Recommended actions for users in the Proposal Progress Dashboard

Consul Democracy Software has a proposal dashboard that allows users who create proposals to follow their evolution, and receive advice and resources to make them successful.

Below are "Recommended Actions" that can be suggested to users in this dashboard.

Recommended Actions before publishing the proposal.

Make your campaign look its best

Adding a photo or video to your proposal gets up to 6 times more support than proposals that don't have it! It is essential that you choose the best possible photograph and, if the people involved in the proposal appear in it, so much the better! In addition, here are some more technical tips for you to apply to the choice of the image of your proposal. Follow them and you will see the result:

• Pictures of animals and people always work better.

• Large photos always look better, but watch out, the image should not exceed 1Mb of maximum weight!

• Make your photo suitable for all audiences and do not contain explicit content.

Choose a short, powerful and eye-catching title

It's important to get to the point. Share your proposal with everyone. Focus on the solution, the benefit or what needs to be solved. Locate your citizen proposal.

Talk to family and friends first

Tell them about your proposal, ask them for advice and, once you've published it, ask them to share it on their social networks. They will be the first to support your campaign.

Ask for support in person

Although we have the means to reach hundreds and thousands of people in an instant, nothing works better than asking for support in person. It's 34 times more effective than email!

Prepare your messages on social networks

Create a small calendar of weekly publications on Facebook and/or Twitter (three a week is enough for the first few months). Use images in which you appear yourself requesting support or eye-catching images about the project. And above all: use simple language, direct when asking for support and always with personalized messages if you are going to address your contacts privately. It is important that they feel involved and not just one more in your need to get support.

Always express your gratitude

Whether they support you or not, always say thank you. In addition to showing your appreciation, it will serve to create a new communication that could attract other people to your proposal and thus gain new support.

Tell your friends in person

Before publishing, make an event or plan with your people, friends, family, co-workers ... Gather everyone around a few beers and a good conversation, tell them your proposal and invite them to improve and participate in it. This idea can easily be combined with the creation of your surveys prior to the publication of the proposal. You can develop the surveys for these meetings and discuss the conclusions; or have them answer them in situ, whichever you prefer.

Create a custom survey

Surveys serve to solve doubts, ask for opinions, improve your proposal and also to create a community around which to grow support for your proposal, once you have refined and improved and decide to make it public for all of them. This idea can easily be combined with the organization of a meeting or event in which you tell all your contacts, friends and family what your proposal is and why the importance of their support to achieve your objectives.

Inform about your plans before publication

You don't need to have your proposal fully created or published to start talking about it. In fact, we recommend that you post it on your social networks and talk to your friends and family about it before it comes out. It's what's called a "teaser" campaign and serves to create expectation about something that will arrive very soon. To do this, we recommend that you include this type of message in your social networking posts. In fact, you can copy these texts and use them if you wish:

• Very soon I will create my own citizen proposal to improve our city, and I will need your support more than ever. I will keep you informed from here. Thank you all very much".

• This is a message for all those who care about their city, their neighborhood and our future. I want to improve the city with a proposal that very soon I will send to all of you so that together, we can make it happen. Thank you all!

Include hashtags in your publications

The hashtag is an indispensable tool to increase participation and your support. It is mainly used on Twitter, but Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or Google+ also incorporate this option. It is highly recommended that when publishing, always use the same hashtags in your publications to create your own content. Do a search or ask for help on which ones to use and which have to do with your specific proposal. We leave here some examples or ideas of hashtags that have to do with various social areas that could deal with your proposal. But ideally you should use others that are more in line with the theme of your own.

Add your purpose to the businesses in your neighborhood

Perhaps your proposal will directly influence the businesses in your neighborhood and may even help to improve their situation, and you, for sure, know those people who run or manage them, don't you? Contact them and tell them everything to help you get votes. They, like you, will win too!

Add your purpose to NGOs or social centers in your neighborhood

Perhaps your proposal has a direct influence on improving the quality of life of people living in your neighbourhood or locality, including those with fewer resources and the most disadvantaged groups or those at risk of social exclusion. Contact the NGO and Social Centres near you and tell them about your proposal so that they can help you win votes. They will be delighted to collaborate!

Do you know any influencers?

An "influencer" is a person who has numerous followers in social networks. Therefore, if in your close environment you know someone who is or who actively uses their social profiles and gets a lot or some impact on them, it is a great opportunity to tell them about your proposal and ask them to help you spread it by sharing it on their social networks.

Share your proposal in facebook communities

It is essential that you seek the support you need everywhere. The communities and groups (private or open) on Facebook in the city are also a good place to gather new support and allies on your way to the goal. To do this, look for and select well those communities and groups already created on Facebook that are more in tune with the nature of your proposal. For example, if your proposal is about "improving a public park", you will probably find the support you need in cyclists, running groups, collectives and people close to the park, etc. Ask to join them, and once you are inside, publish there your proposal informing them about it and asking them respectfully, their support in improving your city. Always bear in mind how to focus your message so that it is the most appropriate for the group in which you publish and also for their interests. Think that in the end it's about getting support from people you don't know, and they too, must understand what benefit they get from helping you. And of course, in no case should they perceive your request as "spam" or intrusive, so be tactful when asking for your support.

