The Campaignguy Blog

  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...

Winning candidates don’t just talk about policies—they tell a story. A strong campaign narrative connects with voters on an emotional level, making them feel like they’re part of something bigger.   An effective campaign narrative will also humanize the candidate so that voters and supporters can identify with the story. What is a Campaign Narrative? Your narrative defines who you are and what you stand for and will develop a level of relationship between you and the voter.   It is important that you know who and what you are so that you are able to define yourself before an opponent has the opportunity. Your campaign narrative is the “wraparound” story that connects your values, message, and policy positions. It answers three key questions:   1.       Who are you? (Your background and experience – the part that connects you emotionally)   2.       Why are you running? (The value you add to the voter – what ...

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Humans versus Artificial Intelligence (AI) Artificial intelligence continues to shape our lives, from customer service bots to self-driving cars.   But it has also quietly entered, like an invasive species, another arena: political campaigns. The question voters now face is both unsettling and important — are we voting for real people, or for personas curated and crafted by AI? It’s no secret that campaigns are largely driven by image. From the first televised presidential debates to today's social media soundbites, candidates are packaged to appeal to different audiences. It seems like some consultants can design a candidate to fit any identity from sex, age, and height to race, religion or sexual preference.   Some of the candidates seem to be straight from central casting. Increasingly, and covertly, that packaging is no longer just the work of human consultants and strategists — it's progressively being generated, tested, and refined by artificial intelligence. H...

  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...