Key Mistakes to Avoid in Political Event Planning

Let's review examples of event mistakes, which I have witnessed, and learn how you can avoid making mistakes planning political events for your campaign or organization. The key is to be as organized as possible.

1. Not planning your events accordingly

Before finalizing an event, make sure it will not interfere with a holiday or other significant event. One grassroots event in Dallas did not have a good turnout because it was the morning of Texas-OU weekend. I would also try and avoid planning events during political conventions if they take place in your city like CPAC or a GOP State convention. Another suggestion is to avoid Wednesday nights when people attend church.

2. Not preparing an event run thru

You need to prepare an event run-thru timeline sheet. Note what time frame attendees will arrive, how much time they have to mingle, and what time the event begins. Decide amongst the officers who will be welcoming everyone, who will introduce the speaker, who will lead the pledges, who will make announcements, and who will close the event. You need to respect attendees’ time and adjourn the meeting at a reasonable hour.

3. Not preparing name tags

Provide name tags for attendees to wear to become acquainted with one another. Your campaign or organization will appear more professional if you have attendees names on name tags ahead of time with your logo. If that is not possible, provide blank name tags for attendees to fill out their names. You can purchase blank name badges at Staples or Office Depot.

4. Forgetting to send event reminders

Do not forget to remind people about your upcoming events. I recommend sending email blasts and posting event reminders on your social media one week prior and two days prior to the event.

5. Not having a CTA

You should have a Call to Action for your attendees to have a reason to get involved. The call to action can be to contact your legislatures on a policy issue, donate to your organization, or sign up to volunteer to help elect Republican down ballot candidates. Allow your guest speaker to share their call to action related to their speaking topic. Encourage attendees to act on issues that have not received enough attention.

6. Not introducing the guest speaker

If you oversee introducing the guest speaker at your organization's meeting, introduce yourself, your officer title, and share a brief background about your guest speaker to attendees. One event I attended recently neglected to introduce the guest speaker. Instead, the officers asked the guest speaker if she was ready to speak. The chair did not introduce himself either. You need to introduce yourself if you are a leader of an organization for new attendees.

7. Neglecting to allow candidates to speak

You should allow candidates who attend your meeting to introduce themselves, which office they are running for, and why they are running for office. Be sure to include candidates to speak on your event run thru list. Please allow campaign managers who attend your events on behalf of a candidate to speak as well.

8. Sharing illegible slides on your presentation

Make sure the font and text color are legible. One recent presentation I saw was good, it had photos and videos. However, a couple of the slides had text that blended in with the background of the slide on the presentation, it was hard to read the text. Do a run thru of the presentation on the screen to make sure the text on your presentation is legible.

9. Exceeding the budget

One of the priorities of your campaign or organization should be keeping up to date with the budget. Do not overspend on food, venues, or event materials if you do not have the budget for it. If you exceed the budget, then your campaign or organization will be scarce on resources and unable to plan upcoming events.

10. Taking low quality pictures

Do not take dark or blurry pictures. Low quality pictures are obviously unappealing, therefore, will have low social media engagement. Bright, clear pictures (bonus if you use the portrait feature on your iPhone camera) will increase engagement and interest of more people reaching out to get involved. If your club or organization has the budget, hire an event photographer.

11. Not taking photos

If you do not take pictures, people will not see that your club or organization is active. It is hard to promote your club or organization’s activities without photos. Neglecting to take photos will hurt your social media engagement.

12. Forgetting to provide a sign-in sheet

Please have attendees sign in on either a sign in sheet on an excel spreadsheet or on a piece of paper attached to a clipboard with a pen. Aside from the name and contact info columns, also add an “organization” column so you can see if attendees who work on political campaigns attend. Keep the sign in sheets for attendance records.

13. Not thanking people for attending

People take time out of their busy lives to come to your event. The least you can do is show your appreciation for their presence. If you do not thank your attendees for coming, the less likely they will come to your next event.

Invest your time to prepare and organize event details. I recommend creating an event checklist to help you prepare for events. Ask for volunteers to help with welcoming attendees, check-in, setting up the space for the event, passing out event programs, taking pictures, and cleanup.