Making the Most Of Your Website And Literature
By Ned Barnett
Missed Messages: Recently, I had the opportunity to review the websites of
every Republican Party candidate registered to run for political office in
Clark County, Nevada – that’s Las Vegas to the rest of the world. In doing so, I noticed that far too many of
these candidates traded the opportunity for actually moving and motivating
voters, replacing those compelling messages with worthy platitudes that no
voter really cares about.
On a good day, someone who clicks through to your website will stay 10 seconds – or less – before deciding to either stay and read, or move on. By offering platitudes instead of compelling messages, the website was all but asking potential voters to – as the police say at crime scenes – “move along, there’s nothing to see here.”
Missing
out on that kind of opportunity to present your “selling message” is tantamount
to missing out on perhaps his one opportunity to deliver a dynamic message that
will persuade voters to support you, with their ballots, their time and their contributions.
In explaining this to one candidate for a judicial seat, I realized that most candidates need the same guidance I gave this potential judge. This is particularly important in Nevada, because people can’t vote “straight party” when they cast their ballots. In Nevada, as in many other states, judicial candidates appear on the ballot without partisan reference, making it even more important for them to generate favorable name recognition.
His
platform – which, unfortunately, could be any judicial candidate’s platform –
makes what would seem to be a strong case for his candidacy. However, because any judicial candidate could
say (and probably would say) the same thing, these messages do not generate
voter interest.
Paraphrasing,
these were:
· Ensure timely justice by avoiding
unnecessary delays by attorneys – or by the judge himself
· Demand civility and respect in the
courtroom
· Promote fair advocacy, ensuring each
person receives his or her day in court
· Enforce decorum and the rules of the
court
· Uphold the Nevada and US Constitutions
These
are certainly all worthy goals, but as noted, any judicial candidate would, if
asked, affirm these same goals, despite his or her track record on the bench.
The Right Messages: Instead, I advised this judicial candidate to do
something radically different – and this advice should apply to all candidates
for every position:
“Voters do not expect to be in your
court – ever. In fact, they pray that they
won’t wind up in any court for any reason.
However, they still want assurances that “their judge” will be a person
who represents their own personal and political values. In this way, they can
be sure that they will be “heard” in court, and on every decision. These values are about you as a person, not
you as a judge. They are human
values. Many of these values transcend
your role as a judge, or perhaps even have nothing to do with what you can, or
can’t do, as a judge.
“Tell voters about your family values, or about how you’re a native of Nevada, or about things you believe in. Give them a reason to respect you – perhaps even to like you – but most of all, give them a reason why they should feel well-represented when they have you on the bench, acting in their stead and on their behalf.”
This
basic philosophy, obviously, also applies to representatives going into the
executive or legislative branch. Voters seldom
have a reason to go to Washington, or to the state capital, or even to go
before the city or county commission, the Mayor’s office, the school board or any
other elective government body. Yet those
voters still want to know that the men and women who represent them share their
core values – that they will do a good job of representing their interests as
citizens, taxpayers and voters.
This
is done with the “selling message,” which is – basically – a written form of the
candidate’s elevator pitch or stump speech.
Selling Messages: Sometimes this message revolves around a piece of legislation – amnesty for illegal aliens, or a pipeline running from Canada to Texas. However, at other times, this selling message represents more of a candidate’s personal beliefs. The personal issues could be big or small, but they should be ones that matter to voters in a way that transcends the candidate’s office, and its role in society.
That
personal belief could touch on a candidate’s support for Israel, the rights of
citizens vs. the powers of Homeland Security, the Ten Commandments in a
courthouse, a crèche in a public park over Christmas, or even abortion
rights.
For instance, right now (as I write this), a “flavor of the month” candidate for the Governor in Texas is in that position only because, as a state legislator, she filibustered – unsuccessfully – to block a bill that would have made illegal late-term abortions – which many consider virtual infanticide, and for good reason.
While
that extreme view of abortion is not a particularly popular position in Texas, her
radically pro-abortion position is widely popular among hard-core feminists, as
well as Hollywood’s liberal elite.
Together, those two groups have together raised millions of dollars for
her campaign to unseat Governor Perry. That
issue likely won’t get her elected in Texas – which is neither a hotbed of
pro-abortion feminism nor of Hollywood liberal elitism – but it did a great job
of raising money and catapulting her onto the national stage.
Pros and Cons: Any strongly held position will attract some voters,
while pushing away others. There is always a risk when taking a stance
that it may be more unpopular than it is popular. However, conservative values continue to remain
majority values in America today, despite the outcome of the past several
presidential elections.
