Political Campaign Tips and Strategies by Online Candidate

Developing Strong Messaging for Your Political Campaign

In any political campaign, the goal is to persuade the public to vote for the candidate by delivering a persuasive message. For example, campaign websites serve as a central hub for communication, allowing candidates to convey their messaging effectively to a wide audience.

Developing effective political messaging can mean the difference between victory and defeat. A solid strategy helps shape the way voters see a candidate and their candidacy. Organize your website content to align with campaign messaging, particularly on your issues pages. This ensures that key messages are prominently featured and accessible to voters.

Essentials of Political Messaging Strategy

A clear and concise message should always be the focus.
A political candidate’s personal history can be a meaningful way to connect with voters.
Genuine and consistent campaign messaging is most effective.
Communicate with a strong and authentic voice.
Create an elevator speech for your introduction to the voting public.

A core political message is the central point that a politician or party wants to get across to their supporters. This message is often about a vision for the future, patriotism and/or unity. Core messages should be woven into all aspects of your campaign – from speeches, press releases, bumper stickers, text messages, and your website.

Policy-based messages promote an idea or cause by describing it in detail. Character-based messages focus on a person’s qualities and their suitability for office. Values-related messaging relates to whether a policy is in the best interest to society. (Sometimes value platforms can be more persuasive than policy platforms.)

Tip: The elected position you are running for should determine your messaging style.

Crafting a Clear and Persuasive Political Message

As you develop a platform for your campaign, it’s important to know what you plan to say on your website, marketing materials, and through social media. Strong, focused communication that stays on point allows voters to easily understand your values and how you’ll work to improve their lives.

Successful political communication strategies include three crucial elements:

It is clear and concise: Whether it’s a stump speech, article or tweet, a clear and concise message should always be the focus. Political campaign websites play a key role in ensuring clarity and consistency across all communication channels.
It has an effective messenger: Whether you are running for congress or city council, the person delivering your message is as critical as the message itself. Good candidates listen to and build strong relationships with those they represent. They communicate with a strong and authentic voice.
It includes a strong call to action: The most successful political campaigns have strong calls to action. One example of a call to action is the famous Reagan phrase, “It’s morning again in America.” Campaigns that inspire are more likely to win because they leave an impact with voters.

State short and state clear goals to hook voters. Voters will hear from any number of campaign sources: a candidate, campaign staff, external experts, or even volunteers. The more genuine and consistent the message is to the audience – be young millennials or older voters – the more likely that message will resonate and be effective.

Narrative Building in Political Campaigns

A narrative that embraces emotional storytelling is essential to any successful political campaign. An interesting narrative engages people and makes them feel something for your cause. This helps them feel as if they are invested in the outcome. Many candidates do this by using words like “together” and “us.”

Emphasize why it’s good for them support you and not your opponent.

When crafting a compelling story, the narrative needs to be built around a vision and mission for the future. Rallying around a specific issue is often used to develop an emotional connection.

Finally, tie it all together with language that inspires supporters and encourages them to act.

For example, suppose a candidate is passionate about education reform. Their narrative could spring from their own journey as a teacher. They’d talk about specific classroom challenges and how their educational solutions would improve student success. A story must do more than just outline policies. It has to connect emotionally with voters. In this case, the candidate would show the importance of education reform and how fits into a larger vision These types of narratives makes policy statements more personal and powerful.

Put together a good stump speech, elevator speech, and slogan as the cornerstones of your messaging.

Personal Stories: A Powerful Messaging Tool

Do you have a personal story or experience that can resonate with voters? A political candidate’s personal history can be a meaningful way to connect with people and help them relate to your platform.

For example, if you were born poor, you could describe your experiences and hardship. They could be the reason why you want to make things better for others.

Personal stories make great material for a political stump speech. A good stump speech is used throughout the election season. While it can vary in length, it is the most important speech that a candidate makes. It is told at fundraising events, rallies and when introducing themselves to groups of voters. A stump speech can be serious or humorous, but it should always keep the audience entertained.

Here an example of short stump speech:

“I grew up in a family where ends barely met. My high school diploma was more than an achievement; it was a lifeline to success. I’ve known the weight of poverty and the strength it demands. Now, as a candidate for county legislator, I’m going to fight for families like mine. My education came from life’s challenges, and it’s those lessons I’ll bring to the legislature.”

