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Everybody knows that you can’t win office without a web presence. What’s less common is actually knowing how to create a GOOD one! Ryan Gravatt, CEO of Raconteur Media joins us today to tell us how he uses proven business strategies to win votes and gives us the inside scoop on how to grade your […] The post Creating a Cutting Edge Digital Campaign- Ryan Gravatt appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Campaigns live and die on the network the candidate has created. John Ruhlin’s principles of Radical Giving have revolutionized relationships for men and women across the country and organizations of every size. They can do that for your campaign and John joins us this week to tell you HOW! If you haven’t checked Campaign Sidekick […] The post Transforming Your Relationships with Radical Giving – John Rhulin appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Ground game is about my favorite part of the campaign precisely because it’s so important. Chris Sacia understands the critical nature of this facet of campaigns and knows how to run it like a well-oiled machine. Today he shares a wealth of hard one tips you can leverage today! This week we’re talking about one […] The post Building a Bulletproof Ground Game with Chris Sacia appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Without effective communication, you’re going to lose your race. Amy Hawkins joins us today to talk about her strategies for crystal clear, intentional communication. She’s been in the trenches for over a decade and has a wealth of knowledge to share with us! Our guest this week is a political communications rockstar from Michigan. I’ve […] The post Communicating Clearly in a Noisy World with Amy Hawkins appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Dr. David Bobb is one of the nation’s foremost experts on statesmanship and the American founding fathers. He joins us today to examine the nature of statesmanship, it’s component virtues and whether they’re obsolete in 2019. Today we’ve got a unique conversation to share. Once again I’ll be talking to an expert in politics and campaigns […] The post Is Statesmanship Obsolete? – with Dr. David Bobb appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Andrew Sorrell won the tightest race in the Alabama State Legislature by starting early and campaigning hard. This interview with Andrew is among our most in-depth on the tactical level decisions that help win campaigns and I had a blast talking with him! Thank you to Campaign Sidekick for supporting this podcast. Sidekick just came […] The post Starting Early and Campaigning Hard – Andrew Sorrell appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Hans Zeiger left Grad-School to take on a State House incumbent in his home district. His 29-vote win margin set him on a course that now puts him in the center of important debates within the Washington State Senate. Millennials are having a growing impact within state legislatures and Hans joins us today to talk […] The post Senate Service as a Millennial – Hans Zeiger appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
From the Kavanaugh effect to Beto-Mania, lots of narratives came together in the 2018 midterm election last week. What mattered in the end? Luke Macias and I break down some of the early lessons that the Midterm has shown us! This week we’re doing a post-election survey with Luke Macias of Macias Strategies. With the […] The post 2018 Midterm Election Review with Luke Macias appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Jacque Isaacs has focused her professional life on maximizing the power of conservative communication. This week she joins us on the podcast to share how you can maximize your impact! Jacqueline Isaacs is the Director of Strategy for Bellwether Communications, where she works to craft measurable, well-researched content strategies for clients to achieve their goals. […] The post Communication for Maximum Impact – Jacque Isaacs appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
The object of any campaign is to get elected and make a difference. Our guest this week does the hard work to make sure citizens, elected leaders and stakeholders can effectively achieve that goal. I hope y’all are doing well and surviving what is now the final month of the 2018 election cycle! This week […] The post How to Win Locally for Taxpayers – James Quintero appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
This week we’re airing the second half of a two-part interview with Drew Ryun and Kris Shafer. They’re partners in Campaign Sidekick and have nearly 4 decades of political experience between them. Drew hired me to my first full-time political job and Kris is my younger brother. I’ve worked in the trenches with these guys […] The post How to Supercharge Your Voter Contact: Part 2 – Drew Ryun and Kris Shafer appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
