DPPA: Campaigning for office with the internet

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Campaigning for office with the internet

(this information is available at www.DuluthPPA.org, and was presented at DPPA's candidate training seminar, 2000)

Running for office with the internet

DISCLAIMER: You could run a campaign without internet tools, you couldn't run one without personal contact and paper mail.

E-mail

Recipient guaranteed to see it (subject line at least)
Limited to plain text attachments and formatting not standardized
Mailing lists great for discussion and organization
Little work to establish
Beware the digital divide

Points to watch with E-mail

Make the Subject line clear and short
Get the message across quickly up front
Don't use attachments
Don't rely on people visiting a web page
You opposition will see your email

The Web

Relies on people visiting the page
Can link in lots of information in any format (tables, graphics)
More work to establish
Having a web page is expected
www.voteforme.org - domain name registration
Online donations
Hit counters
Search engine registration
Don't need a professional, but get someone who's done it a couple of times before, and make the internet angle (incl. email) their primary responsibility

E-mail notes

Recipient guaranteed to see it (subject line at least) Limited to plain text attachments and formatting not standardized Even if you've never had trouble with attachments or formatting (big headings, color, etc.) in an email yourself, others may be using different e-mail reading software, and most people just delete troublesome email. Mailing lists great for discussion and organization www.egroups.com is a good free mailing list service. Almost free, it attaches small advertisements to your email, you can stop this for a fee. There may be some that don't do this, but you're best to stick with a big name like egroups rather than have some well meaning under-resourced service bog-down your email in the middle of your campaign. Little work to establish Beware the digital divide E-mail is such a great tool for organizing, it's tempting to only organize with people who use it. You could lose some really energetic volunteers that way. Make the Subject line clear and short Some e-mail reader software truncates the Subject line the recipient sees, make the first 5-6 words count Get the message across quickly up front People who get a lot of email tend to delete things that don't make their point quickly. Don't use attachments Don't rely on people visiting a web page You opposition will see your email This doesn't mean your mailing list is full of spies, but e-mail is so easy to forward, even by mistake, and people like to share things they know, so just remember it's not secure, e-mail a select few, or use the phone, if you need to be discrete.
Limited to plain text attachments and formatting not standardized Even if you've never had trouble with attachments or formatting (big headings, color, etc.) in an email yourself, others may be using different e-mail reading software, and most people just delete troublesome email. Mailing lists great for discussion and organization www.egroups.com is a good free mailing list service. Almost free, it attaches small advertisements to your email, you can stop this for a fee. There may be some that don't do this, but you're best to stick with a big name like egroups rather than have some well meaning under-resourced service bog-down your email in the middle of your campaign. Little work to establish Beware the digital divide E-mail is such a great tool for organizing, it's tempting to only organize with people who use it. You could lose some really energetic volunteers that way. Make the Subject line clear and short Some e-mail reader software truncates the Subject line the recipient sees, make the first 5-6 words count Get the message across quickly up front People who get a lot of email tend to delete things that don't make their point quickly. Don't use attachments Don't rely on people visiting a web page You opposition will see your email This doesn't mean your mailing list is full of spies, but e-mail is so easy to forward, even by mistake, and people like to share things they know, so just remember it's not secure, e-mail a select few, or use the phone, if you need to be discrete.: Even if you've never had trouble with attachments or formatting (big headings, color, etc.) in an email yourself, others may be using different e-mail reading software, and most people just delete troublesome email.