Authenticity and Consistency in Political Communications

Voters are good at detecting verbal posturing from politicians and political candidates. Saying one thing to one group of voters and something else to another will fool no one these days. The constant stream of footage and posts makes the truth much harder to conceal in the age of social media.

Inspiring or compassionate messages are most effective when they are authentic and consistent.

Populist messages are often used in political campaigns because they are easy to understand and can mobilize people. For them to be effective, they must be empathetic and inspiring.

Grassroots political campaigns mobilize and engage people who might not otherwise get involved in politics. They give people the power to make change happen. Grassroots messaging is often different from that of a large-scale campaign. For example, the narratives described will be shorter, more direct, and more emotional.

Your strategy may be influenced by the strengths and weaknesses of you and your opponents. It may also center around an issue or particular theme. You may want to highlight your own strengths such as experience or skill in that area. If your opponent is an incumbent or has a particular strength, highlighting their weaknesses could be more effective.

The Art of the Elevator Speech in Politics

An elevator speech is a short summary of who you are and what you do. Your elevator speech is the one-minute (or less) speech that you tell people who may ask, “What are you running for?” or “Why are you running for office?”

Giving stump speech is fine if you have the time. But you still need to be able to summarize yourself in a way that is concise, memorable, and compelling.

Here’s how to write a concise and impactful elevator speech.

Introduction: Start with a brief introduction of who you are and your role or position. (doctor, lawyer, teacher).UN
Core Message: Explain briefly why you are running for office and what you want to do if elected.
Unique Selling Point: Tell voters why they should vote for you instead of your opponents.
Memorable Conclusion: Offer a conclusion that is short but memorable (e.g., “I’m not a politician; I’m just a concerned citizen.”)
Brevity is Key: Ensure the speech can be delivered in under a minute.

Your elevator speech is often your introduction to the voting public. It’s important that it makes a good impression. Take the time to come up with, write out, and refine your speech until you and your staff know it by heart.

Here’s a sample elevator speech for a candidate running for city council:

“Hello, I’m Alex Johnson, a dedicated community volunteer and small business owner. I’m running for city council to bring practical solutions and fresh energy to our local government. My focus is on improving public safety, supporting local businesses, and enhancing our public parks. What drives me is not just policy, but people. I’m here to listen, engage, and act. Imagine a city where every voice matters, where progress blooms from our shared ideas. With your support, we can turn this vision into our reality. I’m Alex Johnson, and I’m ready to lead us into a brighter, united future.”

Practice delivering your elevator speech to make it sound natural and engaging. You’ll need to because it will be repeated over and over until Election Day.

Creating Memorable Political Campaign Slogans

The next step is to strip down your overall message and create a memorable slogan for your campaign. Your slogan provides a first impression to voters as it is used in your advertising media, on everything from billboards or bumper stickers.

Your slogan should be short, simple, and catchy so that it can be easily remembered by voters. They sometimes use rhyming, alliteration, a play on words, or repetition. It doesn’t need to be overly clever or creative as long as it resonates with the audience.

For example, Obama’s 2008 “Yes We Can” campaign slogan was popular from the start. That slogan was simple and resonated with a large segment of the voting public. Other examples of clear and concise slogans are “Morning Again in America,” “I Like Ike,” or “All the Way with LBJ.”

When creating your slogan, think about the overarching goal of your campaign. This goal can be something that impacts or affects all members of the community. It can be an issue, event or even a personality trait that can help voters decide who they will cast their vote for.

Conclusion: Put together your winning message today

Campaigns are about getting your message out to the voters. They are also about staying on message. It’s important for campaigns to be authentic and not just chase what is popular at the moment.

Here is a list of some tips for staying on message:

Make sure your messaging is active, concise, and clear.
Use the same voice across all media channels.
Repeat it over and over again.
Give people something to do after they hear your message.
Keep consistent and stay on message to get the word out.

Winning candidates create a solid communication strategy that resonates with voters. Start creating yours today!

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How Much Should You Doctor Your Candidate Head Shots?

Most political campaign websites include a photograph of the candidate in the site header. It’s usually a head shot along with a logo and usually some sort of background image symbolically related to the location.

Often when we get a head shot in preparation for designing a campaign website’s header image, a client may make a comment about the image, such as ‘the color is off’ or ‘I look too wrinkly’. Even if nothing is said about the photo, we do our best to make the head shot look as attractive as possible.

