The Campaignguy Blog

A campaign message isn’t just a slogan—it’s the core of your campaign. It defines why you’re running and why voters should support you. If you want to win, you need a compelling, memorable message that resonates with voters. What Makes a Great Campaign Message? It’s Simple & Clear: Your message should be easy to understand in one sentence. It’s Relevant: It should address the issues that matter most to voters. It’s Memorable: A strong message sticks with people long after they hear it. It Sets You Apart: It should highlight what makes you the best candidate. Let's look at the 2024 race for President of the United States in which the 45th President Donald Trump ran against then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The video below, titled "Together" is an excellent example of President Trump's message.  It is clear, hopeful and has a message that was consistent throughout his entire campaign: As a contrast, the Harris campaign, that had the apparent advantage o...

  When I ran my first political campaign in 1995, I did not know what I was doing. I was a 20 year-old college student at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.  I had excellent organizational skills, I was a former boy scout, I was in Navy ROTC, and I was in College Republicans.  I was also a lifeguard at the university's aquatic center.  None of these things prepared me for running a countywide race. I did not even think of looking for a book about how to run a political campaign.  I thought that type of text would not exist. So everything I began learning about how to run a political campaign, I had to learn organically - either by creating my own system or learning from others who had run campaigns, before. Fortunately, I was able to work with a campaign professional who had run federal and state political races.  I took classes about campaigning that were offered in my state, and I began to learn how campaigns were structured and how successful people won t...

  In my last post, I discussed what value signs can bring to a campaign, but signs are not a campaign in themselves.   Signs can raise awareness, provide a show of strength, and they can reinforce your brand. But there are other questions that must be answered: Does it matter if I am running for school board or United States Senate whether I get signs? Who needs to see them? What should they say? How many colors should they have? What size should they be? How many political signs should I get? Where should I put them? Does it matter if I am running for school board or U.S. Senate if I get signs? The primary difference between a school board race and a U.S. Senate race is budget.   Senate races presumably have larger budgets than a local race, but they also have more territory to cover, geographically speaking.   So if the purpose is to raise awareness, signs can help in all sizes of race.   You budget will dictate if you can afford m...

How do you know if you need political signs for yards and lawns in your election? Many candidates wonder what the value or purpose is in the signs they see during a political campaign. As I got started in politics, I made sure that my candidates had a lot of signs.  The conventional wisdom was that the more signs you see for a candidate, the better the chance they have to win.  Right? Not really. Before investing in signage for your campaign, there are a number of items to consider. How many political signs should I get? What size should they be? How many colors should they have? What should they say? What is the purpose of the signs? Who needs to see them? Where should I put them? Does it matter if I am running for school board or United States Senate whether I get signs? Let me start with what I believe is the most important question: what is the purpose of political yard signs? When I was waging a "sign war" against other candidates, I wanted to flood the neighborhoods wit...

  The First Steps in Running for Office: What You Must Know Deciding to run for office is a big step, but before you announce your candidacy, there are some critical things you need to do. Whether you’re running for city council, state legislature, or Congress, these first steps will set the foundation for your campaign. 1. Know the Legal Requirements Before anything else, make sure you meet the legal qualifications to run. Check: Age and residency requirements Filing deadlines and paperwork Campaign finance laws (even small campaigns have reporting requirements) Professional qualifications for the position (i.e. judges usually have to have a certain level of legal experience and a license to practice law) Your local election office or Secretary of State’s website is a great place to start. The Campaignguy.com web site has a great resource page that directs you to a listing of Secretary of State web sites by state as well as links to help you get a federal campaig...