Beginner’s Guide to Grassroots Campaiging

Joe Garecht

Today, we present The Beginner’s Guide to Grassroots

Campaigning, the third installment in our “Beginner’s Guide”

Series.  (If you haven’t already, be sure to check out The Beginner’s

Guide to   Political Communications and The Beginner’s Guide to

Political Fundraising).

Working the grassroots is a vital component of any campaign, no

matter how large or small.  For local campaigns, grassroots

politics takes on added significance as one of the main ways to

communicate with the voters.  No matter what office you are

running for, no matter how much (or how little) cash your

campaign has, follow these tips to make sure your grassroots

campaign gets off to a great start:

Building Your Campaign Organization

5 Secrets of Successful Grassroots Organizations – Tips for

making your grassroots organization shine.

The 2 Most Asked Questions About Grassroots Politics – Do you

know the answers?  They may surprise you!

Finding and Managing Volunteers

How to Find Volunteers for Your Political Campaign – Where to

find great volunteers to help you win.

Creating Volunteer Superstars – Figuring out how to best use

each and every volunteer.

How to Manage Political Campaign Volunteers – Soup to nuts,

getting your volunteers on track and on task.

Door to Door Campaigning

Why Your Campaign HAS to Go Door to Door – The top reasons

why your campaign – and your candidate – has to start knocking

on doors.

How to Run a Great Door to Door Campaign – Now you know you

need to get out there… here’s how to do it!

Grassroots Events

How to Hold Successful Town Hall Meetings – Get out there and

meet the crowd.  How to use town halls to build your name

recognition and benefit your campaign.

How to Plan a Candidate Tour Event – Using candidate tour

events to build local support.

Voter Registration and Absentee Ballots

The Right Way to Hold a Voter Registration Drive – Don’t just set

up a table and hope for the best… use this guide to help you

target your efforts.

Successful Absentee Voter Drives – Reaching (and persuading)

absentee voters with your campaign’s message.

Get Out The Vote (GOTV)

Winning Your Election by Getting Out the Vote – Your strategy

guide to running a GOTV operation.

Do You Know How to Set Your Get Out the Vote Goals? – Setting

GOTV goals that will have your team celebrating on Election

Night.

A Guide to Making GOTV Calls – How to run an effective get out

the vote phone bank.

Advanced Grassroots Topics

Linking Your Campaign with a Grassroots Movement – How to

connect with outside grassroots movements to help you win.

Running a Grassroots Contribution Campaign – Raising money at

the grassroots.

Building Political Coalitions – One of our most popular (and

longest) articles ever.

Beginner’s Guide to Political Communications

Joe Garecht

After an exhaustive recent conversation about setting up his

political campaign, a first-time candidate for public office asked

me, “What’s the most important thing I need to know that I

haven’t asked you about yet?”

I thought about the question for awhile…  He had asked about

fundraising (he knew he needed to know about raising money),

and he had asked about grassroots strategy.  He had also asked

about finding a campaign manager, how to craft his campaign

message, and how to find volunteers.

The one thing he hadn’t asked about, and that he needed to be

thinking about, was how to communicate his campaign’s

message to the voters.

I realized after the fact that most first time candidates ask about

fundraising and grassroots strategy, staffing and volunteers. 

New candidates think about the issues, they think about the

money, and they think about the manpower.  If they’re on the

advanced track, they also think about their message.  But what

most novice candidates don’t spend a lot of time thinking

through is how they are going to effectively and efficiently

communicate their message to the voters.

In response to that candidate’s question, I presented him with an

organized list of some previous Local Victory articles that

combine to form a Beginner’s Guide to Political

Communications.  These articles, linked below, offer you a

complete overview of the communication process, and will put

any candidate in a much better position to work with the press,

advertise, and otherwise spread the word about your campaign.

Communications Strategy

A Guide to Raising Your Name ID -How to make sure everyone

knows your candidate’s name.

3 Best Ways for Under-Funded Candidates to be Heard –

Communicating effectively without a lot of money.

The Top Three Principles of Political Design – The basics of

creating well-designed communications pieces.

Campaign Slogans

Political Slogans: Creating a Compelling Campaign Slogan – How

to make sure your tag-line moves the voters.

Why Some Campaign Slogans Fail – And why some succeed.