In other words, we doctor the image. After all, you wouldn’t go on television without makeup. Why wouldn’t you enhance an important online photo?

We usually crop out backgrounds from the head shot, unless the background is included within the website header. We’ll also do color correction and sharpening to make the image crisper. In some case we’ll go a bit further in smoothing a few wrinkles or reducing dark rings or puffiness from the eyes. But it’s subtle. With the wonders of digital graphic design, we could easily knock off twenty years from someone’s appearance. A lot a clients might like that idea, but that’s probably going too far.

Just because we can replace your receded hairline or brighten your teeth to ultra-white doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to do so. You’ll still want voters to recognize you in real life.

altered candidate head shot from older to younger

This is NOT how to properly touch up a head shot. It shouldn’t look like it went through an Instagram filter.

Most web photographs need to be cropped, sharpened and color corrected. However, we do NOT advocate full-scale alterations that may create misrepresentation. For example, fully replacing one person in an image with someone else or superimposing subjects that were not in the original image. Fraudulent edits can come back at you, especially if someone finds the original photo and compares it to your altered image.

Sometimes alterations may include removing something from clothing. For example, many sheriff candidates are not allowed to display their badges, patches or official seals on political material. In those cases, we may digitally remove or replace those items.

To sum it up: A little nip and tuck on a candidate’s photo is fine. Interior images can also be cropped and enhanced, but the basic content should remain unaltered. (Blurring faces for privacy is all right, though.)

Online Candidate provides custom logo and website header design with our Regular or Enhanced Website Packages. Custom design is also available as an upgrade with our Monthly Option.

Candidate photography head shot tips:

Consider having your photographs done professionally. One session with a photographer might be all you need. If this is not possible, use a good digital camera with proper lighting.
A head-on or three-quarter view is typical.
Avoid plaid or tight-patterned clothing.
The best shots for site headers are those where the candidate is standing before a solid contrasting background to what the candidate is wearing. This allows the background to be more easily cropped out.
A large, high resolution is best for a graphic designer to work with. Large-sized images can be scaled down, but small, low-res images cannot be improved much.
Dress appropriately.
Smile!

For more political marketing ideas, download our e-book Running for Office as an Online Candidate. This is available individually or as part of our Combo Package.

9 Tips For Better Online Fundraising

Online fundraising has grown tremendously in the last decade. Campaigns and nonprofit organizations today can raise money with the click of a mouse or a tap of the phone. But raising money requires planning and skill. It’s not enough to just have a website donation page or a Facebook profile.

Tips to get the most from your online fundraising efforts:

Always the “Ask”. When you send emails or activist alerts to supporters, don’t bury the ask. In other words, state what you want the recipient to do – give money, attend an event, show up at the polls, etc. If you don’t ask for what you want clearly and prominently, you won’t get a great response.

Ask everywhere. Make the ask on your campaign website, in your emails, social media in your email signature – and offline, as well. It’s good for recipients to hear your message from many channels.

Specific monetary requests perform better. It’s easier to raise money for a specific need. They work even better when coupled with urgency. “Please send $25, $50 or $100 to help us complete our final GOTV mailing. Our printer deadline is in three days!”

Use landing pages that match your request. If you are using email, online advertising or social media to drive traffic, make sure that the landing page corresponds to your message. For example, if you are advertising for GOTV, don’t send visitors to your website home page. Instead, create a new page that explains your get out the vote needs and how visitors can help by volunteering to drive, poll watch, etc. A good landing page will reduce exit rates and improve response levels.

The money is in the list, so keep building it. Build your campaign email list both online and offline. Encourage email signups wherever you can. Even use offline events as a way to get people to sign up for your email list.

[bctt tweet=”If you don’t clearly ask for the #donation, you won’t get a great response. http://ow.ly/Oadb30gBm34″]

Tell your story. Combining appeals for support with a strong, compelling (and heartfelt?) story can help bring home your message or appeal. It doesn’t need to be long, just memorable. Done well, voters will associate your stories with your name, in a positive way.

Images and video help influence response. Good visuals attract attention and can help drive home your point. There are online tools that make it easy to create images for social media and email purposes.