Mailing lists great for discussion and organization www.egroups.com is a good free mailing list service. Almost free, it attaches small advertisements to your email, you can stop this for a fee. There may be some that don't do this, but you're best to stick with a big name like egroups rather than have some well meaning under-resourced service bog-down your email in the middle of your campaign. Little work to establish Beware the digital divide E-mail is such a great tool for organizing, it's tempting to only organize with people who use it. You could lose some really energetic volunteers that way. Make the Subject line clear and short Some e-mail reader software truncates the Subject line the recipient sees, make the first 5-6 words count Get the message across quickly up front People who get a lot of email tend to delete things that don't make their point quickly. Don't use attachments Don't rely on people visiting a web page You opposition will see your email This doesn't mean your mailing list is full of spies, but e-mail is so easy to forward, even by mistake, and people like to share things they know, so just remember it's not secure, e-mail a select few, or use the phone, if you need to be discrete.: www.egroups.com is a good free mailing list service. Almost free, it attaches small advertisements to your email, you can stop this for a fee. There may be some that don't do this, but you're best to stick with a big name like egroups rather than have some well meaning under-resourced service bog-down your email in the middle of your campaign.
Little work to establish Beware the digital divide E-mail is such a great tool for organizing, it's tempting to only organize with people who use it. You could lose some really energetic volunteers that way. Make the Subject line clear and short Some e-mail reader software truncates the Subject line the recipient sees, make the first 5-6 words count Get the message across quickly up front People who get a lot of email tend to delete things that don't make their point quickly. Don't use attachments Don't rely on people visiting a web page You opposition will see your email This doesn't mean your mailing list is full of spies, but e-mail is so easy to forward, even by mistake, and people like to share things they know, so just remember it's not secure, e-mail a select few, or use the phone, if you need to be discrete.
Beware the digital divide E-mail is such a great tool for organizing, it's tempting to only organize with people who use it. You could lose some really energetic volunteers that way. Make the Subject line clear and short Some e-mail reader software truncates the Subject line the recipient sees, make the first 5-6 words count Get the message across quickly up front People who get a lot of email tend to delete things that don't make their point quickly. Don't use attachments Don't rely on people visiting a web page You opposition will see your email This doesn't mean your mailing list is full of spies, but e-mail is so easy to forward, even by mistake, and people like to share things they know, so just remember it's not secure, e-mail a select few, or use the phone, if you need to be discrete.: E-mail is such a great tool for organizing, it's tempting to only organize with people who use it. You could lose some really energetic volunteers that way.
Make the Subject line clear and short Some e-mail reader software truncates the Subject line the recipient sees, make the first 5-6 words count Get the message across quickly up front People who get a lot of email tend to delete things that don't make their point quickly. Don't use attachments Don't rely on people visiting a web page You opposition will see your email This doesn't mean your mailing list is full of spies, but e-mail is so easy to forward, even by mistake, and people like to share things they know, so just remember it's not secure, e-mail a select few, or use the phone, if you need to be discrete.: Some e-mail reader software truncates the Subject line the recipient sees, make the first 5-6 words count
Get the message across quickly up front People who get a lot of email tend to delete things that don't make their point quickly. Don't use attachments Don't rely on people visiting a web page You opposition will see your email This doesn't mean your mailing list is full of spies, but e-mail is so easy to forward, even by mistake, and people like to share things they know, so just remember it's not secure, e-mail a select few, or use the phone, if you need to be discrete.: People who get a lot of email tend to delete things that don't make their point quickly.
Don't use attachments Don't rely on people visiting a web page You opposition will see your email This doesn't mean your mailing list is full of spies, but e-mail is so easy to forward, even by mistake, and people like to share things they know, so just remember it's not secure, e-mail a select few, or use the phone, if you need to be discrete.
Don't rely on people visiting a web page You opposition will see your email This doesn't mean your mailing list is full of spies, but e-mail is so easy to forward, even by mistake, and people like to share things they know, so just remember it's not secure, e-mail a select few, or use the phone, if you need to be discrete.
You opposition will see your email This doesn't mean your mailing list is full of spies, but e-mail is so easy to forward, even by mistake, and people like to share things they know, so just remember it's not secure, e-mail a select few, or use the phone, if you need to be discrete.: This doesn't mean your mailing list is full of spies, but e-mail is so easy to forward, even by mistake, and people like to share things they know, so just remember it's not secure, e-mail a select few, or use the phone, if you need to be discrete.

