Ah yes, literature. the random scraps of paper and mail that we so willingly give to people knowing, full well, that it will end up in the garbage can. Yes, the sad but true fact about campaign literature is that it will be thrown away at some point.

So why do we bother? Because, not only is literature necessary for day-to-day door knocking, it is the most effective way to reach a large number of people in a relatively cheep way. The difference between complete garbage and something that may get you a vote is quality: quality information, quality product, and quality readability. If you follow this formula, you have a shot at making people look at your literature on and before election day.  The key is to make a product that voters put on the counter and not in the garbage can. (more…)

So, you have decided to run for office – great! Hopefully you are running because you feel that you can make a difference in you community and, most likely, you have noticed a few things that have made you upset.  You don’t like the high taxes, the poor quality of the roads, the pollution, or the education system – in short – you have issues.

But it is ok! Odds are if you are upset about something or feel that a better job can be done, the voting public probably feels the same way.  What many campaigns fail to do is translate their plans to the public in the form of a solid message that people understand.  In short, you need to define your message.

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Facebook is going to be the most powerful weapon you have in the social networking world. These days, having a Facebook account it is almost a prerequisite to any sort of campaigning you do, be it personal, professional, or political. Not having an account is equivalent to not having lawn signs – you just have to do it.

Facebook is also the most professional of the social networking sites, so you should treat it as such. This does not mean that you can’t have a little fun, it does mean that you have to take your profile seriously. Facebook will reach the biggest section of your targeted supporters and volunteers for free, so don’t skimp on maintenance.

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One of the new kids on the block in Social Networking  Twitter.com. Twitter can be relatively hard to understand why people are so in love with it. Regardless of your feelings toward Twitter, it is something that you can easily use to reach volunteers and voters.  Plus, Republicans have latched on to Twitter and are using it very effectivly. 

Today, we will cover the basics of Twitter. At a later date we will get into more advance Twitter marketing techniques.

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It goes without saying that the Internet is a powerful way to spread information about your campaign without much of a time investment, but one thing that is often overlooked by campaigns is the ability for the Internet to directly link you to your supporters though mass communication.

Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace allow you to send personal messages to your supporters’ en mass through simple, yet effective, messages. On these sites you can set up personal profiles and fan pages that allow supporters to have a direct link to you and your campaign.

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