Topics:
Text Messaging, SMS, Small-Dollar Fundraising, Fundraising, Content, Digital Marketing, House File, GOTV
Text Message Examples for Political Campaigns
10 Winning Text Messages for Republican Campaigns
Our team sends out thousands of text messages daily. We see the results, and text messaging works for Republican candidates of all stripes.
Open rates for text messages are ten times (10X) that of email.
The use of text messaging as a tool for political campaigns is quickly moving from "nice, but optional" to "absolutely mandatory"— especially when it comes to digital fundraising.
Text Messaging Works for Republicans
Short code messaging is what GOP campaigns are using to build a text message following with a robust house file. Additionally, campaigns looking to reach broader audiences, such as for voter turnout, use peer-to-peer (P2P) texting.
In the last few years, MMS and SMS have played an important role in helping the Republican Party overcome what was once an advantage for the Democrat party in small-dollar fundraising.
MMS vs SMS Texting
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Republican Elected Officials, Republican Candidates, and Republican Party Committees leverage text messages within their digital strategies to connect with supporters. The results speak for themselves as Republicans have overcome the traditional advantages democrats have enjoyed in small-dollar fundraising.
If your political campaign is not using text messaging, short codes, P2P, MMS, or SMS, then it's time to upgrade from email to text messaging plus email.
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For more on Text Messaging, check out our introductory blog post: Text Messaging for Political Fundraising. |
Playbook for Republican Text Messaging
Whether you are a Republican digital professional or new to GOP digital campaigns, using text message examples can help start your text message campaigns off right.
We worked with our friends at Tatango to assemble the following Playbook for Republican Text Messaging for elected officials, candidates, organizations, and campaigns. Included in this playbook are Ten Winning Texts for Republican Campaigns.
Ten Winning Texts for Republican Campaigns
For the first time in 2021, Republicans have surpassed Democrats in digital fundraising.
These Ten Winning Texts for Republican Campaigns provide the examples you need to start creating content for your texting campaigns today.
Winning Text #1 — Matching DonationsUse Graphics to Announce Contribution MatchingA common grassroots fundraising tactic is to "match" contributions from donors. Adding an eye-popping graphic can capture attention, causing subscribers to read more and donate. Format: MMS
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Winning Text #2 — Store PromosSell Campaign Store ItemsPromoting items from your campaign store is a great way to fundraise without a hard donation ask. Typically, items with an overarching appeal (i.e., "Take Back the House") will outperform campaign-centric items (i.e., "Huber for Congress"). Include creative (video, images, or GIFs) that features your merch to boost responses! Format: MMS preffered
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Winning Text #3 — Selfie VideosUse Video to Make Calls to ActionAdd a personal touch to texts by including a selfie video or a voice recording. Share videos from the candidate, family members, VIPs, and more. Videos don't have to be fancy; selfie videos recorded with smartphones are very effective. Format: MMS
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Winning Text #4 — Curated NewsShare the News Important to YouThe news cycle moves quickly. Use texts to push out important news updates to your supporters. Include a screenshot of a news headline or a Tweet to help grab attention. If a local paper endorses you, include a link. Format: MMS preferred
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Winning Text #5 — GOTVDrive Voter TurnoutTexting is a great way to Get Out the Vote. You can provide polling locations and hours or send recipients to a landing page that provides that information. Plan out in advance a series of messages leading up to and on election day. Additionally, send out alerts about other elections that your candidate may have endorsed or a special election. Format: SMS and MMS
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Winning Text #6 — Survey SupportersGet Supporter Feedback (plus Contributions)People love to share their opinions, so why not create a survey and ask them to respond? These surveys can help you engage people who may be tired of direct donation asks. You can also include a soft donation ask using a redirect after completing the survey or poll. Format: SMS or MMS
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Winning Text #7 — Event InvitationsAnnounce Upcoming EventsIf you have an important event coming up that you would like supporters to know about or attend, you can have them RSVP via text. Format: SMS or MMS
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Winning Text #8 — The Latest AdAsk Supporters to Watch Your New AdWhen your campaign releases a new ad, MMS messages are a great way to get the message out to the masses. Encourage supporters to leverage their circle of influence by asking them to forward your message. Format: MMS
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Winning Text #9 — EndorsementsShare Quotes and TestimonialsShare quotes from other supporters on why they are donating to your candidate. These quotes can be personal stories from individuals or even endorsements from community leaders and elected officials. Format: MMS
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Winning Text #10 — Impact of DonationsDemonstrate the Value of a Campaign ContributionExplain to supporters the impact of donations given to the campaign in real terms (i.e., $50 buys 72 yard signs or $100 buys pizza for 23 phone volunteers). Supporters may feel more inclined to give if they have transparency and feel secure in their donation. Format: MMS
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Short Code List Building
As mentioned earlier, short code messaging for GOP campaigns requires a house file of text messages subscribers. So, we asked for some expert advice on short code list building from Andrew Penchuk of Tatango.
Expert Advice from Andrew Penchuk, VP of Customer Service at Tatango
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Andrew's Expert Advice on Short Code List BuildingPut your short code everywhere. Why? Political text message marketing is all about small dollar donations. Lots of small dollar donations add up to big money. But you need a sizable list from which to pull donations. A small list will only go so far, but a large list has a much better likelihood of producing ROI. How do you get a sizable list? You put your short code everywhere. Put it on your social media accounts (in profile pictures, in posts/tweets, in descriptions), on your website (collect phone numbers with popups), in your email newsletter (and promote your email newsletter in your text messages), on the podium when your candidate speaks, on signage at events (bonus tip: use a custom keyword for each event for later targeting/segmenting), in advertising of all kinds, on donation pages, and anywhere else you can think of to put it. Start there. Grow your lists!!! |
Thank You
We want to thank Andrew for his advice and help putting together resources for our Playbook for Republican Text Messaging.
Thank you for staying engaged. If you have additional questions on launching or sustaining a successful text messaging campaign, our experts at The Prosper Group have the answers you need.
Did you find this post helpful?If so, let us know what you think. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. |
The Prosper Group is an internationally recognized, award-winning digital marketing agency headquartered in Indianapolis. The firm specializes in online media, strategy, and fundraising for Republican political candidates, advocacy organizations, associations, and non-profits. The Prosper Group's best-in-industry work has been recognized for awards dozens of times by prestigious organizations such as the American Association of Political Consultants and Campaigns & Elections.
The firm has worked in tandem with Trump for President 2016, Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Ted Cruz, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Congressman John Katko, the National Association of Manufacturers, Fox News, and many other candidates and organizations.