Dealing with the Press

The #1 Rule for Getting Press Coverage for Your Campaign –

How to get earned media coverage for your candidate.

Communicating with the Media… Plan to Succeed – A

comprehensive guide to dealing with the press.

How to Deal with Bad Political Press – It happens to every

candidate at some time or another.

Political Yard Signs

How to Design Great Political Signs – Make sure yours are

readable, well crafted, and remarkable.

What’s Your Political Yard Sign Strategy? – Have a plan and stick

to it.

Campaign Literature and Direct Mail

Political Direct Mail that Sizzles! – A guide to creating

phenomenal direct mail.

Does Your Campaign Have Effective Get Out the Vote Literature?

– If you’re running a get out the vote operation, make sure it is

communicating the right message!

Designing a Phenomenal Candidate Walk Piece – Writing and

designing a great palm card.

Online Political Campaigns

How to Find Political Success on the Internet – How to set up

your campaign website the right way, and how to use e-mail in

your campaign.

The Right and Wrong Reasons for Using the Internet in Your

Campaign – Develop the bets strategy for winning the online

political battle.

Using Social Media in Your Campaign – How to use social

networking sites to help you win.

Political Speeches and Debates

The Best Ways to Prepare for a Political Debate – Should you

debate?  If so, how should you prepare?

How to Prepare for a Political Speech – Getting ready to give the

speech of your life!

There you have it – a compendium of the best Local Victory has

to offer on developing a great communications strategy for your

campaign.  These articles are in depth, so no matter how much

experience you have in politics, you’re sure to learn a lot about

effectively communicating your campaign’s message.

Beginner’s Guide to Political Fundraising

Joe Garecht

Several weeks ago, we posted the first in our “Beginner’s Guides”

series: The Beginner’s Guide to Political Communications.  We

got lots of great feedback and requests for more.

Today, we continue the series with The Beginner’s Guide to

Political Fundraising.  This article brings together the best

fundraising advice from the Local Victory Archives to walk you

step by step through the most important facets of political

fundraising.  The articles below will present you with a complete

overview of political fundraising, and will help you answer that

age old question: “How do I raise enough money to win my

campaign?”

Political Fundraising: Start Here First

Political Fundraising 101 – The basics of political fundraising,

including why cold calling rarely works, and why you should

always ask for more than you think you will get.

Advanced Political Fundraising: How to Make an Ask — Step-by-

step system for the scariest part of all: asking people for money.

Finding the Money to Start Your Campaign — How to raise the

seed money you need to launch your campaign.

Fundraising Plans

Why Your Campaign Needs a Fundraising Plan – Every campaign

needs a fundraising plan, no matter how large or small.

Writing a Political Fundraising Plan – Here’s how to write a great

political fundraising plan.

Fundraising Events

The #1 Tip for a Successful Fundraising Event – The number one

tip for raising more money through political fundraising events.

10 Steps to a Successful Fundraising Event – The step by step

guide to holding a successful event.

Online Fundraising

How to Raise Political Donations Online – How to raise money

over the Internet.

Building Fundraising Networks

Political Fundraising Networks – How to build and motivate your

supporters to raise money on your behalf.

Fundraising Direct Mail

7 Tips for Writing Political Fundraising Mail — Surefire

strategies for raising money through political fundraising direct

mail.

Minor Donors

How to Set Up a Minor Donor Program — Those big checks are

important, but smaller donations add up.  Learn how to create a

scalable system for reaching smaller (“minor”) donors.

Raising Money from Political Action Committees (PACs)

What Are PACs? — What PACs are and what they do.

Raising Money from PACs – How to raise money from political

action committees.

Advanced Reading

7 Creative Political Fundraising Ideas — Seven tried and true

advanced fundraising ideas for your campaign.

The Best 5 Ways to Raise More Money for Your Campaign —

Learn how to increase your profit and decrease your fundraising

expenses.

The Complete Guide to Getting Your Campaign Off the Ground –

This premium kit from Local Victory comes with Raising Money

from High Dollar Donors, an 18 page report on how to raise big

donations from big donors.

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5 Secrets of Successful Grassroots Organizations

Joe Garecht

Everyone involved in politics is involved in setting up grassroots

organizations, one way or another.  Whether you are building a

grassroots effort for your campaign for public office, running a

political party organization, or involved in issue advocacy, you

can and should be setting up effective grassroots organizations

to advocate for your cause.