Carefully analyze other proposals

It seems obvious, but make sure you do. Before your proposal sees the light, look at how other citizens have done when creating theirs: photography, messages, title ... There will be some that you like more and less, better or worse exposed, you must analyze them and keep the best of each to implement it to your own.

Publish your proposal

If you think you are already prepared to make a campaign to disseminate your proposal, publish 4your proposal in the section that you will find in the "Edit my proposal" menu of this proposal dashboard. From that moment on, you will receive more diffusion advice and you will have goals to get more and more resources.

Recommended ACTIONS once the proposal has been published.

Use your social networks

In the pre-campaign phase we already invite you to use your social networks, they are the best way to reach as many people as possible! In addition, we have also given you a KIT of images so that you can communicate your proposal. Now, we also advise you to directly copy and paste the link of your proposal in your social profiles so that people can access and support you.

Apply the actions you have pending

It's time to take the actions we advised you to take a step further while your proposal was in draft form. If you don't know them, it's time to review them carefully. The first day of the campaign is very important, because your proposal is among the new ones published, has more attention on the web today. Take advantage and spread!

Use whatsapp to spread

Your friends, family, your close environment will support you so that your proposal is carried out. Don't forget to copy the link of your proposal and include it in your message so that they can go directly to support you! Share it in all your groups, paste it to all your contacts personally and you will get results faster!

Continue to ask for support from new ambassadors of your proposal

Your proposal to improve the city can also improve the lives of many people including those who run bars, greengrocers, hairdressers, or help others like NGO, Social Centres, Neighbourhood Associations... Think about who might be interested in supporting your proposal, tell them everything in detail and you will see how you get many more supports than you expected!

Ask them to let you put up posters

Surely you get along great with those owners of businesses, shops, shops, social and civic 5centers, associations ... of your neighborhood. Ask them to let you place in their facilities and premises some sign informing of your proposal so that everyone who passes by can support you and tell others! To do this, you can tell them personally or use the new resources on the web. When you get the necessary support (if you don't already have it), you will see that we have put a "Poster" resource at your disposal so that you can download it and print it or print it directly from this tool. Once you have it, ask for permission, and paste it in different places so that everyone who passes by can know about your proposal and enter the platform to support you.

Print your proposal and distribute it

You're asking for their support and it's normal for them to ask you for more information. The best thing is not to complain too much to them in the first place. Make some copies of the summary of your proposal, and give them to whomever you consider appropriate. People tend to be interested in and support that which seems serious and thoughtful. Therefore, we advise you to write your proposal briefly and print several copies so that all those who wish to know more can read at home and understand with peace of mind what it is really about.

Ask your people to share your proposal

The more people know about your proposal, the better! Don't hesitate to ask your friends, family and contacts to share your initiative in their social networks as well. Unity is strength! In the pre-campaign phase we already invite you to use your social networks, they are the best way to reach as many people as possible! In addition, we have also given you a KIT of images so that you can communicate your proposal. And if you want, you can also pass on this KIT to them to publish the images and capture support for you through their personal profiles.

Your neighbors are a great community to ask for support.

The place where you live is the ideal place to ask for support because you know your neighbors and in a personal way you can ask them to help you, is simple and effective. To do this, you can tell them personally, post a poster on your website or call a meeting at home for those interested. You will see that you have the resource "Poster" so that you can download and print it. If necessary, help them to become a user on the platform. If you have called a meeting, and they come to your house or you have a computer, tablet or mobile phone with Internet, you can give them a hand to register as a new user and support you.

---

Create business cards adapting them to spread your proposal

Do you know how much it costs to make 500 cards to present your proposal and capture new support immediately? It is very cheap. Find the website that you trust the most or print them in a copy shop, and ask everyone to help you distribute them: friends and family, neighbors, co- 6workers, people from the neighborhood ... Whoever you want! It doesn't matter if you don't know the people you ask to support your proposal, whoever you least expect can help you! But you have to make it easy for them, that's why: add the title and identifier of your proposal on the card, the link to the website and your name and don't forget to ask everyone to support you, not just visit the link!

Ask for support in your work

Do not hesitate to let them know about the creation of your proposal and the need for their support to make it a reality. In them, you will find an enormous source of support that can be extended beyond if you get them to talk about the proposal in their personal environments, so it is worth making the effort for just one day and not being too insistent. To do this, you can tell them personally the motivation that led you to publish the proposal or explain it as a group in the moments of rest. You can also ask your boss for permission to send an email to everyone asking for support. You can use business cards or the poster you already know. Once you have it, ask for permission, and paste it in different places such as the entrance to the bathroom, the rest area...

Your proposal is still alive!

Writing joint messages to all users who are contributing is a tool which used in moderation can be used to solicit more ideas or contacts for dissemination, even to forward the message between their known contacts and social networks. You can send a bulk message to users who follow the community of your proposal and also contact privately individually. See the Dashboard section " Community".