Digital Tools For Progressive Campaigns
Are you working with a progressive or Democratic political campaign or organization? These digital tools are for you. Hope they’re helpful!
Have any to add to our list? Looking for something that’s not here? Need help getting started with any on our list?
Tools For Building A Website
If you’re working with a developer, you will likely have your site built in WordPress. The upside of WordPress is that it’s super powerful (over 43% of the internet runs on WordPress!). The downside is that there’s a bit of a learning curve. This site is built in WordPress and we love it. But if you’re not looking to become an expert in web development, and you don’t need anything too complicated, WordPress might not be for you.
Squarespace and Wix are both popular options. Both are drag and drop, meaning you can literally move any element you want anywhere you want on the site. Neither is as powerful as WordPress, but for a downballot campaign, both are probably fine. And afforable. And you can start with templates and build from there.
Carrd.co is a fun and easy to use tool and it’s free to use. Or you can upgrade for just $19/year (yes, a year!). It only lets you build landing pages, not websites. But it’s very easy to work with and you can make pretty decent looking sub-sites for campaigns and projects.
Tools Specifically Built For Democrats/Progressive Campaigns
RUN!: They describe themselves as “the campaign website builder for Democrats and advocacy orgs.” Pricing starts at just a few hundred dollars. They don’t charge based on functionality, but rather on the size of the electorate. They (righteously!) offer a 50% discount off their startup fee for long-shot democratic campaigns.
Learn more at DesignedToRun.com.
Swayed.Digital: Their tagline is “we make campaign websites for Democrats.” Templated sites start at $349, but you can also hire them to review your work, or to build out your site outright.
Learn more at Swayed.Digital.
Winnable: Starting at $50 a month, campaigns and causes of any size can build and launch a high-quality website in minutes, with no startup fee.
Learn more at Winnable.App.
Mailing List/CRM Management
Mailchimp: Used by… a lot of people across a lot of industries. They’re biggest plus – because it’s so popular, you can find a lot of people who know how to work with it. And it’s also quite powerful. That said, their pricing keeps going up and they’re gotten quite expensive the last few years. If your list is in the hundreds (or even low thousands), this probably won’t matter. But if you have a big list, or think you’ll grow one, prepare your budget accordingly.
Learn more at Mailchimp.com.
Constant Contact: Another popular option used by campaigns and non-campaigns alike. Less market share than Mailchimp, but still plenty of folks who know their way around the platform. Also less expensive than Mailchimp.
Learn more at ConstantContact.com.
Tools Specifically Built For Democrats/Progressive Campaigns
NGP VAN: This is one of the most widely used CRMs and digital organizing platforms by the Democratic Party and progressive organizations. NGP VAN offers a suite of tools for fundraising, compliance, field organizing, and digital engagement. It’s particularly known for its comprehensive voter database and tools for canvassing, phone banking, and managing volunteers.
Learn more at NGPVAN.com.
Action Network: Very popular with grassroots progressive organizations, Action Network provides tools for email campaigning, fundraising, advocacy, and event management. Its features are designed to mobilize supporters and activists effectively.
Learn more at AactionNetwork.org
EveryAction: Used by both Democrats and non-profits, EveryAction offers tools for fundraising, advocacy, and organizing. It’s known for its user-friendly interface and robust integration capabilities.
Learn more at Docs.EveryAction.com.
Campaign Deputy: They provide tools for fundraising, email and more. “Easy-to-use for first time candidates and powerful enough for when you run for Congress.”
Learn more at CampaignDeputy.com
Numero: They call themselves an “all-in-one database and call time app” that serves as built for Democratic elected officials and candidates at all levels of public office.
Learn more at Numero.ai.
Universe: They provide “all the tools to run your local campaign from start to finish. From training volunteers to calling potential donors, Universe is with you every step of the journey.”
My team and I work with progressive campaigns, organizations and brands, helping them win the internet.
Voterfile Tools
VAN, short for Voter Activation Network: This is a crucial component of the NGP VAN platform, widely regarded as the backbone for Democratic campaigns and progressive organizations in the US. It’s essentially a comprehensive database and software suite designed for managing voter information, enhancing voter outreach, and optimizing campaign strategies. You can use it for voter database management, targeting and canvassing tools, and more.
It’s can be expensive to access depending on the size of your electorate, but many state parties can provide access to campaigns in good standing with the party.
Learn more at NGPVAN.com.
Votivate: A project of Working Family Party, describes itself as “a groundbreaking platform that’s reshaping the face of progressive campaigns and civic organizations.” You can get started with the tool for free, and scale up as needed.
Learn more at Votivate.com.
Acquisition and Data Tools
TargetSmart: If you want to take your ad targeting further than the platforms allow, TargetSmart can sell you targeting data to help ensure your targeting is on point.
Learn more at TargetSmart.com.
L2: They too can provide you data for your campaigns. While TargetSmart only works with Democrats and progressives, L2 is non-partisan.
Learn more at L2-Data.com.
Civic Shout: Founded as a way to end campaigns buying and selling email addresses, Civic Shout allows Democratic and progressive campaigns and organizations to create petitions as a way to ethically grow their lists.
Learn more at CivicShout.com.
Digital Ad and Email Libraries
Facebook: Since 2018, Facebook has stored all political ads into a searchable database for 7 years. You can search ads by campaign, keyword and more. Great for seeing what your opponent(s) are doing, or to just get a better sense of what kind of ads are out there at the moment.