Very few grassroots organizations are “moderately successful.” 

In general, these groups, be they single-issue advocacy groups or

arms of a campaign for public office, are either very successful or

very unsuccessful.  Successful grassroots organizations are easy

to spot: they’ve got lots of members / volunteers, get on the

news (a lot!), and you know them by their brand.  How do these

organizations become super-successful?

1.  Plan for Success

Successful grassroots organizations have a well thought out, and

well-written plan.  Many people think groups like this simply

sprout up organically, without much forethought, but nothing

could be further from the truth.  Most uber-groups started with a

written plan.

2.  Have a Hierarchy

Grassroots groups without a hierarchy usually devolve into

anarchy.  Again, this may seem counterintuitive for a grassroots

organization, but the group will need a leadership structure with

defined responsibilities if it is going to succeed at a very high

level.

3.  Build a Brand

The most successful grassroots organizations out there are

recognizable by their brand (including their logo, their message,

and their spokespeople).  This is true for campaign-run

grassroots operations as well (just think about the Obama

campaign’s grassroots army in 2008 or the Bush/RNC 72-hour

Election Day corps in 2004).  Your group needs a consistent look

and feel for its marketing materials, one or more well-versed

press spokespeople, a logo, and a defined and consistent

message (just like a standard political campaign).

For more information on building a political brand, read Political

Slogans and How to Craft Your Campaign’s Message.

4.  Use Every Tool

Well-run grassroots organization use every tool at their disposal

to get their message out: press releases, press conferences, a

political website, volunteer activity, direct mail, door to door,

rallies, etc.  Write a plan that uses lots of different grassroots

techniques to make your voice heard.

5.  Ask for Members

One of the biggest reasons why small grassroots organizations

stay that way is because they become insular “cliques,” where

members are jealous of their role in the club and don’t really

want outsiders coming in to ruin their good time.  Your group

will never get big enough to have clout using this mentality.  One

of the primary functions of your organization should be to

grow… and that means going out and actually asking for new

members… all the time, everywhere you go.

Grassroots organizations are a great tool in the arsenal of

successful issue advocates, political campaigns, party

organizations, and more… use these five secrets to help you build

a strong and sustainable grassroots organization.

The 2 Most Asked Questions About Grassroots Politics

Joe Garecht

I recieve a ton of e-mails every month asking questions on

winning local elections.  The majority of these questions deal

with grassroots politics – organizing a district, conducting

canvasses, etc.

In this article, I’m taking a look at the two most frequently asked

questions I receive: 

1.  How early should I start campaigning?

This is one of the most common questions for first-time

candidates and campaign managers.  The short answer is: it’s

never too early to start.  There are always activities you can

carry-out to help your campaign or future campaign.  Even if the

election is four years away, you can be out meeting people,

talking with leaders and activists, building an organization and

writing your campaign plan.

Of course, you don’t want to announce your candidacy or run

advertisements too far in advance of the campaign.  While the

best time to start these activities varies by place, election and

strategy, they generally should never take place before the last

election before yours is complete (November of the year before

the your election) and in all but the biggest and/or best funded

races should not take place before January of the year of your

election.

When deciding when to start running advertisements, remember

to wait until people are paying attention to the campaign or

ready to start paying attention – if you run ads and no one cares,

you are wasting your campaign’s precious fundraising dollars.

2.  Shouldn’t I just stand outside grocery stores and factory

gates shaking hands and seeking people to vote for me?

If there’s one concept that is overlooked by most campaigns, it is

targeting.  Campaigns operate with limited resources – limited

amounts of time, money and manpower.  These resources must

be used wisely if the campaign is to be successful.  The way to

make sure that these resources are used the best way they can be

is to target – pick which voters you need to concentrate on

delivering your message to and use your resources to do it.

Standing outside stores and factories shaking hands is a risky

proposition – not only do you not know if the people you meet

there are registered to vote or if they even live in the district, but

if they are mostly supporters of your opponent, campaigning

there may wake sleeping dogs and propel your opponent’s

campaign to action in that area.