This week we’re airing the first of a two-part interview with Drew Ryun and Kris Shafer. They’re partners in Campaign Sidekick and have nearly 4 decades of political experience between them. Drew hired me to my first full-time political job and Kris is my younger brother. I’ve worked in the trenches with these guys for […] The post How to Supercharge Your Voter Contact: Part 1 – Drew Ryun and Kris Shafer appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Raquel Mitchell is a Black, female, Republican campaign manager in Chicago, Illinois. She’s the first to admit that her political journey has been far from normal but nonetheless, I think there’s a lot to learn from her path. Hey Guys, welcome back to the How to Run for Office Podcast! A lot of listeners I’ve […] The post From Activist to Campaign Manager – Raquel Mitchell appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: Titles for staff and volunteers are free and make people feel important. Money is tight on the campaign trail…but you need quality staff. When you can’t pay people what you’d like, make sure you consider what else might be of value to them that’s free or cheap to you! One of my […] The post Titles for staff and volunteers are free and make people feel important. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: The campaign schedule should include family time, relaxation and sleep. Life doesn’t stop just because you launch a political campaign. Bills need to be paid, your family needs your physical presence, mental energy and emotional engagement and your body needs rest. Even if you are one of the rare folks who can […] The post The campaign schedule should include family time, relaxation and sleep. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Money is the Mother’s Milk of Politics. Like it or not, if you want to win, you’ve got to raise at least some money. I’ve yet to meet a candidate who didn’t want to have more money in the bank…but most aren’t comfortable raising big bucks. This week we’re talking to a fundraising veteran who […] The post Keys to Fundraising like a Pro – Jeff Trimbath appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: “Big Jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow the small ones.” – Teddy Roosevelt Teddy was right about many things and this quote nails it. If you want the big job, prove you’re not afraid of the small ones. We see this truth both in religious and […] The post Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow the small ones. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: Get-Out-The-Vote may be the last phase of the campaign but should be planned at the beginning. Planning campaigns backwards may be counter-intuitive but it’s critically important. Doing so will allow you to set specific, measured goals, plan accurately for required resources and better anticipate the obstacles or challenges that can frustrate your […] The post Get-Out-The-Vote may be the last phase of the campaign but should be planned at the beginning. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
This week we’re talking about how hostage negotiation strategies can be used to improve your campaign. I’ll also share some case studies about how I’ve used them in my life, including a free hotel room upgrade, improving my marriage and helping me get a donor to nearly double his highest previous gift. Before we get […] The post 5 Negotiation Strategies to Improve Your Campaign – Raz Shafer appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: When scheduling the candidate, anchor on events and fill in with canvassing, fundraising and small groups. Scheduling the candidate’s time efficiently is among the most important recurring jobs on the campaign trail. From within and without the campaign, everybody will seem to be pulling the candidate in different directions, so whoever is […] The post When scheduling the candidate, anchor on events and fill in with canvassing, fundraising and small groups. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
I hope y’all are doing well and are geared up for the slightly over 3 months we have before the general election! Some of y’all still have primary elections ahead, like Florida at the end of the month, but most of you know who’s headed on to November. Zach Whiting is one of those folks […] The post How a Millennial Wins a Senate Seat – Zach Whiting appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: Buy URLs you want to use AND ones you don’t want your opponent to use against you. Buy theirs too! I bought RazShafer.com when I was about 18 years old and that started a URL buying binge. As the internet was coming of age and I learned more about search engine optimization, […] The post Buy URLs you want to use AND ones you don’t want your opponent to use against you. Buy theirs too! appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: Always make sure your campaign mailing address is listed on your website donation page. In a world dominated by digital content and online fundraising, traditional mail and physical checks often get forgotten. I was recently putting together a list of candidates for a donor who wanted to know whom to support. This […] The post Always make sure your campaign mailing address is listed on your website donation page. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Sean Davis is a co-founder of The Federalist. He previously worked as an economic policy adviser to Gov. Rick Perry, as CFO of Daily Caller, and as chief investigator for Sen. Tom Coburn. He was named by The Hill as one of the top congressional staffers under the age of 35 for his role in […] The post Mastering Communication and Policy Like a Pro – Sean Davis appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: “The dignity of a prime minister, like a lady’s virtue, is not susceptible to partial diminution.” – Winston Churchill As most of y’all know, I’m a huge fan of Winston Churchill. And as soon as I saw this quote from him, its truth resonated with me strongly. I’d imagine that after hearing […] The post “The dignity of a prime minister, like a lady’s virtue, is not susceptible to partial diminution.” – Winston Churchill appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Rep. Briscoe Cain is the youngest State Representative in the Texas State House and father to 4 young boys, all under 5. In our interview today, we talk a lot about how he and his bride balance politics and family and how his first campaign loss contributed to his win in 2016! Our guest this […] The post How to Put your Family First AND Win in Politics – Briscoe Cain appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: Hire a professional to execute thorough opposition research and a vulnerability study early in the campaign. There are a lot of areas within campaigns where I routinely encourage campaigns to keep things in-house. In a lot of cases, you’re able to save money and achieve an equal or greater quality level in […] The post Hire a professional to execute thorough opposition research and a vulnerability study early in the campaign. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
If there was one character trait I could pass down to my son, it would be discipline…but, as it turns out, I haven’t been very disciplined in a number of areas within my life…So how am I supposed to teach that ethic to him? This week we’re talking about discipline, why it’s important and what […] The post Discipline Makes the Difference – Raz Shafer appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: “I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them.” Adlai Stevenson This tongue in cheek quote from Adlai Stevenson perfectly captures the feelings of many candidates. But it also brings into perspective a central question of campaign strategy: “How […] The post I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them. – Adlai Stevenson appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: Every candidate should have daily and weekly goals for fundraising calls and door knocks. What are yours? Galileo, the famous scientist and astronomer once said, “Measure what is measurable and make measurable what is not so.” When we set goals without a plan for easily tracking progress, failure is all but guaranteed. […] The post Every candidate should have daily and weekly goals for fundraising calls and door knocks. What are yours? appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
As you’re celebrating our nation’s birth, let’s take a look back at what makes our founding special and unique. Adams, Jefferson, Franklin and Washington started something in 1776 that we haven’t yet completed. Welcome to the How to Run for Office Podcast from My Campaign Coach! I hope y’all are having a fantastic Independence day! […] The post A Meditation on Liberty and Independence appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: Be accessible. If voters and supporters can’t reach you on the campaign trail, they’ll doubt they will once you’re elected. One of the perennial complaints about elected officials is their lack of accessibility. We talk about them getting caught in a bubble of their own creation or shunning the hoi polloi. If […] The post Be accessible. If voters and supporters can’t reach you on the campaign trail, they’ll doubt they will once you’re elected. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Between now and the year 2020, the Millennial generation is set to make up the largest bloc of voting age adults in America’s history. In spite of that, according to our next guest, it’s a generation that Democrats aren’t adequately deploying and Republicans are largely ignoring. If you ask most political operatives what the biggest […] The post How Republicans Can Win With Millennials – Bonnie Siegel appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: It’s virtually impossible to practice a speech too much. Practice. Practice. Practice. Have you ever heard somebody give a speech and said to yourself, “They really spent too much time practicing that!” I’m fairly confident I can’t answer that question in the affirmative. Recently I had the opportunity to give a high […] The post It’s virtually impossible to practice a speech too much. Practice. Practice. Practice. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
I’m a huge fan of the book Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. If you haven’t read it, you should. One of the central points of the book is how important it is that a leader take ownership over their entire sphere of responsibility. As a candidate, you are a leader of your […] The post The Candidate sets the tone for their Campaign’s work ethic and motivation. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Our guest this week is an aficionado of Austrian Economics, classically liberal in political taste and spent years in the WWE wrestling with the likes of Steve Austin, John Cena and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson….and now he’s running for Mayor of Knox County, TN…This was a really fun interview to do and I think y’all […] The post From WWE Star to Running for Office – Glenn Jacobs appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