Many
conservative candidates believe that they will do better by not polarizing
voters by taking strong positions. However, the lessons of Reagan in 1980, the “Republican
Revolution” of 1994 and the Tea Party revolt of 2010, all suggest that when
conservatives take bold stands, they do better than when – like McCain and Romney
– they try to straddle the fence.
Especially for off-the-front page elective positions, to stand out is to win.
Examples
of these positions where, almost literally, nobody knows who you really are –
and which, therefore, requires you to really stand out - include judicial elections,
county and state representatives, school board and constable or sheriff
elections.
To
stand out, you’ve got to give your core potential voters a reason to first
remember you, then support you – with their ballots, their time and their
financial support.
Sample Conservative Selling Messages: What does a strong conservative selling message look like? It could be as simple as these:
· I believe that Israel is perhaps
America’s most important ally, and I stand foursquare in support of that
embattled nation.
· I oppose open borders and amnesty for
illegal aliens – not because I have anything against them, but because this is
gaping open door to sexual trafficking and sexual slavery.
· I have nothing against green energy –
when it works – but I recognize that our country’s economy and wealth have been
built on abundant access to low-cost energy.
I support government efforts to keep energy abundant and affordable.
· Global Warming is not a scientific
fact – for the past fifteen years, global temperatures have not gone up even a
fraction – and I oppose regulations that restrict our use of energy in the name
of a scientific mistake.
· I see late term abortion as tantamount
to infanticide; while I recognize a woman’s right to abortion, I support
limiting it, and when an unborn child becomes viable, the right to an abortion
ends, except only to save the life of the mother.
· As a father (or mother), I see the
evil of human trafficking as one of the most horrific crimes that can be
perpetrated – especially since those most at-risk and most victimized are
little more than children themselves. I
support all reasonable efforts to end human trafficking and sexual slavery in
our city, our state and our nation.
· I see an increase in the minimum wage
at a time when unemployment is still at levels twice what it was during the
last Republican Administration to be a mistaken policy. It will raise costs on all retail goods, leading
to further unemployment, especially among those it’s “supposed” to help, people
at the low-end of the economic and wage scale, who desperately need to keep
their jobs to make ends meet.
Make Them Your Own: These are, of course, just examples of possible “selling
messages,” and should not be taken for your own campaign unless you really believe
in them. Instead, formulate what you
believe, and make those issues your own.
These
messages should be boiled down to “bumper sticker” length to be used as bullet
points on your website, with a link to a fuller presentation on the issue. Those fuller presentations should also be
rewritten as blogs, and posted on blog-sites supporting the campaign, as well
as separately on the website. Repetition is not a problem, as long as you
re-state the positions each time you present them.
They do not have to be long messages, but they must be powerful.
Examples I’ve Created:
For one candidate, who represented a conservative constituency in the
Deep South’s “bible belt,” we knew that voters did not want “leaders.” They were proudly independent cusses who truly
wanted representatives, people who would both serve them and reflect their
views. In addition, they wanted someone
who was a man or woman of faith.
Putting
across that message in a succinct slogan was a challenge, but here’s what we
came up with: “Stewardship, not Leadership.”
Obviously,
the slogan played to their feeling that they needed no “leaders.” In addition, in “church-speak,” the word “stewardship”
means someone who is in a position to serve.
It reflects the commandment of Jesus:
“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant to
all” (Mark 9:35).
Being
a steward is an honorable role in the church, and the use of this term sent a
powerful subliminal message to the faithful among the electorate.
Another
example comes from the time when the Federal Election Commission mandated that
all paid political ads had to include naming both the campaign committee and
its treasurer. Typically, this means an
ad ends with, “This ad was paid for the Committee to Re-Elect Bob Tyler, Frank
Smith, Treasurer.” That does no harm,
but it does no good (beyond following the law), and it takes up six seconds in
a 15- or 30-second ad. At my
recommendation, the candidate’s committee legally changed its name to – and ended
each of their ads with – the following: “Ten Thousand Lexington County Homeowners Who
What to Return Bob Tyler to Congress, Frank Smith, Treasurer.”
In
this way, the required disclaimer also became a part of the selling
message. The contest may not have been
in doubt – the candidate I’m calling Bob Tyler was a popular Congressman – but it
certainly didn’t hurt his re-election chances.
Humanizing the Candidate:
Even before they cast their ballots, or volunteer, or open up their
wallets – today’s voter first wants to be persuaded that this candidate will
effectively represent them. To do this,
you must put a human face on the candidate – make him or her a real person,
with real and compelling beliefs and values.
Accomplishing this through a brief and effective selling message puts
candidates on the fast track to electoral success.