Simply put, don’t conduct these activities unless they are

targeted and targeted well.  Only campaign at malls, factories and

stores when you know that most of the people there are from the

district and open to voting for your candidate.  Most times, you

won’t be able to be sure of this, and thus shouldn’t campaign in

these places unless you have so many volunteers that it is either

let them campaign at the mall or send them home because you

have no work left for them.

 For more great articles on grassroots politics and tactics, check

out Winning Your Election by Getting Out the Vote and How to

Run a Great Door to Door Campaign.

How to Find Volunteers for Your Political Campaign

Joe Garecht

The backbone of any local campaign is its volunteers. After

recruiting a volunteer coordinator, the campaign should set its

sights on recruiting capable volunteers — people who are loyal,

interested, willing to work hard, and able to successfully perform

the tasks they are assigned. Listed below (in no particular order)

are the top 8 sources for volunteers to staff your local campaign.

Some you may have heard of, others not, but all should be mined

for members of your volunteer army.

1. Family and Friends

No one knows the candidate better than his or her family and

friends, and they should be the first source of local campaign

volunteers. These individuals are typically easy to recruit, loyal

to the candidate, and willing to work hard.

2. College Students

One of the best and often overlooked sources for campaign

volunteers is at your local college or university. Political Science

majors are usually eager to get real political experience —

students with other helpful majors, such as Journalism, History,

Information Technology, etc. are also quality potential

volunteers. School political science departments, student

governments, and political clubs can serve as easy points of

contact.

3. Association Members

Is the candidate an active member of any civic, community,

church, or other group? If so, members of those groups may be

willing to spend their free time working on the campaign.

Members of such organizations are often knowledgeable about

local issues, and have large networks of civic-minded

acquaintances.

4. Local Political Parties

Your local political party may be able to provide you with names

of people who have volunteered in the past, or who have asked

to volunteer for this election. Check with party leaders to see if

such lists are available.

5. Unsolicited Offers

Few people will call a campaign or stop a candidate on the street

and ask to donate money. But many campaigns are surprised by

how many people offer to volunteer their time and talents to the

campaign without being asked. Be prepared for unsolicited offers

to volunteer: always carry small, pre-printed cards for potential

volunteers to fill out, and make sure to follow up and involve

them in the campaign.

6. Volunteer Networks

Campaigns can also utilize the friends and families of the existing

volunteer corps. Ask your volunteers to recruit their own friends

and family to help with the race, and provide a creative

opportunity for them to do so: hold a pizza party for volunteers

and ask them to bring their interested friends, have volunteers

who aren’t busy call their friends from campaign headquarters to

ask them to join, etc.

7. Campaign Events

After asking for votes and/or donations at campaign events, the

campaign should ask anyone interested in volunteering to fill out

an information card. This recruitment can be done at all kinds of

events: the kick-off rally, fundraising functions, coffees, etc. If

such a solicitation threatens to detract from the main purpose of

the event, the recruitment can take place on the way out, by

placing tables or staff at the back of the event.

8. Paid “Volunteers”

Most campaigns utilize a small paid staff as the core of the

campaign, and use volunteers for work such as literature drops

and phone banks. Sometimes, however, the campaign simply

does not have enough qualified volunteers to perform the tasks it

needs to get done, and must hire college students, senior citizens,

or others to perform the work usually done by volunteers. Such

workers are usually paid by the hour and are most often utilized

for election day get-out-the-vote efforts. If the campaign decides

that it must use “paid volunteers,” it should make sure that their

work is carefully supervised, to ensure that the work that the

“volunteers” are paid to do is actually completed.

Creating Volunteer Superstars

Joe Garecht

Volunteers are the backbone of any local campaign. National

campaigns have tons of paid staff, and use volunteers only to fill

in the gaps — but for the local campaign, most of the work is

going to be done by volunteers. Of course, there are two type of

volunteer teams that a campaign can assemble. The first is

unenthusiastic, chaotic, and ineffective. The second is energetic,

focused, and successful. How can you make sure that your

volunteer team ends up looking like the latter?

1. Find the Right Volunteer Coordinator

The volunteer coordinator’s job is a difficult one. He or she must

be both a smart, active manager who can head up a small army of

volunteers, and a real people person who can soothe egos and

ensure peace in the volunteer corps. The single most important

factor in ensuring a successful volunteer organization is choosing

the right volunteer coordinator.

