We explore ways to create the best political campaign literature with examples and takeaways. Design effective political campaign advertising material. When running a campaign, it is essential to ensure more and more people know about you. Popularize your candidate, campaign and values through your political campaign literature. Let people know the policies you stand for and communicate to the best of your abilities. Our guide shows you how.

1. The Top 5 Key
Political Campaign
Literature
Types And Best Practices

2. People are 70% more likely to remember things they see in print than online. However,
digital advertising is ahead in consumption patterns, with 79% of people in the USA on social
media consuming content for an average of six hours a day.

3. This is precisely why planning your political campaign
literature is extremely important.
When you begin your election campaigning journey, it is imperative to plan your
messaging and how you will communicate it across mediums – print or digital.

4. Types of Campaign Literature:
1. Posters
2. Letters
3. Brochures
4. Websites
5. Text messages

5. Posters
Posters have been used since the advent of
printing.
Posters were the primary mode of political
communication in the 19th century

6. Wondering why posters
are still relevant?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s election campaign in 2018
was widely popular, and her posters were vital in
creating brand recall for her. Moving away from the
traditional blue of the democratic party, Ocasio-Cortez
instead opted for bold yellow and purple posters.
The result? Candidates everywhere are trying to
replicate the success of this poster to stand out during
their election campaign.

7. Key takeaways from AOC’s poster:
Introduce yourself: AOC’s purple poster has only two bits of information – her
name and the position she is contesting for – which are the two most important
points your poster needs to cover. Even if you decide to add more text, ensure
this information is highlighted.
Focus on design: Your poster’s design communicates a lot of information to
voters. Keep an eye out for the latest trends in design and adapt them to your
poster design.
Digital calls to action: Add digital calls to action to your poster, for example, by
adding a website link on your poster that people can look up later or a QR code
that leads to the campaign website.

8. Letters
Letters form an integral part of political
campaign literature. From appeals for
support to fundraising, there are various
ways in which letters are used in a
political campaign.

9. A political campaign’s letter should
always have the following elements:
Personalized messaging while reaching out to the masses.
A concise introduction of the candidate.
A solid pitch for your campaign and its purpose.
If it is an email newsletter, then links to donate, support, or
sign up on their website.
Links to social media so that people can continue to follow
you and your messaging.
A clear call to action or next steps – what is this letter trying
to achieve?

10. Sanders’ email is the perfect example of what a
political campaigning letter must consist of, which
is:
A personal introduction – The letter starts by addressing his supporters as ‘Friends,’
instantly building an emotional connection with the reader. Although he does not
personalize the email by adding the reader’s first name, he still manages to strike a
personal chord.
Concise content – The letter does not spend too much time reaching the point it
wants to convey, and it directly starts talking about the previous night’s debate.
Call to action – The crux of the email, the ask for donations, is highlighted, drawing
eyes to it immediately. You cannot miss what this letter is asking for.

11. Call to action – The crux of the email, the ask for donations, is highlighted,
drawing eyes to it immediately. You cannot miss what this letter is asking for.
A personal connection – At the end of the letter, Bernie Sanders
communicates empathy and gratitude by asking people to donate ‘if they can’
and ‘it would mean a lot’ – sealing the connection he fostered at the beginning
with his greetings.
An unmissable call to action button: Again, his call to action is reinforced by
a simple but clearly visible ‘contribute’ button so that the readers can take that
action immediately at the end of the letter.

12. Letters
When the whole world is going digital, especially political
campaigns, text messages also serve as crucial political
campaign literature.
Political campaigns increasingly use text messages to reach
out to voters because it guarantees a 98% open rate.
Therefore, crafting a compelling text message to reach your
target audience is extremely important in garnering support.

13. Here are some best practices to incorporate in
your political texts:
Determine which tools you want to use: You can select mass texting or peer-to-peer
texting to drive one-way or two-way conversations, respectively. Once you determine
that, you can craft your text message accordingly.
Incorporate visual media: You can share posters and brochures via text messages
using MMS features to make your text messages more engaging. This increases your
conversion rates by up to 70% !!
Make it actionable: Text messages are short pieces of campaign literature. However,
you need to leverage it by adding a call to action, links for donation, links for support,
or sharing on social media. The best part? You can even track these links and retarget
your audience to increase support using the right text messaging tools.

14. Pete Buttigieg’s text message campaign uses
all of these best practices:

15. Brochures
Brochures help win elections.
The best kinds of political brochures are the ones that help you stand
out from other candidates and also help spread your message to larger
audiences.
Brochures are fundamental parts of political campaign literature
because they introduce the candidate and their policies to the masses
online and offline.