Learn more at facebook.com/ads/library.
Google: Google also lets you search all political ads that run on their platform.
Learn more at adstransparency.google.com.
Milled: Want to see past emails sent by an organization or campaign? Milled is a search engine for newsletters. Can be very helpful for inspiration, opponent tracking and more.
Learn more at Milled.com.
Archive of Political Emails: Just like Milled, but focused exclusively on campaigns. They “collect emails from political candidates, elected officials, PACs, non-profits, NGOs and others shaping the political debate.”
Learn more at politicalemails.org.
New tools emerge all the time. We do our best to keep this list up to date, but we can’t do it without you. Have a tool to add to the list?
Fundraising Tools
ActBlue: There are many options out there for raising funds online. Unless they aren’t eligible (which happens with some judicial races we work), ActBlue is always our first choice. It’s easy to use, they have good customer service and everyone in the field uses it.
Learn more at ActBlue.com.
Event and Community Management Tools
Mobilize: This a comprehensive platform widely embraced by Democratic campaigns and progressive organizations for its robust suite of tools designed to streamline volunteer management, event organization, and supporter engagement. Here’s a more detailed description:
Learn more at Mobilize.us.
Texting Tools
Switchboard: They provide a powerful and affordable platform to connect with your audience via SMS and MMS messaging.
Learn more at OneSwitchboard.com.
Hustle: A peer-to-peer (P2P) texting platform that enables personalized, one-on-one conversations with voters and supporters, widely used for mobilization and fundraising. (It’s worth noting that the CEO of The Hustle donates money to Donald Trump — so if you are looking for a tool that aligns with your progressive values, this may not be the tool for you.)
Learn more at Hustle.com.
GetThru (formerly Relay): ThruText, GetThru’s P2P texting tool, is popular among political campaigns, nonprofits, and educational institutions for its effectiveness in fundraising, organizing, and engaging supporters.
Learn more at GetThru.io.
Twilio: A broader communication platform that offers powerful APIs, allowing campaigns to create customized texting solutions for mass texting and automated campaigns.
Learn more at Twilio.com.
Scale To Win: “A peer-to-peer texting program built by organizers, for organizers. It’s lightning fast, lower cost than our competitors, and packed with the critical features you won’t find in other tools.”
Learn more at ScaleToWin.com.
Message Testing Tools
Grow Progress: They let you quickly and scientifically test which of your messages are most persuasive to which audiences. It’s an easy self-serve tool.
Learn more at GrowProgress.AI.
Swayable: Swayable let’s campaigns test “to learn what really works. They get deep insights in under 24 hours with no media spend required. It’s real science, finally applied to public opinion and consumer insights.”
Learn more at Swayable.com.
Blue Rose Research: They “help campaigns make higher quality strategic decisions by democratizing access to accurate measurement.”
Learn more at BlueRoseResearch.org.
Social Media Management Tools
There are A LOT of powerful social media management tools out there.
HootSuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, Agorapulse, Monday.com… the list goes on and on.
Here’s a non-partial blog post walking through the key features, pros and cons, and pricing, of each.
Here at Reverbal Communications, we’re partial to Publer.io. While it doesn’t do everything, for the price, it’s our favorite of the many that we’ve tested over the years. Here’s a blog post we wrote walking through some of the features that we love, with step-by-step instructions on how to use them.
General Resources
The Democracy Labs: A hub for ongoing technology and creative innovation that serves campaigns and organizations, providing tools and case studies for tech solutions that exist for campaigns at every level.
Learn more at TheDemLabs.org.
Hear our podcast conversation with Democracy Labs founder Deepak Puri about the work he is doing to serve grassroots, progressive campaigns and organizations.
Progressive Exchange: An online community to share information about online strategies, tactics and tools among people doing digital organizing, advocacy, marketing and fundraising to build power and grow the progressive movement.
Learn more at ProgressiveExchange.org.
Into Action Lab Cultural Calendar: Into Action Lab has curated a list of the most important national, political, and cultural events and anniversaries to help you organize for a better future in 2024 and beyond. From National Voter Registration Day to Bob Dylan’s birthday, this calendar has it all!
Learn more here.
Center for Digital Strategy: “The place for digital strategy, skills, and community empowering you to engage, scale, and make real impacts.”
Learn more at CenterForDigitalStrategy.com.
Gain Power: A professional network for people dedicated to promoting progressive politics. They host events, hold job fairs, run trainings and more.
Learn more at GainPower.org.
Content Worth Checking Out
While of course you can read Politico and the Washington Post, there are some publications that are more narrowly intended for people working campaigns. This list is not even close to exhaustive. But it should give you a few places to get you started.
Campaigns and Elections: A go-to resource for political professionals.
Learn more at CampaignsAndElections.com.
FWIW: A newsletter tracking digital spending, strattegy and trends in our elections.
Learn more at FWIW.news.
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics Intersect: This is a podcast we host where we checking in with candidates, consultants, strategists and more about what’s working — and what’s not — in the political digital world.
Learn more at HelloMergeTag.com.
Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest: Every weekday morning, they send an email rounding up all the important news about all the key races around the country.
Learn more here.
Message Box: Dan Pfeiffer, a Comms Director for President Obama and a host of Pod Save America, writes this great newsletter about political and messaging strategy.
Learn more at MessageBoxNews.com.