In tennis, the initial contact with the ball isn't enough for a good serve, you need to follow through. Same thing in organizing, it's not the initial contact, you need to follow through.
I am a big proponent of following up with people. I believe it is the little bit of extra effort that often separates success from failure.
That’s why I was delighted to read Marnie Webb’s post on the Case Foundation’s blog on the art of the follow through.
Why follow up? As Marnie writes, “we also want to make sure that the people who do sign up have ways to increase their engagement. And that’s about the art of the follow through.”
She offers five easy ways to follow through:
- Write them a note. For no reason at all.
- Show up at their party.
- Give your supporters something special.
- Give them something else to do.
- Ask for feedback and change because of it.
These are just the highlights. Read Marnie’s post for some great tips and comments on them.
3 comments ↓
Thanks for sharing this. I keep wrestling with how to make these steps more pragmatic and organized so that it’s easier to follow up and you can actually see, as an organization, some of the benefits.
I agree, Marnie. One of the big challenges with follow-up is that it is a long-term investment in a relationship, it often doesn’t have immediate payback. For myself, I know that if there are things demanding my attention right now, it’s hard to make the time for follow-up.
That’s one of the reasons I blog about it so much, so that I remind myself to do it
[...] Remember the “ladder of engagement“: This old-school concept applies as well in the Internet-age. Basically, you need people who will give a lot of time, talent, and treasure to your cause, and you find them by inviting them in with low-effort activities. The people who are really excited about your petition are people who are good candidates to help circulate that petition. (just be sure to identify easy-to-do first steps and make sure you follow through). [...]
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