16. A great example of a good political campaign brochure is Hillary Clinton’s
from her 2016 Presidential campaign:

17. Hillary Clinton’s brochure incorporates all the best
practices of creating the perfect brochure, such as:
A professional image of the candidate: Since a brochure is the voter’s introduction to a candidate,
a professional image goes a long way in establishing a candidate’s potential. It helps people take the
candidate seriously.
Simple language: A great piece of political campaign literature is written simply but effectively. The
language needs to be simple enough to be understood by everyone. Also, always proofread twice
before you print something.
Explain why voters should vote for a candidate: Clinton’s brochure above lists down policies she
will support and her plans as the POTUS. Voters need to know why they should consider voting for a
candidate and what the candidate can do for them.
Creative: Hillary Clinton’s brochure stands out because she uses the image of a mother and child to
evoke family feelings and incorporates a vote of confidence by including a quote from the mother.

18. continued…
High-quality print: High-quality print shows how invested a candidate is in their election campaign.
Focus on high-quality design and share your brochure through email. Avoid blurry images or
illegible text.
A professional image of the candidate: Since a brochure is the voter’s introduction to a
candidate, a professional image goes a long way in establishing a candidate’s potential. It helps
people take the candidate seriously.
Simple language: A great piece of political campaign literature is written simply but effectively. The
language needs to be simple enough to be understood by everyone. Also, always proofread twice
before you print something.
Explain why voters should vote for a candidate: Clinton’s brochure above lists down policies she
will support and her plans as the POTUS. Voters need to know why they should consider voting for
a candidate and what the candidate can do for them.

19. Letters
Being found online when people search for your campaign is
essential when you are aiming to run successfully.

20. Your campaign website contains essential
information, such as:
1. Donation appeals and links.
2. Introduction to the candidate and their policies.
3. Social media links for continued engagement with the campaign.
4. Call to action buttons that help support the campaign.
5. Staff and volunteer recruitment.
6. Updates from the campaign.
7. Surveys and polls.

21. The website of the Mayor of Honolulu, Rick Blangiardi is a good is a good example of how you need to
pay attention to how you design your website and its message: While this is a website with a simplistic
design, it is apt for the Mayor of a Hawaiian city. Displaying a green and brown theme, with a t-shirt
that evokes the feeling of being in Hawaii, this website is sure to appeal to his voter base.

22. While it is simplistic, the website uses a few things
very well:
Use of language: Using words such as ‘Aloha’ to instantly connect with the local
audience and create a sense of belonging.
Action buttons: This website uses two clear action buttons – Join and Donate.
The readers know precisely what they need to do – either join or donate to help
his cause.
Pages: The ‘Meet Rick’ slide deck and ‘Women for Rick’ sections are important
insights into him as a candidate and the policies that he supports – information
that is vital as political campaign literature.

23. What is CallHub?
Lorem ipsum: Btw do you know CallHub helps with…

24. Best practices for crafting campaign literature:
Be mindful of your audience: Know exactly who you are targeting and how your
messaging will be perceived. While AOC’s yellow and purple posters were a great hit,
they may not fit all candidates and their voter base.
Create memorable messaging: Messaging that people can easily remember after
coming across your political campaign literature is successful messaging. It could be
Obama’s ‘Yes We Can’ slogan or Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ – both excellent,
memorable messaging examples.
Focus on design: As we learned earlier in the article, design is essential. While words
will communicate what you want to, design signals your values to voters unconsciously.
Focus on how you want to be seen through your political campaign literature.

25. Know your intent: When creating content, always work backward. Know what you want as a
result of your messaging and craft it accordingly. Is your campaign literature supposed to
make people aware of your campaign, appeal for donations, or establish your credibility?
Knowing your intent is imperative for clear messaging.
Create different literature types for different audiences: Text messages work really well
for younger audiences, while posters and brochures might appeal to slightly older audiences.
High-value donors might prefer personalized letters. Knowing what type of political campaign
literature works with which audience will lead to success.
Design according to distribution: Knowing where your political campaign literature will be
displayed goes a long way in determining design. Larger fonts for posters stuck higher up on
walls, bright colors to draw attention to a busy junction, high-quality paper, and design for
brochures available at the local community center – all these are points you must consider.
continued…

26. Create content that can be repurposed: You may design posters to stick around
essential places in the community, but you could also use their online drafts on
your social media platforms, in your email campaigns, or share them via MMS
messages. Creating repurposable content saves time, effort, and valuable
campaign funds.
Use technology: Political campaign literature has been traditionally understood as
print material. But with the introduction of texting, newsletters, social media, etc.,
into the campaign process, you must plan for messaging that appeals across
platforms.

27. Conclusion
Designing your political campaign literature is one part of running a
successful campaign. However, it still requires a lot of consideration
and careful planning.
Want to know more about how to run successful election campaigns?
Read Your 8 Step Guide On Planning Local Political Campaigns That
Win! to learn more and follow our blog.