What you need to Launch your Campaign!
Thinking of running for office?! That’s GREAT!
We need more passionate people like you. I’d love to chat with you about your goals and vision! When you are ready to launch your campaign, there are a handful of things you NEED in order to come off legitimate. These will make sure you start collecting votes, volunteers, and dollars from the start and ensure a successful campaign.
You need a website. Not just a facebook page. And it needs a good domain name. Try to keep it short and to the point. If it can be just your name, like SabrinaHelm.com, that’s great! But most of us don’t have unique enough names. So Sabrina4SchoolBoard.com for example would be your best bet. Avoid overly long domains like SabrinaForWashingtonCountySchoolBoardDistrict3.com They are too long and no one will remember them.
Your website needs to have these 4 things as the bare minimum.
Home page - this is where you introduce yourself to your constituents. You’ve got a professional picture (this is worth paying for) and a blurb about who you are and what you are running for. An “about you” page. What is your story? Why are you running for office? And why are you the best candidate for this office? Make sure it’s compelling!
Your platform. WHAT are you going to do when you are in office? What are the top 3 (or more) things that are on your radar? Will you fix potholes, bring broadband internet, expand medicaid, etc.
A DONATE BUTTON! Once people see and read about you, they will be ready to donate! Make it EASY to send you money! Most websites have an easy way to add a donate button to the page. Just link it up with your ActBlue or other fundraising platform. Make the button bright and make sure there is one on EVERY PAGE!
Social media links. Your website’s main goal is to be the central hub for basic information. It won’t need to be updated frequently. All the day to day information will be going out in social media and emails. So make sure they can find you via website and then follow you via socials and sign up for the newsletter.
Speaking of social media, which ones do you need?! I would say every single candidate needs a Facebook page. This is not your personal facebook account; it is an official page on facebook just for your campaign. Then depending on the size and scope of your campaign, I would recommend Instagram, Twitter (X?), TikTok, etc. The larger the campaign, the more accounts you will need. But most campaigns do well with the big 3 (FB, IG, TW). TIP: Do your very best to have the exact same handle on ALL of your social media accounts. This will come in very handy later.
Lastly, a professional email. No legitimate campaign has an email like YourName@gmail.com. No Yahoo.com, no AOL.com, you need YOURDOMAIN.com. Most websites allow you to buy and set up an email easily through the same platform. It’s worth the $10 or so a month - I promise.
So that is the bare bones minimum a campaign needs for a digital launch. There are many other things you will want to consider, but with those, you’ll be ready to collect votes, volunteers, and money from day one.
If you would like help setting up and launching your campaign, I would love to set you up with my Launch Kit! Email me today and let me do the heavy lifting for you.
