The following bits of advice are offered to candidates as they jump into the campaign fray.
As you read each one,
stop and think about what it means and how you can benefit from following it in your day-to-day thinking and
campaigning:
Don’t let the tough days get you down.
Every day, you will hear bad news. If it’s something you need to deal with, then deal with it instantly. If you can’t
do anything about it, then forget about it and move forward. Candidates have a lot of tough days, even bad days.
Expect them, get past them, and move on.
Always keep your cool.
Campaigns run on chaos and unexpected events. Don’t let them throw you off your message and your game
plan. Stay in control and keep your eye on the ball at all times.
The goal of being a candidate is winning the election.
It is not to indulge your ego, to make people like you, or to get even with your enemies. Aim to get more votes
than the opposition. Nothing more and certainly, nothing less.
No matter how hard you try, you won’t get every vote that’s cast and you won’t get everybody to like you.
That’s true with every politician, even the most popular and best loved. So, calculate the number of votes you
need, then go out and get them. Elections aren’t popularity contests, they are more appropriately defined as
strategic combat.
If you want a political career, never let defeat stop you.
Instead, learn from defeat and apply the lessons to your next campaign. Some of the most successful politicians
have suffered stinging defeats along the way. As AL Smith once said, let’s look at the record:
All of these candidates – who went on to the highest levels of American political success – could have let defeat
destroy them, but they didn’t. Instead, they picked themselves up, started over and went on to the ultimate
victory.
Moral of the story: Don’t give up when you lose. There is always another day, another election, another set of
opportunities.
Ask every voter for help.
Don’t miss anybody. That includes waiters, parking lot attendants, bus boys, janitors, your next door neighbor,
your dentist, your child’s soccer coach, and the bank teller where you cash deposit your funds.
When someone tells you they’re voting for your opponent, don’t get angry.
Do not lash back, no matter how rude or nasty someone may be. Candidates filled with anger and hatred look
like losers. You also never know. Today’s adversary may be tomorrow’s supporter. Give people the opportunity
to be your friend and supporter.
Listen, listen, listen.
Don’t just shake your head as if you are hearing what people are saying when, in fact, you could not care less.
Really listen to what they have to say to you. The best one-on-one politicians are those who, when you meet
them, seem as if they’ve tuned out everything and everybody and are focused on you, what you have to say, and
how to provide a solution to your issue.
Remember the basics; do them very well.
In modern campaigns, everybody wants to run smart, sophisticated, creative, cutting edge campaigns that utilize
the latest techniques and tools. But in trying to do so, don’t forget the basics: Develop a clear, simple strategy
and stick to it. Develop a strong message and use it. Go directly to the people and ask everyone for their help.
Let the voters get to know you and stand for something that matters. Bring new people into the political process.
The basics separate winners from losers, mediocre campaigns from great campaigns.
Always remember to say thank you.
Plenty of people will help your campaign and you need to thank every one of them. Whether it is just expressing
gratitude or writing personal thank you notes, always show appreciation to supporters, volunteers, contributors,
and staff. Former President George H.W. Bush was known for the handwritten thank you notes he wrote to
acquaintances and supporters. Over the years, those notes accumulated into large numbers and they became a
big part of his success.
Political Campaign Tips: #Winning
One of my favorite political campaign tips is, that campaign fundamentals can be the
difference between winning and losing. No matter what level of race you are
running, campaign fundamentals are core to winning. Good political campaign
advice can help give a campaign a good start. If you need a campaign team you can
always reach out and talk with us about consulting on your campaign.
Here are 9 essential political campaign tips to get your campaign moving in the right
direction with a couple of essential bonus tips at the end:
Don’t run unless you have a chance to win. There is a political campaign legend
that if you run enough times, you will build name recognition and get elected. In the
majority of races, this is not an accurate presumption. It is the reverse that is true:
the more times you run, the less likely you are to win. Most folks who run the second
or third time do not win.
Know how many votes you need to win. Every year I see candidates who chose
the wrong race to run in. Vote goals don’t need to be that complicated, but any
political campaign worth its salt needs a vote goal. Often, the biggest mistake people
make is not calculating a vote goal at all. The simple act of creating a vote goal can
save you a lot of time campaigning for a race you might not have had a shot at.
