For many first time candidates, the hardest thing to do is to figure out how and what to communicate with voters. With enthusiasm and energy usually (and hopefully) in full force, the tendency for many first timers is to just let it all out. This can often result in a muddled, disorganized, and confusing message for voters.
Below are five facets of presenting your message and your public image to voters, primarily through direct mail, campaign advertisements, etc.
#1. Biography
Before voters will listen to what you have to say about the issues, they first want to know who you are and where you come from. This is where you first start to build trust, and where ultimately, your campaign’s strongest foundations should be. Elements of the biography include:
- A picture of you (simple, I know, but there have been candidates that don’t include this)
- A list of your community organization memberships
- A list/description of your community achievements
- A list/description of your professional titles and achievements
- Any military service (bonus points for a picture in uniform)
#2. Issues
By now they know that you’re a nice enough person, with a great background, but voters want to know: what are you going to do when you get into office? This is another variation on the age old question: why should we elect you?
This is where you get into the meat (and by that I mean bullet points) of your message. Beware though! Keep it short and keep it positive (for now).
#3. Endorsements
Now the voters know who you are, and they know what you stand for, but that’s not good enough! Voters also want to who vouches for you, and this is where your endorsements list comes in. Not only do people in the community want to see that other people support you, they also want to see that people they know (or know of) support you. It’s even a fun thing for voters to scour through a list of hundreds to pick out names of people they know–or possibly even their own name.
#4. Negative/Comparison Campaign Piece
One majorly important rule to follow in campaigning is: Start Positive and End Positive. The key to saying is that somewhere in between starting and ending your campaign, you may need to engage in what many call negative campaigning. I’m not talking about personal attacks, but pointing out the differences between you and your opponent, because one common thing that voters ask after they know about facets 1-3 is: why you and why not the other guy (or gal)?
However you structure or present this portion of your message, it’s very important to remember to make sure you have touched on Biography, Issues, and Endorsements first before even entering these waters.
#5. Wrapping it all up.
Remember the thing about ending positive? That’s where this comes in, but many candidates run out of money in their advertising budget before they can come around to the positive portion. Make sure that doesn’t happen to you.
At the end, since you’re reiterating your overall image and message you’ve been spreading throughout the campaign, feel free to have your direct mail pieces or advertisements include a bit of bio, issues, and endorsements, all wrapped up in a positive way.
What do you think? Is there a different order, or more elements we’re missing.
Please leave them in the comments!
About the Author Walksheet is a blog dedicated to local campaigning. We hope to be your guide through the political campaign process, and even more so, before you begin the political campaign process! Email us at contact@walksheet.com!
Read more from this author
Leave Us A Comment!
For many first time candidates, the hardest thing to do is to figure out how and what to communicate with voters. With enthusiasm and energy usually (and hopefully) in full force, the tendency for many first timers is to just let it all out. This can often result in a muddled, disorganized, and confusing message for voters.
[...] Positive! As we descrived in a past post, the first impression of a candidate should be a positive one. Include a mix of biography, [...]
[...] Positive! As we descrived in a past post, the first impression of a candidate should be a positive one. Include a mix of biography, [...]
[...] while back, we posted an article on “How To: Present Your Image to Voters in 5 Key Ways”. The first part that candidates need to present themselves to voters is in the form of the [...]