Brian Gongol
- Get a good tailor. Nobody will take you seriously if you aren't dressed like a professional. And on the other hand, perhaps you've noticed that former President Bill Clinton is always well-dressed. In fact, he may be one of the best-dressed people in America today. Just try to find a photo of Clinton without a dark suit and well-selected tie (unless he's on the golf course or jogging). It practically doesn't exist.
- Reserve your domain name early. Even if you're only running for school board. Some candidates think they can tell people to "Google my name" and expect it to work. But if you don't own your name as a domain, then Google could easily be serving up something you wrote for your school paper twenty years ago. If you're not serious enough about your campaign to pay $20 for a domain-name registration, then you're not really serious about running.
- Differentiate. Deliberately concentrate on being special and having something original to say. Write down what you believe and publish it -- on the Internet, in a book, or anywhere else you can. Know your credo and be clear about it.
- Pay for a good graphic designer. Find someone with graphic skills, explain what you want, trust them, and pay them for their work. In March 2007, a full year and a half before the 2008 Presidential election, only two campaigns had bothered to assemble unique-looking identities: McCain and Obama. Each had a unique campaign logo. Obviously, much more went into winning the nominations of their respective parties than just having a good logo -- but having one signaled that each candidate was serious about differentiation. Once you have a logo (and a marketing identity), use it like crazy.