Campaigns would be wise to pick specific goals for the coming weeks – and then pitch their supporters to help fund them.
The help-me-defeat-my-opponent pitches aren’t as effective down the stretch, fundraisers say. Rather, it’s time to get targeted – super targeted.
The fall is when donors are looking for ROI, according to Republican fundraiser Mike Hahn of Frontline Strategies.
“Donors that have likely given many times throughout the cycle want to now see a return on investment,” he told C&E. “They want to know their contributions are making a tangible impact: like helping to knock on doors or even to provide pizza to the campaign staff who will be working long hours.”
He added: “It’s important not to lose sight of the overall mission, which is of course money, but also to win votes.”
Aubrey Montgomery, founder of Rittenhouse Political Partners, called it a way to fill “funding gaps.” She gave an example: “Help us talk to ten first-time voters in North Carolina, send us a hundred dollars.”
It’s “tying funding to tactics,” she said. “Especially if you live in New York or California where your electoral votes are already spent, knowing that you could spend a little money to flip Georgia or flip North Carolina, I think those [appeals] go a long way.”
So how do you get these specific asks in front of voters? Texting is the main channel for rainmaking this cycle, according to Montgomery. “Texting now is what email was to Obama.”
She explained: “Inboxes are inundated … the statistics are staggering [but] like 95 percent of the text messages will at least get opened, whereas many emails get deleted before they’re even opened,” she said. “So texting is definitely the new email and a lot of campaigns are employing it.”
At least on the left, celebrity signers of text messages are increasingly popular. “Text is the new frontier,” she said.
