For example, you can create a Facebook ad targeted to your voters to find volunteers you may have not reached with an organic post.

You can also create Facebook events and invite users to a volunteer rally or a campaign kick-off party!

Remember, the only way to find volunteers is to ask people to volunteer.

3. Check with your local political party and groups

Recruit volunteers by checking local political groups

When you first kick off your campaign you may not have a long list of supporters, but reaching out to existing groups is a good way to reach new audiences.

If you don’t belong to any groups in your community, join a few!

Research a few interest groups in your area that matter to you and attend their meetings.

Building relationships through community groups will lead to excited and engaged ambassadors.

Voters will be able to relate and see your ambassadors as examples of what your campaign represents in your community.

If you are not already a member of your local political party, be sure to join them and ask them for resources to support your campaign. They will be ready to help!