It’s an old saying in the legal profession that any man who chooses to represent himself in court has a fool for a client. The same is true of a candidate who decides to be his or her own campaign manager. I’m not just talking about someone who actually makes a conscious decision to manage […] The post Never be your own campaign manager. You’ll suck at both jobs. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Motivations for running for office boil down to two: You want to BE somebody or DO something. Ron Wright is running for Congress because he wants to DO something. Today we’re talking about his background in elected office, especially as a fantastic Tax Collector, and why he’s running. He’s got some great advice. Today we’re […] The post Fighting Against the Swamp, from TX to DC – Ron Wright appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Leadership isn’t a state of being, it’s a skill. One that needs to be constantly honed. You can’t be TOO good at leadership. But it’s really easy to be a bad leader. This week we’re taking a look at a chapter from Extreme Ownership (by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin) which discusses the principle that […] The post No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders – Raz Shafer appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Time, Treasurer and Talent are the three primary resources every campaign relies on. Treasurer and Talent are renewable resources but Time is not. A good campaign can always raise at least a little more money and recruit more volunteers but I don’t care how awesome you are, you can’t turn back the clock. This means […] The post There’s no such thing as starting a campaign too early. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Dan Crenshaw was our guest a few weeks ago and since then he won his runoff campaign by the widest margin of ANY Republican Congressional contest in Texas. He smoked the competition and this week we’re talking with his consultant, Brendan Steinhauser. Thank you to Campaign Sidekick for supporting this podcast. Visit campaignsidekick.vote to find […] The post The Story Behind Dan Crenshaw’s Incredible Win – Brendan Steinhauser appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Our lives are filled with constant learning but some life lessons bear a unique significance. In this speech, I lay out the 5 which have had the greatest impact on my story and share chapters from my own history to illustrate their value. Thank you to Campaign Sidekick for supporting this podcast. Visit campaignsidekick.vote to […] The post 5 Life Lessons I Learn From Daily – Raz Shafer appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Emily Cook has been fighting for conservative causes her entire career and just a few months after giving birth to her first son, she found herself being called to run for public office. She ran a phenomenal campaign but was subjected to awful attacks by fellow Republicans because of her gender and young son. She’s […] The post Running for Office as a New Mom? – Emily Cook appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Do you like begging for money? Probably not. I sure don’t. And at the beginning of my work fundraising, that’s exactly how it felt. It wasn’t until I had a change in the way I perceived the work that I started feeling differently about raising money. What happened was that I stopped viewing fundraising as […] The post Nobody is a better fundraiser than the candidate. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Combat Veterans make up a small percentage of the American population but a disproportionate number possess a unique mix of leadership qualities and discipline that I find critical in politics. Our guest this week has served and sacrificed for his country on the battlefield as a Navy SEAL and is now on his next mission: […] The post How a Navy SEAL Runs for Congress – Dan Crenshaw appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
When was the last time you said something you shouldn’t have in frustration or anger? You may not be able to remember a specific instance but I’m betting it wasn’t that long ago. Even if you aren’t particularly prone to outbursts of anger, if you’re anything like me, you slip up every now and then. […] The post Never snap at your staff. If you do, apologize quickly. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Matt Rinaldi has won and lost campaigns. Sometimes by extremely close margins. After serving several sessions in the Texas State Legislature, he knows what it feels like to win and lose legislative battles. He knows why he’s there and what he believes in. More than that, he’s willing to fight for both with every political […] The post What Losing and Legislating Teach about Winning in Politics – Matt Rinaldi appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: Money in your account when the polls closed is wasted. We lost the first election I ever helped in because we didn’t give it everything. I can’t remember what the financial balance was when the polls closed, but I know we metaphorically had “something left in the tank” individually. We could have […] The post Money in your account when the polls closed is wasted. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Strong non-political relationships, living on a written personal budget and loving God, Family and Country first may not seem like obvious fodder for a political campaign podcast…but if you don’t follow the lessons we talk about today, you’re not going to win at politics…or life. Thank you to Campaign Sidekick for supporting this podcast. Visit […] The post 3 Tips for Winning at Life and in Politics – Raz Shafer appeared first on My Campaign Coach.
Here’s today’s tip: Don’t call a voter before 9am or after 9pm. Throughout the campaign, you’ll be working non-stop to identify, persuade and turn out voters. Every minute counts but some minutes are off limits for certain types of contact. I recommend keeping you set 9am and 9pm as the outer bounds of your phone […] The post Don’t call a voter before 9am or after 9pm. appeared first on My Campaign Coach.