The volunteer coordinator must be someone who will be able to

motivate the volunteers to complete tasks on time, without

hurting their feelings or bruising their egos. This is doubly hard

when you consider that volunteers, by their very nature, are

unpaid — there ‘s nothing holding them to the campaign but

their own desire, and the coordinator’s skills. The coordinator

must also be comfortable delegating responsibility, and doing so

in an orderly fashion. Except for the most local of elections, the

volunteer coordinator will not be able to personally manage

every volunteer operation, and must be able to recruit and

appoint other leaders within the volunteer organization.

2. Keep Your Volunteers Informed

The worst feeling for a volunteer is to feel “uninformed.” If a

volunteer is giving his or her time to the campaign, he or she

expects to be a real part of the action. Volunteers should be

regularly brought up to date, either by meetings with the

campaign staff, newsletters, or emails. Even if a volunteer isn’t

really the most important person in the drive to election day, he

or she must feel like they are.

3. Keep Your Volunteers Happy

The second worst feeling for a volunteer is to feel bored. Always

use your volunteers, even if there is nothing for them to do. If the

campaign simply has run out of work (which should rarely

happen) or if the volunteer isn’t particularly competent (more

likely,) he or she should still be given some task to keep them

busy. Volunteers in local races talk – to neighbors, friends,

relatives, etc. The last thing you want on your hands is a

disgruntled volunteer . If a volunteer is having a bad experience

at campaign headquarters, everyone they know will hear about

it. If the volunteer feels like a part of the team, however,

everyone he or she knows will hear what a great campaign they

are involved in. A busy volunteer is a happy volunteer.

Similarly, always thank your volunteers, even before election

day. Throw inexpensive “volunteer parties,” send thank -you

notes, schedule some time for the volunteers (as a group) to

meet with the candidate. If your volunteers feel appreciated,

they’ll work extra hard to make sure your campaign is successful.

4. Give Your Volunteers Defined Goals and Defined Tasks

Finally, it is important that your volunteer team has a sense of

direction. Before delegating tasks, the volunteer coordinator

should sit down with the campaign manager or other staff and

decide just what goals the volunteer teem will pursue. Some

common tasks include registering voters, helping with literature

drops, making or receiving calls at campaign headquarters,

assisting with get out the vote operations, and helping with

fundraising events. The coordinator should set numerical goals

wherever possible: The volunteer team will register 100 new

voters, assist with the get out the vote effort by taking making

sure 2% of our needed votes get to the polls, etc. The volunteer

team should perform these goals in conjunction with the

campaign strategy, as laid out by the campaign manager. The

strategy is always fluid, so the volunteer team must be ready for

changes mid-campaign.

Once the goals are laid out, the volunteers should be given

defined responsibilities to achieve these goals. Volunteers should

be organized by task (e.g. volunteer voter registration team) or

by geography (e.g. the 25th precinct volunteer team) and a good

leader should be appointed for each group. The groups should be

given its defined goal, and taught how to accomplish that goal.

The groups leader and volunteer coordinator should continually

ensure that progress is being made.

Use Them or Lose Them

In a national campaign, volunteers may be an afterthought

(though some may debate the wisdom of that strategy,) but in

the local campaign, volunteers are crucial. In order to ensure that

your volunteer team moves you closer to success each day, you

must not only use them, but use them smartly. By recruiting the

right volunteer coordinator, keeping your volunteers informed

and happy, and defining goals for them ahead of time, you are

well on the way to creating your own team of volunteer

superstars.

How to Manage Political Campaign Volunteers

Joe Garecht

Volunteers are an integral part of almost every political

campaign.  Whether you’re running for the School Board or the

Senate, chances are that a good portion of your campaign work

will be performed by volunteers.

Your volunteers are a great resource for your political campaign,

but they also pose additional issues for you: they’re not being

paid, so they can’t be fired, and they’re helping you (usually) out

of the goodness of their hearts (and because they believe in you),

so you have to be careful how you manage them.  That being said,

most campaigns need volunteers to do the work, because they

couldn’t afford to hire enough staff to do all of the work that

needs to be done.

Recruiting Volunteers

The first step in using volunteers in your campaign is to recruit

them and get them on board.  For more information on how to

find volunteers, read How to Find Volunteers for Your Political

Campaign and  5 Tips for Recruiting Political Volunteers.