What’s in it for them? Why should someone support you or your campaign? People often act out of self-interest. Give them concrete reasons why their support not only helps you but will help them as well. Micro-targeting your recipients by specific issues can provide self-serving reasons to support you.

It’s not all online. Even though online campaigning has increased rapidly in the last few years, don’t let it come at the expense of traditional methods. You still need real events and to leverage your personal contacts. Combining online and offline strategies will help you raise more money for your organization.

Start raising more money online with Online Candidate. Easy to start, easy to use, featuring the tools you need for online campaigning. View our packages for political websites.

The Worst Advice We’ve Heard About Online Campaigning

Even though there is plenty of good information about politics and online marketing, a lot of bad ideas persist. Here are some truly bad assumptions about political campaigning. Some are misconceptions about online marketing, while other assumptions can hurt your election chances.

“The more social media followers I get, the more people can keep up with my campaign.”

Social media followers are great, but to get followers for the sake of getting followers is a fool’s errand. For one thing, not everyone uses social media, so you are broadcasting your message to a gated audience. Second, not everyone will see your messages. In Twitter, tweets flow in a constant stream. On Facebook, you can count on less than 10% of your followers actually seeing an update – unless you decide to pay to promote that post.

Social media isn’t ‘free’ anymore – not in time or money. If you want to keep interested people in the loop, focusing on building your email list and texting efforts.

[bctt tweet=”Social media isn’t ‘free’ – not in time OR money. http://ow.ly/eAgv30gBkca”]

Another problem with going too deep too soon in social media is that you can get stretched too thin. Try to keep up on too many platforms, and you can be in danger of burning out fast. It’s better to start with what you can handle and grow with your available resources.

“I’m going to wait to start campaigning online until I have the money.”

That’s the old ‘chicken and egg’ question in online campaigning. Once you have a campaign bank account, the ability to raise money online is simple. Many people today prefer to donate online. Starting a website does not cost much money, and it’s an investment that can pay for itself with just a few donations.

Our advice for local campaigns is to start small, use your online platform to raise money, and use that money to build your online marketing efforts. Time is not on your side in an election. The sooner you get started, the better.

[bctt tweet=”Time is not on your side in an #election. The sooner you start preparing to run, the better. http://ow.ly/eAgv30gBkca”]

“I need to my domain and website running right away because I have already started my campaign and have print materials ready to go out.”

This issue comes up sometimes, and while our turnaround on websites is very fast, there isn’t a thing we can do if a client wants a domain that already registered by someone else. Domain names can be registered long before a website for a candidate is built. It’s a good idea to secure your domain as early as possible, because you cannot assume that name will be available later.

It’s seems obvious, but under NO circumstances should you print campaign brochures and materials with a domain name on it unless you already have a website ready for traffic.

“I just want a big image on my splash page… By the way, my website isn’t showing for searches of my name.”

Oh, boy. This comes up a lot. While having a splash page or large image on the home page may look great for humans, it doesn’t do much for search engines. Search engines cannot read images very well. If you want to have any search rankings, then you need to give the the search engines enough copy to read so they know what your site is about. How you write your text is important, so make sure you mention the candidate’s name, location, and elected position within in your home page copy.

“I’m going to let the website and domain go. I’ll start back up in the next election cycle.”

A lot of candidates and campaigns decide to shut down their website after the election. If they’ve lost, maybe they are done with politics forever. If they’ve won, they often don’t see the need to keeping a website until the next election. Unfortunately, shutting down a site puts a big hole in your online presence. All those links and articles that point to your website will be broken. The rankings you have for your name will disappear. And if you let your domain name expire, someone else will be free to register and use it for different purposes.

Even if a client wants to shut everything down, our recommendation is to at least keep your domain name active – especially if the domain includes the candidate’s name. Keeping a domain name is a nominal expense, and it keeps open the possibility of restarting another site with the same name.

And the bad ideas don’t end there…

There are a lot of misconceptions to political online campaigning. That’s part of the reason why we created the blog on this site. A lot of new candidates don’t really know much about the online world – and that can hurt their chances of willing. A little education goes a long way.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How to Adjust Your Online Campaign for a Primary, Runoff, and General Election

Even candidates for local office may need to win more than one election: a primary followed by a general election. Depending on the rules and results, the campaign may also face a runoff.

The audience and immediate priorities change at each stage. Your website, email, advertising, and campaign messaging should change with them.

