OUR TOP 25 CAMPAIGN TIPS!
If you are a first time candidate, or one who has lost a campaign before, you may not think our advice is relevant or important to follow. We get it. But, campaigning (unfortunately) is not about the best ideas – or 50 items on a platform. It just isn’t.
Being a legitimate conservative republican candidate is about being likable and being liked. Politicking is a big sales pitch – like it or not – you are not going to reinvent the wheel. It has been this way for hundreds of years. Time and time again, voters prove that they vote for someone that they like, trust and believe.
If you do not have the money to run for office, do yourself a favor – don’t run! By engaging in an unorganized, unfunded effort, you are seriously damaging your own credibility and will never be taken seriously as a candidate. Don’t do it!
Having said that, you need to watch out for unscrupulous campaign consultants who will encourage you to run, even though you may not be a viable candidate. They only want your money. Happens all the time!
Realize the world does not revolve around you. If you want to be a “Public Servant”, you’ve got to act like one. Campaigning is your chance to show voters that you really do care!
Don’t expect groups or people to formally endorse you if you have not been a supporter of theirs or a paid member. Groups are very wary of candidates who think only of themselves. Many groups will send out candidate surveys. If you don’t fill those out COMPLETELY and on time, you will get no endorsement.
Being able to raise money says that you have SUPPORT from someone other than yourself. People WILL look at your campaign finance reports and the media will probably report on it. You NEED the support of others, for many reasons.
There is no need to attend events just for the sake of attending an event. Some events are just not worth the time, effort or money and when you show up there is like, 20 people there. You could have used all that time being on the phone talking to voters or donors.
You must establish your campaign budget. Most big donors are going to ask to see it before they take you seriously or give you money.
Google yourself BEFORE you tell anyone that you plan to run for office. You might have some cleanup to do! If you do, do it!
Pay attention to filing deadlines. Ideally, you want to start AT LEAST a year ahead of the primary.
Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT give your cell phone number to anyone. Do not use it as a campaign phone number! This is probably the biggest rookie mistake that inexperienced candidates make!
Don’t be in everyone’s face all the time. Learn how to be quiet and LISTEN! Be engaged. Be gracious. Be involved! Be helpful! Learn people’s names. Learn what they care about!
If you have to keep saying you are “running on principle” (that is the excuse unfunded candidates always use) you are running for the wrong reasons and you are not a serious candidate. Your only goal should be TO WIN!
Don’t get a domain name with hyphens or numbers or abbreviations. It will be very hard for people to find you. Plus, it looks goofy. Your domain name should be a .com
Don’t manage your own social media and NEVER allow your family/friends to run it. You will be sorry! You need an objective professional who knows what they are doing.
Don’t fight with ANYONE on social media. Ever. That is the dumbest thing you can do. You need to stay OFF social media and be out being a candidate, meeting voters in real time.
Anytime you are doing an interview, make sure to mention your website several times. Let your campaign manager come up with your talking points. That’s what they are there for.
Always take care of your volunteers, even if they are family. Buy them lunch, give them gas cards, tell them you appreciate them. Get out there in the trenches with them!
If you think you can manage a campaign AND be a candidate, you should not run for office. Managing a campaign is very hard work and is very time consuming. You won’t have time to be a candidate if you are spending all day managing the campaign. Candidates should not be spending their time dealing with vendors, media or volunteers.
Buy a CURRENT voter list directly from the source. It should be for your district only and if it is a partisan race, you might consider only buying the names of those who are registered with your party – especially for a primary. It is the best investment you will ever make. Do not buy lists from third parties! Your campaign manager will help you get data and they will know what to do with the data.
People don’t care about all your policy positions and they hate know-it-alls. If voters cared about policy, do you think we would have the congress that we have? It is a real turnoff when candidates act like they are better or smarter than everyone else. You need to let your campaign team carefully create your policy statements. They should be very brief and concise.
Getting a free or cheap website such as WIx, Weebly, GoDaddy, NationBuilder, etc., will make you look like you have no money and are not a serious candidate. Yes, people know the difference and your competition knows too. When inexperienced candidates announce their campaign and they have a crappy website and social media, that signals to anyone else thinking of running that you are a WEAK candidate and easy to beat.
If someone asks you a question, give them a straight answer. You will get far more personal questions than policy questions. That’s because people want to KNOW you. Be ready for that!
Raising money is important for many reasons. It gets you out there talking to voters and every dollar someone gives you is an INVESTMENT in you! Even that $5.00 donation means a lot!
Be a winner, not a whiner. Be a graceful loser if it comes down to that. Don’t be an Al Gore or a Roy Moore! Live to fight another day!
Working with a company, such as ours, will ALWAYS give you an advantage over trying to go it alone. No, it doesn’t guarantee that you will win, but it does guarantee that you will be a serious contender for whichever office you are running for. Additionally, the sooner you put together your campaign, the sooner you can announce – that means that there’s a good chance that anyone out there who is still in the “thinking about it” stage may reconsider. That is because lots of unserious candidates are easily scared off by serious competition.
ARE YOU A FIGHTER?
My name is Lauren and me and my team of hard working, red-blooded, conservative patriots are ready to take your campaign to the next level! Time is running out, so call us today at 888-298-4848!
