Creating Successful Petitions on Change.org from Benjamin Rattray on Vimeo.

Those do-gooder techie types over at Change.org have launched a free online petition tool. This makes it possible for people like you to easily create a petition to a local official, and then use email, Facebook, Twitter, and other channels to urge people to sign it. If you don’t have the capability to host a petition on your own website, this might be a good option for you.

Conventional wisdom on this subject is that the more online petitions like this an official receives, the less attention they pay to them. I accept that — but  many local officials have yet to receive their first online petition, and they will presumably quite a bit of attention to the first one. So it might as well come from you!

Also, petitions are great ways to capture email addresses and help your supporters feel involved in your work. It’s an opportunity to identify who might be willing to take the next, more meaningful step. For example, some of the people who sign your petition might be willing to come along and provide moral support next time you visit that official in person.