But that doesn’t mean you should wait until after the primary to take your online campaign seriously. A primary is not a trial run. It’s the first election you must win.

Primary, Runoff, and General Elections

A primary election is used to select the candidates who will advance to the general election. In a partisan primary, voters choose a party’s nominee. Nonpartisan primaries may narrow a larger field to two or more candidates who advance, regardless of party.

A runoff is an additional election held when no candidate reaches the vote threshold required to win. Depending on local election rules, the two candidates receiving the most votes may advance to the runoff.

A general election determines who will hold the office. The electorate is usually broader than it was during a partisan primary, which means the candidate may need to reach voters who were not part of the original primary audience.

Election rules vary by state, party, jurisdiction, and office. Before planning your online campaign, confirm who can vote, how many candidates advance, whether a plurality or majority is required, and what happens if no candidate receives enough votes to win.

How Campaign Priorities Change at Each Stage

Campaign element	Primary	Runoff	General election
Primary audience	Eligible primary voters	Previous supporters and voters whose candidates were eliminated	The broader electorate
Main message	Why you are the best choice for the nomination	The election is not over; vote again	Why you should hold the office
Homepage priority	Candidate differences and the primary date	Runoff date and turnout urgency	Qualifications, plans, and broader appeal
Important proof	Party support, experience, and relevant endorsements	Momentum and an expanding coalition	Wider community support and specific proposals
Main action	Vote, donate, subscribe, or volunteer	Return to vote on the new date	Persuade undecided voters and turn out supporters
Content adjustment	Differentiate yourself within the field	Present the remaining choice clearly	Address issues affecting the entire electorate

The campaign should evolve without starting over. Advancing to a runoff or general election usually does not require a new website or domain. Keeping the same site preserves links, search visibility, analytics history, supporter information, and voter familiarity. Update the message, election date, calls to action, and campaign status while keeping the infrastructure and useful content already in place.

Do Not Wait Until After the Primary to Campaign Online

Some candidates hedge their investment. They wait to see if they win the primary before getting aggressive online, launching a campaign website, building an email list, or putting serious resources into voter outreach.

That leaves the campaign underexposed during the election it must win first. A website should not be treated as something you earn the right to launch after securing the nomination. It is one of the tools that can help you secure the nomination in the first place.

Waiting until after a primary victory means losing months in which you could have:

Introduced yourself to voters.
Established your positions on local issues.
Built name recognition.
Learned which messages generate the strongest response.

An established online presence also shows voters, donors, volunteers, journalists, and community organizations that you are a serious candidate. In our experience working with political candidates, those who wait until the race is well underway often find themselves rushing to prepare content, build an audience, and correct information that has already been defined by someone else. Meanwhile, opponents have had more time to build search visibility, collect supporters, publish issue content, and attract donations.

Candidates for lesser-known offices face an additional challenge. Before voters can support a candidate for county commissioner, fire commissioner, or another special district position, they may first need to understand what the office does, what area it represents, and why the election matters.

Even if you are unopposed in the primary, early outreach gives you more time to build relationships with the wider community. It also allows you to enter the general election with an established website, supporter list, donor base, and campaign message.

Related: Why Starting Your Political Website Early Makes Sense

What Your Online Campaign Should Do Before the Primary

Your primary website should do more than announce that you are running. It should help voters understand who you are, what office you are seeking, why you are qualified, and what action you want them to take.

At a minimum, prominently display your full ballot name, office sought, district or municipality, election type, and exact election date. “Smith for Commissioner” is not enough if voters cannot tell whether the candidate is running countywide, within a numbered district, or for a special authority.

The site should also explain what separates you from the other candidates. You do not need to attack your opponents, but voters should understand why you are running and why you are the better choice for the nomination.

The right emphasis depends on the office. A mayoral or county executive candidate may present a broad agenda for the city or county. A sheriff candidate may focus on management experience, public safety, and accountability. A county commissioner candidate may concentrate on roads, taxes, development, budgets, and services within the district.

For less familiar offices, the website may also need to explain the position. A candidate for fire commissioner or water district trustee should not assume that voters understand the board’s responsibilities, how it is funded, or who is eligible to vote. The campaign may need to educate voters before it can persuade them.

Know Who You Need to Reach

The primary electorate is not simply a smaller version of the general electorate. Primary voters may have different priorities and voting histories, so identify who is eligible to participate and who has turned out in similar elections.

