Campaign Management

Starting a campaign is a unique challenge. From getting digital running to prioritizing fundraising and self-care, here’s what every staffer, campaign manager, and candidate should know.

While it’s true that the world of online advertising is fast-paced- banking on instantaneous programs is a good way to fall short of your goals. Planning for a digital program will give you time to really define your goals and make sure your campaign has the right components, creative, and timeline to achieve them.

Will Robinson of the New Media Firm penned his rules for campaign staffers over 25 years ago and they are truly words to live by. Over the years, these rules have saved money, time and jobs for many campaign staffers who have heard and lived by them. Whether you are working on a candidate’s campaign, ballot measures, or independent expenditures, these campaign rules will help.

We’re all about helping organizations navigate request for proposal (RFP) processes, and our advocacy RFP template is a great resource for folks who are looking to hire a consultant or vendor. Once you get the ball rolling on the RFP process, make sure you think through what you really want to learn from references in the final stage.

Many experienced campaign managers or operatives can recall a bad experience with a political consultant. Perhaps the consultant didn’t deliver what they promised, they were unresponsive, or they didn’t hit deadlines. Depending on how far out you are from Election Day, this can lead to some tough decisions.

A campaign manager contract is a important a step to write and sign before you start. Whether you are a candidate who decided to run for office and you quickly found out that you couldn’t do it alone or you are a campaign staffer hired to work on a campaign and you want to make sure you know your compensation, having a campaign manager contract or other agreements is critical. As the days get longer and the campaign picks up, it’s easy to forget to formalize the campaign manager and campaign staff roles. Make sure you have a campaign manager contract or campaign staff letter of agreement. Whether you are a staffer for a candidate, a treasurer, or you fill another role, you want to make sure you put it in writing.

Campaign management done right means everyone wins. When I first started to work in politics and was a campaign staffer, running campaigns, I learned how important managing up was. 

Whether you're running for city council or congress, hiring a skilled political campaign manager is an essential part of your electoral success. From brainstorming campaign strategies and managing budgets to prepping a candidate for public appearances, the political campaign manager is the backbone of every campaign.