Learn from this City Council Candidate
October 14th, 2009
Hey folks, you don’t have to have to be a bigshot candidate to have an integrated online presence. For a clear example, take a look at this email from Jill Miller Zimon, who’s running for city council in Pepper Pike, Ohio:
Subject: Zimon Wins Council Seat!
From: Jill Miller Zimon For Pepper Pike City CouncilOkay – not me, but my fourth-grader. Still, he won with more than half the votes of his classroom and from a field of eleven candidates. We’re thinking that the ZIMON signs around town probably helped but … he didn’t share any of his fundraising proceeds to cover that expense!
Jill’s campaign isn’t as lucky – she needs to continue to raise money in order to get out her message on being the only candidate who is qualified to bring truly new and unique perspectives into Pepper Pike City Council.
CONTRIBUTE NOW if you like or read on….
And so on — the message goes on to explain what your donations would be used for, from door hangers to yard signs, and also includes a link to sign up to volunteer. Check out the social networking icons at the bottom (hmmm, one of the images seems to be broken), which feature prominently on the campaign’s website as well. Other noteworthy aspects of the site: a supporter list, clear email signup form on the front page (if possible, better to have it on every page), a list of upcoming events, and even a brief tour of Zimon yard signs in their natural habitat.
The verdict: nice job! An excellent site that serves as a solid online outreach hub, but that still has a built-by-your-neighbor look to it despite its advanced features, something entirely appropriate for a local candidate. Plus in this case, it’s supported by a solid email message with a compelling hook in the subject line (wait, how did Jill win already??), a clear ask and a well-stated value proposition. A little on the long side, though! Future emails might be shorter and more focused on a specific ask or piece of information, but that’s a minor quibble. All in all, good work and an excellent example for campaigns many times the size of hers.
– cpd
6 Comments Add your own
1. Jill Miller Zimon | October 14th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Thanks, Colin! For better or worse, “long” tends to be my reputation – though I do have a few Joe Biden “Yes” moments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XberX_t-WvI
But the critique is great and I’m getting pretty competitive in these last couple of weeks! Any edge I can get, I want. Up next: Facebook ads for 18-25 year olds from my small city using keywords to the max re: Ohio, Ohio state, buckeyes etc.
Thank YOU for all your help. I just got one of the local paper’s endorsements.
2. Sam Hagedorn | October 15th, 2009 at 2:30 am
I thought the value proposition in this was really powerful– because it was so much longer than most. It seemed unique because it described in minute detail what the campaign resources were going to.
I liked that. Good job and good luck.
3. Jill Miller Zimon | October 15th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Thanks very much, Sam. This feedback is great – and Colin should know that I’ve used info on here as a guideline throughout the campaign.
4. Jill Miller Zimon | October 17th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Just wanted to flag another local candidate, Lisa Mansfield, who is running for the Akron School Board. She’s been using Facebook quite a bit and now will be hosting a webchat from a coffee shop. I love it!
http://lisamansfield.blogspot.com/2009/10/lisa-mansfield-invites-everyone-to.html
5. Jill Miller Zimon | November 6th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
And I won.
AND…we think I might be the only female political blogger to have run for office and won, in the country. Still trying to figure that out for real w/help from Alan Rosenblatt.
Read more here:
http://themoderatevoice.com/51970/tmv-blogger-wins-race-may-be-first-to-go-from-blogging-to-political-office/#disqus_thread
6. e.politics: online advoca&hellip | December 7th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
[...] Learn from this City Council Candidate [...]
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