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7.1 Step 1: Determine what kind of Actions to take

There are hundreds of possible things you or your Pebblings can do to further your cause, but the key is selecting the right Actions based on your circumstances and resources. While there is no “formula” for how to choose, we can offer some ideas of how to be at least a little more effective.

Prioritize your Community

Before you start scheduling your Actions, you should spend some time thinking about who you need to talk to first, second, third and so on. For example, some campaigns, especially for elected office, like to prioritize voters based on their likelihood to participate in the election. That is, they talk to likely voters first. Other campaigns talk to people who can contribute time or money first.

Now we've also seen the opposite. We've seen a person win an election by talking only to people she knew her opponents weren't talking to. But she still prioritized those people based on who she thought would vote for her once they heard her Message.

That said, some think the first people to talk to are the people who will help grow your cause as fast as possible. In campaigns they often call this building a base. That is, you should talk to people who could become Pebblings first. The more Pebblings you have, the more people you can talk to, and the more frequently you can talk to them. This grassroots organizing also can create a very “deep” support. People who have performed work or have told others to support a cause are likely to perform more work and much less likely to leave the cause when the other side (if one exists) talks to them.

If you want to build a base, the first Action your Pebblings should be asked to perform is likely to recruit more Pebblings. And those Pebblings first task should be to recruit more Pebblings. If you can get 20 Pebblings to get 20 more Pebblings to help, you'll have 400 Pebblings. If you can get those 400 Pebblings to each simply tell 20 more people about your campaign, you're team will have talked to, in person, 8000 people. And person to person persuasion is one of the most powerful ways to move a Message.

So, if you look at your Community and feel you have to talk to everyone, and that everyone is a priority, we suggest you look at your current available resources. Can you really talk to everyone? If so, great! Head to the section on “How to reach out” and start getting to work. If not, think about who to talk to who will have the greatest impact on your campaign by helping you talk to even more people.

Determine How to Reach Out

If you know who you want to reach out to within your Community, the next step is to figure out the best way to reach out to them, this will help you determine the type of Action to take and how to configure that Action.

Answer these questions:

• Where are the people you are trying to reach?
• Are they scattered geographically, concentrated geographically? Do they congregate somewhere (online of offline)? If so where and when?
• Where the people “are” will help determine where you need to “go” and
• How to get there. For example, if everyone is on the same block, you might be able to walk door-to-door (known as a canvass). For example, if everyone is scattered across the city, you might be better off calling them. For example, if everyone meets once a week at church or the local town hall then you could show up there.
• What do they want to hear and from whom? You have something to say, but it might not be the best way to talk about it with these people. Maybe they don't know you but do know, and like, someone who is supporting you, for example. Would it be better to have that person talk on your behalf? Maybe they won't have time to talk, and you'll have to just offer some literature. If you're stuck about what to say, take a look at the Message and Media section of this guide. What kind of materials are you going to need to reach them? If you have a good idea of how you are going to reach people, think about the materials you will need to reach them. Do your Pebblings need some literature, instructions, a script, some talking points? Think about everything you need to perform the task.
• What information do you want to collect? Do you want to know who your supporters are, get people to sign a petition, sign up to volunteer, sign up to receive more information?