WWW notes

Relies on people visiting the page Can link in lots of information in any format (tables, graphics) More work to establish Having a web page is expected and it should provide at least basic information www.voteforme.org - domain name registration There are a lot of services that will register a domain name, like www.voteforme.org, for you. Registrations are typically good for two years at a time and should cost less than $100. A cheaper alternative (i.e. free) is to use a system like www.cjb.net, which will allow you to use a name like www.voteforme.cjb.net for free. Online donations It's becoming increasingly easy to set up secure internet based money transfers, by linking to services from your web pages. www.campaigncontribution.com deal specifically with campaign contributions. They say "If you don't receive at least $50 in contributions within the first hour, we'll make the contribution ourselves." No doubt there's some fine print. Hit counters If your site's getting no traffic, you should look at how you're publicizing it. There's not point in spending volunteer time on something that no one's looking at. If it's getting a lot of hits, that's great. If it's getting just a few, it's still achieving something - the people who came to your site were probably actively looking for information about you, and those are the people you want to reach. Search engine registration Because you want your website to be findable in by the major search engines as quickly as possible, you should submit its address to one of the services that adds addresses to multiple search engines. Here's Google's list of free and commercial submission services. Don't need a professional, but get someone who's done it a couple of times before, and make the internet angle (incl. email) their primary responsibility
Can link in lots of information in any format (tables, graphics) More work to establish Having a web page is expected and it should provide at least basic information www.voteforme.org - domain name registration There are a lot of services that will register a domain name, like www.voteforme.org, for you. Registrations are typically good for two years at a time and should cost less than $100. A cheaper alternative (i.e. free) is to use a system like www.cjb.net, which will allow you to use a name like www.voteforme.cjb.net for free. Online donations It's becoming increasingly easy to set up secure internet based money transfers, by linking to services from your web pages. www.campaigncontribution.com deal specifically with campaign contributions. They say "If you don't receive at least $50 in contributions within the first hour, we'll make the contribution ourselves." No doubt there's some fine print. Hit counters If your site's getting no traffic, you should look at how you're publicizing it. There's not point in spending volunteer time on something that no one's looking at. If it's getting a lot of hits, that's great. If it's getting just a few, it's still achieving something - the people who came to your site were probably actively looking for information about you, and those are the people you want to reach. Search engine registration Because you want your website to be findable in by the major search engines as quickly as possible, you should submit its address to one of the services that adds addresses to multiple search engines. Here's Google's list of free and commercial submission services. Don't need a professional, but get someone who's done it a couple of times before, and make the internet angle (incl. email) their primary responsibility
More work to establish Having a web page is expected and it should provide at least basic information www.voteforme.org - domain name registration There are a lot of services that will register a domain name, like www.voteforme.org, for you. Registrations are typically good for two years at a time and should cost less than $100. A cheaper alternative (i.e. free) is to use a system like www.cjb.net, which will allow you to use a name like www.voteforme.cjb.net for free. Online donations It's becoming increasingly easy to set up secure internet based money transfers, by linking to services from your web pages. www.campaigncontribution.com deal specifically with campaign contributions. They say "If you don't receive at least $50 in contributions within the first hour, we'll make the contribution ourselves." No doubt there's some fine print. Hit counters If your site's getting no traffic, you should look at how you're publicizing it. There's not point in spending volunteer time on something that no one's looking at. If it's getting a lot of hits, that's great. If it's getting just a few, it's still achieving something - the people who came to your site were probably actively looking for information about you, and those are the people you want to reach. Search engine registration Because you want your website to be findable in by the major search engines as quickly as possible, you should submit its address to one of the services that adds addresses to multiple search engines. Here's Google's list of free and commercial submission services. Don't need a professional, but get someone who's done it a couple of times before, and make the internet angle (incl. email) their primary responsibility
Having a web page is expected and it should provide at least basic information www.voteforme.org - domain name registration There are a lot of services that will register a domain name, like www.voteforme.org, for you. Registrations are typically good for two years at a time and should cost less than $100. A cheaper alternative (i.e. free) is to use a system like www.cjb.net, which will allow you to use a name like www.voteforme.cjb.net for free. Online donations It's becoming increasingly easy to set up secure internet based money transfers, by linking to services from your web pages. www.campaigncontribution.com deal specifically with campaign contributions. They say "If you don't receive at least $50 in contributions within the first hour, we'll make the contribution ourselves." No doubt there's some fine print. Hit counters If your site's getting no traffic, you should look at how you're publicizing it. There's not point in spending volunteer time on something that no one's looking at. If it's getting a lot of hits, that's great. If it's getting just a few, it's still achieving something - the people who came to your site were probably actively looking for information about you, and those are the people you want to reach. Search engine registration Because you want your website to be findable in by the major search engines as quickly as possible, you should submit its address to one of the services that adds addresses to multiple search engines. Here's Google's list of free and commercial submission services. Don't need a professional, but get someone who's done it a couple of times before, and make the internet angle (incl. email) their primary responsibility: and it should provide at least basic information
