Blog
Notes on writing petitions that work, what happens after you hit submit, and the conversations they start.
How to Write a Petition That Actually Gets Signed
The difference between a petition that stalls at twelve signatures and one that spreads is almost always in the first three sentences.
More posts
The First Ten Signatures Are Different From the Next Thousand
Early signers join because they know you. Later signers join because they trust the number. Here's how to get from one group to the other.
What Actually Happens After You Sign a Petition
Signing takes ten seconds. What it sets in motion — or doesn't — depends a lot on what kind of petition it is.
Why "One Signature Per Email" Is the Whole Point
A petition's power comes from being believable. That's a harder problem than it sounds like.
Why Local Petitions Tend to Work Better Than National Ones
A petition about your street has a clearer target, a clearer audience, and a clearer path to an answer than one about the whole country.
Why Starting a Petition Requires an Account (and Signing Doesn't)
The two different bars — one for starting, one for signing — aren't an accident. They're doing two different jobs.
Why a Petition Does Something a Viral Post Doesn't
Outrage online is easy to generate and easy to scroll past. A petition asks for something a screenshot can't.
How Long Should a Petition Actually Stay Open?
There's no universal answer, but the wrong answer is usually "as long as possible."
Why Some Petitions Don't Make It Through Review
Moderation isn't about the cause — it's almost always about how the ask is written.
Your Petition Worked. Now What?
Getting the signatures was the easy part. What you do with them determines whether anything actually changes.
How a petition actually gets read
A petition only works if the right person sees it. Here's what happens after you hit submit.
Five minutes that decide whether your petition gets signed
Most visitors decide whether to sign within the first two sentences. Here's how to earn that time.