How to create a campaign plan - in two steps

Create a campaign plan in just two steps

Create a campaign plan in just two steps

Campaign plans can be fairly simple. I've put together a two step process below to help you create a basic campaign plan. 

The two step campaign plan

The two step campaign plan

Step One: Determine who your voters are and what you'll say to them

You can determine your "win number" by looking at the previous election for your race. How many votes did it take the incumbent to win? Make a few minor adjustments to it -- if there are more voters registered in your city now, bump it up a little. And then multiply the final number by 1.02, to give yourself a 2% room for error. 

Then, figure out which voters vote. For a non-partisan race, you don't have to do a significant amount of "R vs. D" research. If you get the voter list from your county clerk (ask that they include "vote history") you can determine which voters regularly show up to the polls. 

Then figure out your campaign message. You can use our step-by-step process here

Step Two: Put together a schedule & budget

Create a simple calendar like the one we put together in the above graphic. Figure out which days you want to knock on doors and which days you want to make fundraising calls. Schedule it out for the entire campaign. 

Then plug in the cost of each activity and throughout the campaign, in the far right column, keep track of your campaign balance. 

You can certainly put together a more sophisticated plan -- and that's what I do for local candidates -- but a basic plan like this is serviceable. Feel free to contact me with questions if you need help with your campaign. 

If you would like to get more campaign tips, you can check out "First-Time Candidatesmagazine, subscribe to the blog or connect with me on twitter or LinkedInYou can also get campaign tips emailed to you once a week by signing up to to the right of this post.