www.voteforme.org - domain name registration There are a lot of services that will register a domain name, like www.voteforme.org, for you. Registrations are typically good for two years at a time and should cost less than $100. A cheaper alternative (i.e. free) is to use a system like www.cjb.net, which will allow you to use a name like www.voteforme.cjb.net for free. Online donations It's becoming increasingly easy to set up secure internet based money transfers, by linking to services from your web pages. www.campaigncontribution.com deal specifically with campaign contributions. They say "If you don't receive at least $50 in contributions within the first hour, we'll make the contribution ourselves." No doubt there's some fine print. Hit counters If your site's getting no traffic, you should look at how you're publicizing it. There's not point in spending volunteer time on something that no one's looking at. If it's getting a lot of hits, that's great. If it's getting just a few, it's still achieving something - the people who came to your site were probably actively looking for information about you, and those are the people you want to reach. Search engine registration Because you want your website to be findable in by the major search engines as quickly as possible, you should submit its address to one of the services that adds addresses to multiple search engines. Here's Google's list of free and commercial submission services. Don't need a professional, but get someone who's done it a couple of times before, and make the internet angle (incl. email) their primary responsibility: There are a lot of services that will register a domain name, like www.voteforme.org, for you. Registrations are typically good for two years at a time and should cost less than $100. A cheaper alternative (i.e. free) is to use a system like www.cjb.net, which will allow you to use a name like www.voteforme.cjb.net for free.
Online donations It's becoming increasingly easy to set up secure internet based money transfers, by linking to services from your web pages. www.campaigncontribution.com deal specifically with campaign contributions. They say "If you don't receive at least $50 in contributions within the first hour, we'll make the contribution ourselves." No doubt there's some fine print. Hit counters If your site's getting no traffic, you should look at how you're publicizing it. There's not point in spending volunteer time on something that no one's looking at. If it's getting a lot of hits, that's great. If it's getting just a few, it's still achieving something - the people who came to your site were probably actively looking for information about you, and those are the people you want to reach. Search engine registration Because you want your website to be findable in by the major search engines as quickly as possible, you should submit its address to one of the services that adds addresses to multiple search engines. Here's Google's list of free and commercial submission services. Don't need a professional, but get someone who's done it a couple of times before, and make the internet angle (incl. email) their primary responsibility: It's becoming increasingly easy to set up secure internet based money transfers, by linking to services from your web pages.
www.campaigncontribution.com deal specifically with campaign contributions. They say "If you don't receive at least $50 in contributions within the first hour, we'll make the contribution ourselves." No doubt there's some fine print.
Hit counters If your site's getting no traffic, you should look at how you're publicizing it. There's not point in spending volunteer time on something that no one's looking at. If it's getting a lot of hits, that's great. If it's getting just a few, it's still achieving something - the people who came to your site were probably actively looking for information about you, and those are the people you want to reach. Search engine registration Because you want your website to be findable in by the major search engines as quickly as possible, you should submit its address to one of the services that adds addresses to multiple search engines. Here's Google's list of free and commercial submission services. Don't need a professional, but get someone who's done it a couple of times before, and make the internet angle (incl. email) their primary responsibility: If your site's getting no traffic, you should look at how you're publicizing it. There's not point in spending volunteer time on something that no one's looking at. If it's getting a lot of hits, that's great. If it's getting just a few, it's still achieving something - the people who came to your site were probably actively looking for information about you, and those are the people you want to reach.
Search engine registration Because you want your website to be findable in by the major search engines as quickly as possible, you should submit its address to one of the services that adds addresses to multiple search engines. Here's Google's list of free and commercial submission services. Don't need a professional, but get someone who's done it a couple of times before, and make the internet angle (incl. email) their primary responsibility: Because you want your website to be findable in by the major search engines as quickly as possible, you should submit its address to one of the services that adds addresses to multiple search engines. Here's Google's list of free and commercial submission services.
Don't need a professional, but get someone who's done it a couple of times before, and make the internet angle (incl. email) their primary responsibility