Tips on Getting Petition Signatures

If you've ever started an online petition and didn't get as many signatures as you had hoped, there's a possibility that you didn't promote it right. Even if there are millions of people who share the same beliefs and interests as you, you can't expect them to sign your petition if they don't know it exists! Many people make the mistake of writing an online petition and not promoting it as well as they should. Sometimes it takes a bit of work to get a lot of signatures for a petition.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself about your petition:

• Is it short, sweet, and to the point? People usually want to sign petitions, not spend all day reading them.

• Is it written coherently? Are there any typos? Nobody's going to take a petition seriously if it looks like it was written by a ten year old.

• Do you try promoting it through social bookmarking sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Yahoo Answers, and Youtube? Try to find people on sites like those who share similar interests with you.

• Did you try promoting it on message boards? What about chat rooms? Try establishing yourself on an expert on the cause(s) you wish to petition about. Others will be interested in what you have to say and will be more willing to sign.

• Did you write articles and/or editorials about the cause(s) most important to you? Well, you should do so. Submit the articles to article directories and include the url for your petition in the resource box. You should also consider starting your own blog or website. At the very least, comment on other people's blog entries and articles. Make sure you leave the url to your petition for everyone to see.

• Did you email the petition to family, friends, and acquaintances? If it's truly for an important cause, don't worry about them getting angry over "junk mail". It's not like you're trying to sell them something.

• Have you ever thought about offline marketing? Create flyers explaining your petition and hang them up around town. Make sure you have the url of the online petition written on each flyer.

• Try getting word out through radio stations, newspapers, and news stations. Show passion about the cause(s) you're fighting for. How can you expect anyone to share your enthusiasm if you're not showing any yourself!?

Online petition sites, such as Petition Spot, offer a great deal of help in getting your petition out there for people to sign. Online petitions obviously must work on some level considering there are thousands of them written every month! There are millions of signatures that can be found on Petition Spot alone, and that's just one site! Why don't you join in? Whether your petition concerns civil rights issues, problems with certain media outlets, the war, global warning, animal rights, etc., you will have opportunities to promote it.

If you're low on money, you can still promote your petitions for free! It doesn't have to cost any money to start, promote, and sign an online petition. Petition Spot will help you every step of the way. If you've browsed through online petition sites before, I'm sure you've noticed that a lot of them really do look like they're written by ten year olds. It can mean either one of two things:

1. The person who wrote it obviously isn't taking it very seriously, so most people probably aren't going to take them seriously. This is why you should take some time on writing yours.

2: It really WAS written by a ten year old, and this could be a good thing. If young people are writing out petitions and having their friends sign them, they can learn a lot.

This can be proof that petitions are truly helping shape the world. Since so many people of all backgrounds and ages have an interest in petitions, they are learning their first amendment rights. This means that there are more people than ever out there who may eventually sign your own petition. It can take hard work to have a successful petition, but it may not be as hard as you think.

You may want to consider having a friend go over and proofread your petition before officially promoting it. Ask your friends and family members if it is easy for them to understand, and if they would sign it. It's ok to ask for advice. Remember, you're trying to help change the world, so do everything you can to make sure you do it in a very professional way. Petition Spot has sample petitions that you can look over as well. You can find sample petitions for many different causes, which may give you ideas.

Don't be shy, either. Do whatever it takes to get word out about your petition. If you have to do a lot of hard work with promoting your petition, then so be it. Petitions are for good causes, and they're worth every second of your time. So make those calls to your local radio and news stations. If you have enough resources, try promoting it nationally! Thanks to the Internet, it's possible to even promote online petitions internationally! Why not just do it all?

The sky is the limit where online petitions are concerned. The information age that we're living in gives us all we need, and then some, when it comes to voicing our opinions. Online petitions are an excellent way for millions of people around the world to put their word in about important causes. You should never become frustrated if it seems that you're having trouble getting word out about your petition. Do the tips provided above, keep your enthusiasm, and never give up. Never forget that there are many others out there that care about the same causes as you do. They're waiting for their voices to be heard. Do everything you can to promote your petition to them, so that everyone can get their chance to speak out!