Review previous results for the same office and district. Take a look at total ballots cast, the votes received by each candidate, and the percentage of eligible voters who participated. A county commissioner district, school board zone, or special district may have very different turnout from a countywide sheriff or district attorney race.

Your primary outreach may place greater emphasis on:

Issues that motivate likely primary voters.
Endorsements that matter within the party or local political community.
Differences between you and the other candidates competing for the nomination.
Direct turnout messaging aimed at those voters who regularly show up for primary elections.

Once you understand likely turnout, estimate how many votes you need to win and build your digital outreach around reaching more than that minimum.

Related: How Many Votes Do You Need to Win?

Build Assets That Continue After the Primary

Your primary campaign should produce more than votes. It should also help you build resources that remain useful if you advance.

Use your website, email, social media, fundraising, events, and offline outreach to develop:

A list of supporters who have agreed to receive updates.
A donor base that can be contacted again.
Volunteers who can help with the runoff or general election.
Photos, videos, endorsements, and press coverage.
Data showing which messages and issues generate interest.

Choose your domain name, website structure, email system, donation platform, and social accounts with the next stage of the race in mind. Avoid names tied only to a particular election year or office if you may need to use them again. The goal is to build a campaign organization that can adapt and continue rather than one that must be replaced after Election Day.

What If the Race Goes to a Runoff?

A runoff is a new election with a new date and a compressed timeline, not simply an extension of the primary. One of the biggest challenges is awareness. Some voters may assume the original primary settled the race. Others may support you but fail to realize that they need to vote again.

Online, the first job is simple: make sure supporters know that the election is not over and that they must vote again.

As soon as your runoff is confirmed:

Make the runoff date the main message. Replace the old date on the homepage, donation page, social profiles, email templates, digital ads, and printed material still in use. Do not bury the new date on a calendar or voting-information page.
Explain that the election is not over. Tell supporters directly that they need to return and vote again.
Contact previous supporters immediately. Reach out to donors, volunteers, email subscribers, event attendees, and known supporters.
Reach out to voters who supported eliminated candidates. Identify areas of agreement and give them a reason to join your campaign.
Promote early, absentee, and mail-voting information. Link voters to the appropriate official election authority for dates and requirements.
Adjust fundraising language. Explain the shortened timeline and what additional contributions will allow the campaign to do.
Repeat the message. A single email or social post is not enough to establish awareness of another election.

For example, a county commissioner candidate advancing from a five-person primary should no longer communicate as one candidate in a crowded field. The runoff message should focus on the two remaining choices, the new election date, and why supporters of eliminated candidates should now join the campaign.

You’ve Won Your Primary—Now What?

Winning the primary is an important milestone, but it is not the end of the campaign. The shift from a partisan primary to a broader general election means you must adapt your message and reach a more diverse electorate.

Prepare the transition before Primary Day so updates can be made quickly if you win.

Update Your Digital Campaign Immediately

Review and update the following:

Homepage headline: Replace primary-election language with a general-election message.
Election date: Search the entire site for the old date. Check page copy, announcement bars, graphics, PDFs, event listings, donation language, automated emails, thank-you pages, metadata, and scheduled social posts.
Calls to action: Revise donation, volunteer, email signup, and voting language for the next phase.
Candidate status: Identify the candidate as the party nominee when appropriate.
Issue content: Review whether the existing emphasis speaks to the broader electorate.
Endorsements: Add new support and consider endorsements that demonstrate a wider coalition.
Social media profiles: Update cover graphics, biographies, pinned posts, and election dates.
Email sequences: Replace primary-specific welcome messages and automated content.
Advertising: Review targeting, creative, landing pages, and disclaimers before restarting ads.
Press materials: Publish a primary victory announcement and make updated information available to local media.

Old primary dates and outdated “vote in the primary” language make a campaign look neglected. They can also confuse supporters at the exact point when you need to build momentum.

Prepare replacement headlines, graphics, email copy, and website updates before Primary Day. If you advance, the campaign can then shift its online presence within hours rather than weeks.

Keep the election date, office, district, and candidate status in editable page text rather than placing them only inside header graphics. Text can be updated quickly, remains readable on mobile devices, and is easier for search engines and accessibility tools to interpret.

What Should Stay the Same?