Setting Expectations

Once you have your volunteers on board, be sure to set

expectations for them.  The most important expectation to set is

one of professionalism.  You’ll want to make it clear to your

volunteers that you consider them a part of your team, and that

you expect them to represent your campaign well.

The best way to set this expectation is by creating a professional

atmosphere.  Treat your volunteers like your staff whenever

possible: give them a decent place to work at your office, invite

them to events, and set a good example in the workplace.

Another expectation you should set with your volunteers is what

type of work you envision them performing.  I often suggest that

campaigns give titles and defined job responsibilities to their

most trusted volunteers.

When a volunteer signs up to work a couple of hours each week,

shows up on time for a few weeks, and works diligently, bring

them in for a meeting with the campaign manager and offer them

the chance to “take over” a project (even if it is only answering

the phones or sending thank you letters) during the hours they

are there.  If they agree, give them a title (“Evening Receptionist”

or “Afternoon Mailroom Supervisor”) and a written job

description.

Making Team Players

It’s in everyone’s best interest to make your volunteers feel like

part of your team.  Your volunteers will feel motivated and

grateful for the opportunity, and your campaign will reap the

benefits of good work product and happy volunteer staffers.

Let your paid staff and consultants know that they should make

the volunteers feel like part of the team.  Of course, you may not

want your volunteers to be privy to everything that your paid

staff knows or has access to, but it generally does no harm to

invite your volunteers out to lunch, cc: them on some innocuous

notes and e-mails, and invite them to participate in some off-site

events or other perks.

For more information on  making your volunteers part of your

team, read Creating Volunteer Superstars.

Tracking Performance

To get the most of out of your political campaign volunteers,

track their performance, just as you would with your paid staff. 

Hold regular meetings with your volunteers to check on their

work, answer their questions, and offer guidance on coming

projects.

Also, be sure to thank your volunteers often.  Remember, they

aren’t being paid to do this job… they’re doing it because they

believe in your cause.

How to Run a Great Door to Door Campaign

Joe Garecht

In local campaigns, often one of the most cost-effective and

beneficial activities is door-to-door campaigning. While national

and even statewide campaigns tend to shun door-to-door as a

way to reach voters and will use it only sparingly as a way to

generate media attention, candidates for local and county office

can set up effective door-to-door programs that reach most, if

not all of the campaign’s targeted voting base.

Where to go Door-To-Door

The first task for a successful door-to-door program is to

determine the precincts in which the candidate or staff should

use door-to-door campaigning. This is essentially a question of

time. While door-to-door campaigning is one of the most

effective ways to get voters to support a candidate, it is also one

of the most time consuming campaign activities. Campaigns

should start going door-to-door in swing districts: those districts

the candidate has a possibility of winning, but which are

undecided. These should be followed by districts that are most

likely to vote for the candidate. Finally, if there is time, the

candidate may go door-to-door in precincts he is probably not

going to win. Campaigns must be careful, however, about going

door-to -door in hostile precincts. While the candidate may pick

up a few votes, such campaigning has the potential to incite

hostile voters to be more involved in the opponent’s campaign.

Often, it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie.

Who Should go Door-To-Door

The most effective way for a campaign to generate votes with

door-to-door campaigning is for the candidate to go himself. The

success of the appeal flows from the candidate. The candidate

can generate more votes and goodwill than his spouse, who in

turn, can generate more support than the candidate’s friends,

and they, in turn, can generate more than his staff, and so forth.

Some campaigns who need to cover a lot of ground can’t have the

candidate visit all of the precincts they would like to cover, and

thus must use staff and volunteers to go door-to-door. While this

is less effective, it can still be very successful if the right

procedures are followed.

Before You Go

Before knocking on doors, the campaign should locate a copy of

the “street lists” for the precincts that are going to be walked.

These lists contain the names of all registered voters, with party

affiliation (if applicable), arranged by street. Such lists are

available at the local election office, county clerk’s office, or other

election board for the campaign area. Occasionally, a small fee is

charged for this information. The campaign should decide in

advance who will be visited… Is the candidate going to target just

voters of his own party? Or is he going to visit independents, or

perhaps even members of opposing parties? Non-voters,

however, should not be visited. The street list will not contain

the names of people who are not registered to vote — thus, if no

one is listed as an eligible voter at a particular address, the

candidate should not waste time knocking there — there is too

much to do and too little time to do its. In strong precincts, these

people can be targeted with a voter registration campaign by the

campaign’s staff, but the candidate should pass these houses by.

