5 Essentials you need to launch your political campaign

Launching a political campaign is an intimidating task. There are many things to do and laws to follow, but it’s not impossible to win if you set up these essentials first.

Define Your Campaign: What Are You Running For?

You have the idea, you know what you’re running for and why, but before you start fundraising or building a team of supporters, understand that there are a few things to consider. First, define your campaign. What are you trying to accomplish? What does success look like? This can take some time and soul-searching, but it’s a good idea to think about this before leaving home base.

For example, you might want to be mayor because there are too many potholes in your town, and nobody seems interested in fixing them. Maybe you are fed up with the lack of fishing access on state land, so you run for State Legislature. Perhaps your children aren’t getting the education they deserve, so you run for the school board. Whatever the motive, make sure it is clear to you, so you can easily explain your reasoning to anyone who asks.

Learn the Election Laws

To run a successful political campaign, you need to become familiar with the election laws in your area. This means learning the regulations for running for office and voting, as well as their deadlines. In addition, it’s important to know about campaign finance laws and rules for getting on the ballot.

You can look up all relevant election laws and critical dates for your area here.

Get the Tools Necessary to Run a Campaign

To get started on your campaign, you need tools that will help you reach out to voters and receive donations. These tools include:

• Campaign website
• Voter data (Email list, cell number list, voting propensity, etc.)
• Canvassing app
• Campaign social media account
• Donation system
• Political design (Yard signs, flyers, shirts, etc.)

Build Your Supporters and Volunteers

Volunteers are the lifeblood of political campaigns. A candidate needs volunteers to help with everything from organizing events to knocking on doors, and you’ll also need them to help spread your message through social media and other platforms. You might be thinking, "I am running for city council, and no one cares enough to volunteer." You might be surprised; if you try, you’ll find people willing to help. And if you can’t, then your spouse and kids will be your volunteers!

A good way to find volunteers is to find a group you align with online. If you’re running for office in Florida (or any other state), look up what kinds of groups exist in Florida that might support your cause. If there aren’t any groups yet formed around your issue, create one yourself! Once you’ve identified some potential backers, reach out via email asking them if they’d like to help out during this election cycle. This way, they’ll know exactly what they’re signing up for instead of having a vague feeling about helping out without knowing how much time commitment will be required each week.

So, whether you have 100 volunteers, your kids, or that one super politically active uncle, it is important to find ways they can help spread your message.

Campaign Products and Swag

Campaign products and swag are the items you use to promote your candidacy, like:

• Yard signs
• Door hangers
• Postcards
• T-shirts
• Hats
• Stickers
• Others!

Are you wondering if you need things like yard signs? Check out this blog post on the effectiveness of yard signs.

If done right, these little touches can go a long way in getting supporters excited about helping out during the campaign season. After all, nobody wants to feel left behind just because their favorite candidate isn’t popular enough yet!

Launching a Campaign is Hard, but Vottiv Makes It Simple

We’re excited to help you launch your political campaign! Get started for free at vottiv.com