How do you know if running a campaign is right for you? Gut check

Whether you work in communications campaign management, public relations, marketing, social media, or advocacy, you may be called upon to run a communications campaign. How do you know if a topic is a good fit for you? Here are my four tips on how to check in with yourself.

The first question to ask is: do you have a choice in the matter? Is this something that you're being assigned to do as part of your portfolio or is this something more optional or something that you're doing as an entrepreneur or an advocate?

If the latter, here are a few questions that have helped me in this process of figuring out whether I should run a campaign or not:

• The first thing is: are you passionate about it? This is a great way to check in with yourself and figure out is this topic something that really lights you up and drives you and something that you want to dive deeper into.
• Second -- relatedly -- does it energize you? When you work on your campaign, is it something that brings you energy as a result of doing that work? Whether it's doing research, writing copy or analyzing your audience, it should be something that brings you a lightness and energy.
  
• And if the first two are maybe not true for you, does the issue or topic at least drive you nuts? This is actually a form of passion; a form of energy; and it's commonly the case with advocacy campaigns -- something you may be working on that you want to change in the world or fix for the better.
  
• And then last but not least, do you feel a sense of responsibility around this issue? When you think about this issue -- working on it, resolving it, running a campaign around it -- do you feel a sense of responsibility in driving toward an outcome?
  

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We hope these tips help you decide whether to take on a campaign and if it is the right fit for you. Thanks for reading.