The campaign may also want to think about sending out

postcards the week before the candidate will be going door-to-

door, with a short message like “I’ll be in your area on (give the

specific day) and hope to be able to talk to you regarding the

upcoming election.” The postcard can also contain a picture of

the candidate. This way, voters will know who the candidate is

and why he is there before he knocks on the door. If postcards

are sent, the candidate must show up to campaign on the day

listed — rain or shine. Nothing damages credibility like telling

people you will be somewhere and then failing to show up.

The Big Day

On the day that the candidate goes door-to-door, he should not

go alone. At least one aide should visit each home with him. This

aide can cut off talkative visitees, take names and hand out

literature. If the candidate is held up at any one door, the aide

should step in and explain, “I’m sorry, we must move along.”

Thus, the candidate is spared from having to cut the voter off.

When the candidate knocks, he should have a piece of literature

(palm card) handy to give to each voter. The aide who is with

him will take notes and write down what, if any, issues the voter

is interested in. If the voter is particularly supportive of the

candidate, the aide can take down the voter’s name and number

to be a volunteer or put up a yard sign. The candidate must never

argue with the voter– if the voter does not support the candidate,

the candidate can simply move along (the aide can facilitate this).

The candidate should never, ever argue.

If the person being visited is not home, the candidate or his staff

should place a door hanger or other note on the house’s door

with a short note, something to the effect of “I stopped by but

you weren’t home. I hope that I can meet you sometime soon to

discuss the issues that are important to you.” The staff should

already have added a short, handwritten note to the card, with a

“personal” message for the voter, something like “I hope to see

you soon — John Smith”

Afterward

After going door-to-door, the aide who went with the candidate

should write down all of the notes he took during the trip (enter

into the computer, if applicable). He should also make sure that

any yard signs or literature the voters asked for is mailed out or

delivered. Every voter who was actually home when the

candidate knocked should get a note the following week

thanking them for their time. This way the single door-to-door

campaign has produced at least three contacts per voter — One

note saying “I’m coming,” one visit from the candidate (or staff)

and one note saying “Thanks for having me.” The door-to-door

experience is also sure to gain a few extra yard signs, and maybe

even some volunteers.

Door-to-door campaigning, especially in small districts, is one of

the most cost-effective methods for garnering votes. With a

dedicated candidate and staff, and a plan in place, the campaign

can be sure to make the experience enjoyable and successful.

Article Archives

Categories:

Campaign Communications

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Grassroots Politics

Message and Strategy

Miscellaneous

Political Organization

Articles:

How to Find Amazing Volunteers and Use Them to Win

Your Election

The Step-by-Step Guide to Holding Great Political

Fundraising Events

Developing a Campaign Message that Voters Actually

Care About

The Ultimate Guide: Successful Door-to-Door

Campaigning

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How to Use Voter Blitzes to Build Excitement for Your

Campaign

Exploding Common Myths about Raising Political Money

4 Tips for Raising More Through Political Direct Mail

Fundraising

Beginner's Guide to Political Strategy

Your Fundraising Calls Start in 30 Minutes

How to Train Your Political Volunteers

Why YOU Should Run for Office

Political Direct Mail: Strategy and Tactics

Tips for Local Candidates Preparing for the Next Election

Cycle

4 Tips for Getting Your Political Campaign off the Ground

Last Minute Political Advice

How to Build Online Fundraising Networks for Your

Campaign

Standing Up for What You Believe In

Winning a Run-Off Election

How to be a Successful Big City Pol

8 Ways to Target Your Campaign Tactics

Beginner's Guide to Building a Strong Political

Organization

Running for Office When You Have a Day Job

How to Supersize Your Next Political Fundraising Event

3 Cheap Ways to Get Your Campaign Message Out

Overcoming Your Biggest Roadblocks to Running for

Office

Beginner's Guide to Grassroots Campaiging

How to Find Cheap Political Campaign Supplies

The Best Political Campaign Strategy for You

You Won Your Primary Election Campaign: Now What?

