Get involved at the local level. Every state does things differently, but in NJ, there are four committee members per precinct (a male and a female, a Democrat and a Republican). When it comes to conventions (NJ usually nominates their candidates at the county conventions) and voting on the county party chair, you get a vote there as a committee member. In my county, we had a candidate drop out and the committee had an emergency meeting to nominate a replacement.
Of course I'm saying this as someone who can't get on the committee if she tried.
Another thing to do is get involved locally. Not sure what size city you live in, but attend your council meetings and get to know what the issues of your town are. Get to know how your local elections work (is your town partisan or non-partisan, what is the partisan makeup of the council, mayor, etc) and make sure that the DP has a candidate next time there is a seat up for re-election, particularly if it's a GOP town and there were some unpopular moves. Also get to know when your school board elections are and make sure the local DP fields candidates. Remember that school board members and local electeds are the first place most county parties look to for recruiting candidates for state legislatures, county offices, congress, etc.
As for contacting people. Many people are actually friendly when you talk to them and are happy to see that there are like-minded people in their neighborhoods. I helped a friend recruit for a club by canvassing primary voting Democrats and the ones who were home were incredibly nice and willing to get more involved. Start by talking to the primary voters.
As to where to start, contact your county Democratic party. They will put you in touch with people. If you need help feel free to send me a PM.
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