Create a contrast. Politics is a comparative game. Even in political campaigns
where you are running against multiple candidates you still need to create a contrast.
You need to create a reason for voters to choose you.
Run for the right reasons. Don’t run to help your insurance business, or because
you feel wronged by your opponent. Run because you have skills that can help your
community achieve incredible things.
Don’t be afraid of asking. Every year I have a candidate who tells me that they are
sick of calling people for money, or asking folks to knock on doors. The fact is if you
are a candidate in a political campaign, that is what you will spend the majority of
your time doing—asking for things.
Budget for a winning political campaign. How much will the campaign cost? Work
with your team to get a real idea of what a winning campaign will cost. Don’t just
budget for any campaign; make sure you plan to have the money you need to win
your campaign. That means looking at the costs of similar campaigns, but also
assessing potential competition and the cost of a winning strategy.
Listen more than you talk. It is not about the candidate; it is about the voter. This is
an essential campaign tip and hard thing for candidates and political campaign
managers to realize. We get so focused on the political campaign that we think the
election is about the campaign itself. But that is not the case. Political campaigns are
a means to get our message out, they are not the message itself.
It’s about the voter. Political Campaigns should be about delivering results for the
community. The candidate is a vehicle for that, but a lot of times campaigns can get
lost in the weeds and focus on personal details about a candidate that are not
relevant.
A written plan is key. Good campaign planning is your road map for victory. A
campaign plan is a living, breathing document. It is not something that lives in a
drawer; it is something that you are constantly working on.
Bonus campaign tips:
Don’t ignore the grassroots: even the most sophisticated campaign can benefit
from a grassroots connection with voters if you don’t have a foundation of real
relationships with voters no amount of direct mail or television ads will save you.
Embrace diversity: If we want to take back statehouses across the country we need
to engage all populations in the legislative process. We need to make sure everyone
knows that legislative and local races matter. That means employing folks from all
walks of life. make your campaign look like the diversity of America and you will gain
the ability to reach folks you have never engaged with.
Reader Approved
How to Win a Campaign
Create a cause for your efforts. You must give the voters something to vote for
other than your name.
Decide what you will stand for and create a slogan to match the belief.
Have the slogan printed on items you pass out to voters. Examples include: "honest,
dependable service," " a name you can count on," "working for the people," "fighting
for the future" and "creating more jobs".
Get into the public eye early. While it may be too early to begin discussing the
vote, you do want your face to be seen by the people.
You should begin attending community functions as soon as you decide you will run
for public office. Listen for events that will attract large numbers of people such as
sporting events and benefits.
Never dismiss small communities or organizations. Many unsuccessful
politicians only focus on large populated areas, because they hope to gain many
votes at one time.
Smaller communities and groups often have close ties and strong beliefs. Once you
have them on your side, they will stick with you and put a good word out to the public
for you.
Ask volunteer fire departments, community clubs and other small organizations if you
can have a few minutes to speak at their meetings. Most of these organizations like
the attention given to their clubs and will allow you to speak.
Put money into your campaign. Running for a public office is expensive. You must
be willing to invest in your race. Don't forget that you can deduct the expense from
your income taxes.
Purchase appealing, heavy duty signs that will withstand weather and passing traffic.
Make sure the signs can be easily read from a distance.
Make donations to clubs and organizations during their fundraisers. Especially do
this if your name will be printed or read to give recognition to your donation.
Buy small campaign favors that can be handed out to voters. Pens, fans, cards,
magnets and emery boards are all common examples.
Use the media to campaign. Make the ads personal and relate to the people.
Create radio station advertisements. These work best if you read the ad yourself
rather than having an announcer do it.
Place ads in the newspapers. Be certain to add a picture of you and/or your family.
Use the power of the Internet. Create a Facebook page and use other forms of
online advertising.
Consider mailings and phone calls to ask for votes. These are best carried out 1-2
weeks before the election.
Visit voters door to door. Once again, visit close to election time so your name is
fresh in their minds when they go to vote.
Focus on the voters who are undecided. Those that have already made their
decisions will likely not change their minds. You must convince the voters that have
not committed that you are the right choice
Have door hangers printed and leave them on doors of voters who are not at home.