Do not discard the online foundation that is already working. In most cases, the campaign should keep its domain name, core website structure and URLs, candidate biography, subscriber list, donation and volunteer systems, and analytics tracking. This maintains continuity for both voters and the campaign team while the stage-specific message changes.

Adjusting Your Message for the General Election

A general election usually requires reaching beyond the voters who supported you in the primary. That does not mean abandoning your positions or pretending to be a different candidate.

During a primary, messaging may focus heavily on differences between candidates seeking the same nomination. In the general election, the campaign must present a broader case for why the candidate is qualified to hold office and how voters will benefit.

For example:

Primary: “Vote Jane Smith in the August 4 Republican primary.”
Runoff: “The race is not over. Vote again on August 25.”
General: “Vote Jane Smith for County Commissioner on November 3.”

The change should go beyond replacing the election date. A sheriff candidate may move from party-focused language to a broader emphasis on department leadership, public safety, staffing, and accountability. A county commissioner candidate may shift toward roads, development, taxes, budgets, and services affecting the entire district.

Broader messaging should not become vague messaging. Keep the candidate’s core positions and explain why they matter to voters beyond the primary electorate.

General-election content may place more emphasis on:

Shared local concerns.
The candidate’s experience and qualifications.
Specific plans and expected outcomes.
Community support and broader endorsements.
Contrasts with the opposing candidate.
Persuading undecided voters while retaining primary supporters.

Even voters who supported another candidate in the primary may be open to your campaign. Give them a reason to reconsider rather than assuming they will automatically fall in line.

The goal is continuity. Keep the visibility, supporter relationships, and campaign material built during the primary, then adjust the message for the voters now deciding the race.

Online Candidate has provided political campaign websites and digital campaign tools for local, state, and federal candidates since 2004. Shane Daley is a founder of Online Candidate and the author of Running for Office as an Online Candidate.

Top Tips for Your Political Email Marketing

Political campaigns are always looking for new ways to reach out to potential voters. They are usually short on time, money, and resources, but they don’t want their message lost in the noise of the election season. This is why many marketing techniques that work well for businesses can be used successfully in political campaigns.

Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools for political organizations to reach out to voters and supporters. It is one of the most effective forms of marketing because it can reach a large number of people at once.

In this article, we’ll talk about some of the best ways to use email marketing for politics.

Political email marketing raises large donations

Political email marketing is a subset of digital marketing that focuses on the use of email to promote political candidates, issues, and voter turnout. In larger campaigns, political email marketers are often guided by campaign managers or digital directors.

Political email has been around a long time now. Even as far back in 2005, 6% of internet users signed up for US presidential candidate email alerts.

The goal of fundraising campaigns is to get people to donate money. The more money they can raise, the more likely they will be successful in their campaign.

Email is a very important tool in this process. It’s not just presidential candidates who raise big money. State and even local candidates are effectively leveraging the power of email. While it is often used to solicit donations for campaigns, email can also be used to promote events, rallies, and other political activities.

A successful fundraising campaign is one that doesn’t just ask for donations, but also provides a compelling reason for why people should donate. To do this, it might be helpful to provide some context about the situation and what could happen if no action is taken.

Best practices for successful campaign emails

Email marketing services are an easy way for political campaigns to reach out to potential voters and make sure they are up-to-date with the latest information about their candidate or cause.

Here are a few best practices that can help you create successful political email campaigns.

Keep it simple. Make sure that each message is simple and easy to understand. Keep in mind that it should be something that everyone can relate too, not just those who are already on your side.
Focus on the voter, not you. When crafting your emails, try to take the focus off of yourself and put it on your reader.
Use emotional triggers to motivate your audience. It has long been understood that emotions are the driving force behind human action. According to neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, 95% of decisions are based on emotion rather than logic. Emotion, over logic, often motivates people to take action.
Create a call-to-action at the end of your email for the reader to take. Ideally, you should limit your call to action to one per message.
Make sure that you are sending emails at the right time. If you are sending emails too late in the evening, it will be easier for people to delete them without opening them. Sending an email in the morning or early afternoon will increase your chances of getting a response from your audience.
Do not send too many messages too often, otherwise people will start unsubscribing from your list because they feel overwhelmed. How many emails are too many? That depends on the message and timing. Sending a few messages a day before an election or primary might not be too much. Emailing multiple times a day six months out could annoy your subscribers.