5 More Secrets for Winning a Political Campaign

Beginner's Guide to Political Fundraising

7 Tips for Writing Political Fundraising Direct Mail

Your Guide to Writing a Great Stump Speech

Winning Political Tips: An Interview with Political Author

Brent Barksdale

How to Manage Political Campaign Volunteers

Guide to Using Voter Lists in Your Campaign

Thinking Big in Politics

Four Unique Ideas for Your Election Signage

Political Robocalls: Do’s and Don’ts

Beginner's Guide to Political Communications

The Pros and Cons of Starting Your Own Political Action

Committee

Why Some Campaign Slogans Fail

Great Websites for Political Candidates

The Negative Campaigning Debate

7 Creative Political Fundraising Ideas

How to Win a Multi-Candidate Election

Why Politics Matters

Political Careers: Finding Your Path to the Top

Advanced Political Fundraising: How to Make an Ask

Political Fundraising 101

Using Social Media in Your Campaign

How to Deal with Political Consulting Firms

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How to Get Elected Even if Nobody Knows You

The Question of the Election

Linking Your Campaign with a Grassroots Movement

How to Win Election Contests in Small Districts

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Running a Grassroots Contributions Campaign

How NOT to Win Election Campaigns

5 Secrets of Successful Grassroots Organizations

The Top 3 Principles of Political Design

Political Slogans: Creating a Compelling Campaign Slogan

How to Campaign Like a Political Pro

How to Be a Great Political Campaign Manager

The 3 Keys to Winning Any Local Election

Winning School Elections

Starting an E-Mail Newsletter for Your Campaign

5 Creative Ways to Fundraise for Your Campus Political

Organization

How to Get a Political Job

The Secrets of Being a Political "Entrepreneur"

The #1 Tip for Republicans Running in Urban Districts

Strengthen Your Local Political Party

How to Get Involved with Your Local Political Party

How to Beat Negative Political Press Coverage

3 Best Ways for Under-Funded Candidates to Be Heard

Planning Your Campaign Kick-Off Event

What's Your Political Yard Sign Strategy?

Designing a Phenomenal Candidate Walk Piece

A Guide to Raising Your Name ID

Communicating with the Media - Plan to Succeed

How to Deal with Bad Political Press

How to Prepare for a Political Speech

Using the Internet in Your Political Campaign

Political Direct Mail that Sizzles!

The #1 Rule for Getting Press Coverage for Your

Campaign

The Best Ways to Prepare for a Political Debate

How to Design Great Political Signs

Does Your Campaign Have Effective Get Out the Vote

Literature?

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Message: The King of All Political Tactics

Winning Elections in the New American Politics

Running for Office in a College Town

Top 5 Political Promises to Make to Yourself

3 Quick Political Tips

Test Your Message - Early and Often

How to Target Your Campaign Tactics

Keeping Your Campaign on Message

Top 7 First-Time Candidate Mistakes

The Constant Campaign

When Should I Start My Campaign?

Entering the Political Home Stretch

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More Political Questions Answered

Ready, Aim, Target

Using Volunteers to Conduct a Campaign Poll

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Getting Ready to Run for Office - 8 Steps to Take Today

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The Elected Official's Guide to Getting Re-Elected

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Political Targeting - The Beginner's Guide

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The Best Way to Get Politically Involved in College

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How to Plan a Candidate Tour Event

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Winning Your Election by Getting Out the Vote

5 Reasons Every Campaign Needs an In-House Phone

Bank

Building Political Coalitions

How to Run a Great Door to Door Campaign

Creating Volunteer Superstars

The Right Way to Hold a Voter Registration Drive

Successful Absentee Voter Drives

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Run a Campaign School and Educate Your Team

Campaign Inc. - A Business-Like Approach to Winning

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5 Team Members Every Campaign Needs

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How to Raise Political Donations Online

The #1 Tip for a Successful Fundraising Event

Following Up on Donor Pledges

Finding the Money to Start Your Political Campaign

How to Set Up a Minor Donor Program

Why Your Campaign Needs a Fundraising Plan

How to Ask for Money for Your Campaign

Top 10 Political Fundraising Do's and Don'ts

10 Steps to a Successful Fundraising Event

Writing a Political Fundraising Plan

Political Fundraising Networks

What are PACs?

Raising Money From PACs