If you're like me you feel like you have a million lists going at once: a couple online, one in a random notebook, 2 post-its stuck to your computer, a list on the magnetic notepad on the fridge... I feel like I need a list of lists sometimes to keep track of everything. Turns out your constituents probably dig lists too (or digg them, if they're super geeky like us).

Using lists on blogs or in communication is something we've been talking about around the office recently. Yeah those super activists that you're trying to reach out to - they're most likely super busy just like you. They're happy to advocate for you - just spell it out for them ASAP. One "ask" is usually all you need, but "how-to's" are great too.

Well, yesterday I attended a business blogging seminar sponsored by Six Apart. The best part of the seminar was listening to Alison Byrne Fields talk about best practices for 2.0 Politics and Advocacy. Alison gave me another reason to be the fan club president for "lists" - bloggers love them to.

To stick with the theme here, I'd like to share with you Alison's top 10 tips for engaging constituents on blogs.

1. The old dog doesn't need to learn new tricks - folks who are used to on the ground organzing understand the nature of blogs
2. Listen to your constituents
3. Start a conversation
4. Give them something to do
5. Door knocking works in the political world too - raise awareness and funding
6. Know who is influential in the "blogosphere"
7. Make it personal
8. Be remarkable (easier said that done)
9. Be honest about who you are and what you're doing (don't be a sockpuppet)
10. It's not all about the toys - while fun is good, achieving goals is even better