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How to Get Your Petition Noticed (and Meet Your Signatures Goal)

It’s time to tackle an issue that affects every petition, regardless of the topic: promotion and awareness. Now that we’ve developed our petition and identified our targets, we need to get the word out.

Promotion and awareness of your petition has three main components:

Read on for road-tested tips from our staff to get the most mileage out of your efforts.

Sharing Your Petition

Share your petition on social media

Online petitions are beautifully built for easy sharing! But it’s important to appreciate the nuances of each sharing channel.

  • Facebook

    Make your Facebook posts ‘public,’ so that when your friends like the post or offer comments, it will automatically be posted for their friends to see.

    Julie Mastrine, Social Media Manager, Care2 Petitions
    Julie Mastrine,
    Activism Marketing and
    Social Media Manager

    “You really can’t beat Facebook for promoting petitions — the algorithm simply offers a lot of opportunities for your petition to go viral.”

  • Twitter

    Twitter harnesses the power of #hashtags, so create your own hashtag or find a related issue and use their hashtag to draw attention to your petition.

    Jen Johnson, Manager of Member Activism, Care2 Petitions
    Jen Johnson,
    Manager of Member Activism

    “Be sure to repeat your tweets so that they can get noticed.”


  • E-mail

    Care2 offers e-mail promotion tools to all petition authors. Make sure to include a link in the e-mail to the petition itself, as well as easy links for people to share your petition via Facebook and Twitter. Multiple streams of exposure will boost participation!

    Julie Mastrine, Social Media Manager, Care2 Petitions
    Julie Mastrine,
    Activism Marketing and
    Social Media Manager

    “A well-crafted, persuasive e-mail can do wonders for getting attention for your campaign”


Attracting Signatures to Your Petition

In addition to online awareness, make sure to utilize old-school petition tactics as well to reach your participation goal:

  • Use local media

    Get in touch with a reporter at your local newspapers and TV stations, which are often eager to cover local activism efforts. When speaking to media, be ready to talk enthusiastically and informatively about your cause and petition.

  • Hit the ground running

    Host a public event at a local restaurant, coffee shop or park to gather supporters together and create momentum.

    Julie Mastrine, Social Media Manager, Care2 Petitions
    Julie Mastrine,
    Activism Marketing and
    Social Media Manager

    “Gathering dedicated supporters at a public event shows your future supporters and your target that you’re serious about your effort.”


  • Be open to questions or concerns

    Be honest with signers about who will see their signature. Emphasize that their signature and support can truly make a difference. And be prepared for difficult questions and challenges to your efforts. Respond with calm and focused talking points.

Encourage the First Wave of Signers to Recruit the Second and Third Wave Among Their Family and Friends

  • Pay it Forward!

    Encourage your new supporters to become owners of the cause. Their help extends beyond their physical or online signature — ask them to help with e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter promotion to reach a wider audience. Our online petitions make that easy to do!

  • Provide Updates

    Alert your current and future supporters of developments in the situation. This will prompt them to share again through their online profiles.

  • Promote again and again!

    Posting each day (or even weekly) on Facebook or Twitter gives people multiple opportunities to learn more about your cause and why it matters to them, as well as what they can do to bring about change.

Your issue is worth sharing. Take every opportunity available through social media and traditional methods to get the word out!

Use your own creativity to bring the issue to your friends and family. Your passion and enthusiasm can spur small ripples of support locally, and through promotion and awareness can grow into tidal waves regionally and even nationally!