The success of an email list depends on how well it is curated. Many campaigns segment subscribers into different groups, so that people can be targeted with relevant content and messages that are specific to their interests.

Finding the right political email vendor

There are many features to consider when choosing the best email marketing software. These include the price, functionality, and usability. For example, while some offer a free trial, others charge a monthly fee. Some email marketing services offer advanced analytics and segmentation tools while others specialize in social media integration or real-time reporting options.

Here are a few email marketing services that many of our clients use:

AWeber.com – Free to use. Includes features like autoresponders and split testing.
MailChimp.com – Free for up to 2,000 addresses. Limited features and send ability with free plan.
MailerLite.com – Free for up to 1,000 addresses. Includes a library of app integrations.

While free packages are fine for local candidates running for town council, sheriff or school board, state-wide and congressional campaigns often have larger subscriber numbers. They often require paid services.

You can integrate your email signup forms into your Online Candidate website. We also offer optional Aweber or MailChimp account setup for our website clients.

Using automated email messaging for constant supporter contact

Email sequences are a way to organize messages in a series that are sent to the same person or group of people. An email sequence is a series of emails that are sent to subscribers with the intention of nurturing the relationship. The sequence can be as short as three emails or as long as six.

The first email in the sequence is usually an introduction that includes information about the candidate or organization and why the campaign is important. The second email should include more details about the campaign and how supporting the candidate will help the voter. The third email can be where you ask for the reader’s response and provide a relevant call to action, such as volunteering to help or making a donation. Other messages can be about the candidate and where they stand on important issues.

You can set up email automation with many messages. Keep in mind that those messages are automatically sent, so the content should be independent of timing. You should modify or turn off any settings for time-based delivery after Election Day.

The spam problem – can it apply to politicians?

Most people don’t like receiving unsolicited email. To avoid being seen as spam or being reported as spam, you need to have permission from your recipients before sending them emails. You can get people to sign up for your email list through your political campaign website, your social media accounts, and even offline. You can have attendees at events provide their email addresses, which you can later add to your list.

The goal of an email marketing campaign is to increase the number of people who opt-in to receive messages from your company. This is important because it will help you avoid being classified as spam.

There are many reasons why your email may be classified as spam, including the following:

Your content isn’t engaging enough for people to want to read it. Your messages don’t get opened, signaling to some email hosts that the message may be unwanted.
You’re sending too many messages that are similar in content or frequency, which can lead recipients to unsubscribe or mark your messages as spam.

While CAN-SPAM covers e-mails promoting commercial products or services, a poor open rate or high unsubscribe rate can have a negative effect on your own deliverability. This means that your emails might not be delivered to the inbox of the recipient or filtered to a junk mail folder.

Faqs

How do you measure the success of a political email marketing campaign beyond open and click rates?

To measure the success of a political email marketing campaign, look beyond open and click rates. Consider conversion rates, such as donations made, event sign-ups, or volunteer registrations. Analyze email forwarding rates to gauge message resonance. A/B testing between messages will you refine subject lines and find out what content really resonates with subscribers. Track unsubscribe rates to manage list health.

What are the legal considerations and compliance requirements for political email marketing?

Legal considerations for political email marketing vary by region. In the U.S., the CAN-SPAM Act outlines requirements for commercial emails, which can apply to some political messaging. Ensure you have explicit consent to email recipients. Always provide a clear opt-out mechanism. For international campaigns, be aware of stricter laws like the GDPR in Europe, which demands rigorous data protection measures.

How can political campaigns effectively segment their email lists to tailor messages more personally to different groups of voters?

Segmenting political email lists improves messaging personalization. Start by collecting subscriber data. This can be through the sign-up forms, where you may ask for interests or location. You can also segment by engagement as to how often or what types of messages subscribers open. This information can be used to create segments, or groups of email addresses. Tailor messages to each group’s interests and behaviors. For example, send targeted policy updates to those interested in specific issues. Personalized emails tend to have better open rates and engagement.

Conclusion

Email marketing is a powerful way to reach voters and potential supporters. It enables campaigns to send out personalized messages in an inexpensive, timely, and scalable way. It is one of the most cost-effective channels for getting in touch with supporters and potential voters.

Want to learn more about digital campaigning? Find more ideas and tactics in our book, Running For Office as an Online Candidate.

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