Political Campaign Tips and Strategies
Practical guides for candidates running local and state campaigns. Find advice on starting a campaign, building your online presence, fundraising, messaging, voter outreach, and more.
Essential Guides for Political Candidates
How to Prepare for a Run for Local Office
Learn the basics of preparing for a local campaign, including qualifications,
budgeting, fundraising, building a campaign team, filing requirements, and
getting voters to the polls.
Read the guide
Political Campaign Timeline
See what needs to happen before, during, and after a campaign launch, from early planning and filing through fundraising, voter outreach, and Election Day.
View the timeline
How to Build a Political Campaign Website
A practical guide to planning, building, and launching a campaign website that gives voters the information they need and supports your campaign goals.
Read the website guide
Campaign Website Pages: What Every Candidate Needs to Include
Find out which pages and content your campaign website should include to inform voters, collect support, accept donations, and keep your campaign active.
See the essential pages
Comparing Political Donation Platforms
Compare common political fundraising platforms and the factors campaigns should consider when choosing a service for accepting online contributions.
Compare donation platforms
Differences Between a Campaign Slogan, Message and Platform
Understand how your campaign slogan, core message, and issue platform work together—and the different role each plays in communicating with voters.
Learn the differences
Need a Campaign Website?
Online Candidate has helped political candidates build their online presence since 2004. See our custom campaign website packages and campaign-specific features.
Differences Between a Political Slogan, Message and Platform
Though they are sometimes used interchangeably, there are substantial differences between a campaign slogan, a campaign message, and a campaign platform. A campaign slogan is a short phrase that concisely summarizes the campaign's position on an issue. A campaign...
Book Review: The Candidate’s 7 Deadly Sins
Ever wonder whether logic or emotion wins a voter's heart? The Candidate's 7 Deadly Sins: Using Emotional Optics to Turn Political Vices into Virtues by Dr. Peter A. Wish answers this question with detailed anecdotes and advice for political candidates who want to...
How to Run and Win a School Board Election
Year after year, education is ranked as a top voter concern, yet voter turnout rates for school board elections remain low. One major reason for the low level of voter turnout is that school elections often occur on dates and locations that differ from the general elections. Some advocates have suggested combining school board and school budget elections with other local and state election that generally have a higher turnout rate.
Tips For Great Political Campaign Photos
From brochures to campaign websites to press releases, political photography plays an important role for any political candidate. We live in a visual world, so compelling images are what you need to help tell your story to voters. Besides your campaign logo and...
Crowdfunding Your Political Campaign
Is crowdfunding a good option for starting your political campaign? This technique for raising money has been used for years for projects and products. Recently the technique has grown in popularity for political purposes. Crowdfunding sites set conditions for...
Great Uses For Old Campaign Signs
Once the election is over, the campaign signs remain. Here are a ways to get rid of yard signs without throwing them out.
Common Political Campaign Sign Questions
Here are some common questions about campaign yard signs. Here we cover the where, when and how of political signage.
Preparing for Candidate Debates
Some campaigns will have debates or forums as an opportunity for candidates to present themselves and their platforms to the public. The rules and formats of these debates vary and are agreed upon by the candidates and moderators ahead of time. Here are a few tips that should help in any public debate.
How to Prepare for a Run for Local Office
Running for elected office lets you give back to your community. Whether you run for city council, state representative or school board, every candidate must ask, ‘should i run for political office?’
6 Ways to Add Interactivity to Your Campaign Website
Below are some fairly simple ways to add interactivity to your campaign website. These features help keep visitors on your site longer, allow them to become more involved in your campaign, and maybe provide something they can pass along to others.
Online Candidate makes it easy to launch your political website and build your online presence.
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