Making the Message

Now that you've decided to campaign, you need to choose a message.

First, let's look at the differences between a slogan and a campaign message. The most significant difference is the depth of the message. A slogan is quick, catchy phrase, but a campaign message appeals to a more complex story of what you believe.

Slogan: "a short and striking or memorable phrase used in advertising. (a motto associated with a political party or movement or other group)" 

Short and Sweet. "Putting People First"- Bill Clinton 1992

A message is the core of your campaign, and according to Wellstone, should feel like a conversation with your voting base.

Your message should effectively tie up your views, explain your platform and give voters a base idea of who you are and what you stand for. 

Your message needs to do a couple of things, and get a couple of key points across: 

1- Credibility: your message needs to promote your believability, and the trustworthiness of your campaign. Promote yourself as a credible person who is both relatable, and factually correct. Trust is a very important part of a voters decision, and your message needs to project trust and promote credibility. 

2- Clear: make sure that your message is free from jargon, and confusing language. Buzzwords are important, but too many buzzwords make a message fake, and jumbled. Slogans are quick and to the point, and messages must also make an understandable point. If your message is not clear, then you leave yourself up to misinterpretation which is always dangerous when you are running for politics. 

3- Contrasting: you need to be unique, and set yourself apart from the other candidates, both your party and the other. You need to present ideas that are different, your own and distance yourself from past candidates. Always allow your own personality to be the central part of your message and allow voters to see you as a relatable individual. 

Once you develop your message, share it everywhere. Send out campaign promotion mail, post daily on social media, hang posters and yard signs, give speeches and host rallies, use the Internet, tv, radio and newspapers to promote your message. This conversation needs to be spread, focus on your voting base, then branch out. Your voters need to be invited to this conversation. 

You've planned your message. Now introduce it to your voters. 

Image credits to:  (openbooksopenhearts) and (Catalyst Market Austin)