I can if I primary. I'm still registered Republican. I doubt the Republican Party will endorse me, but the grassroots movement in my region has grown tremendously since Obama came in. People have been flocking to the local meetup sites that I organize... So I know I can get the word around.
Yes! I bet you can. That's the Kokesh plan, the Rand plan, and (hopefully) the Schiff plan. You absolutely can and should try to primary as a Republican.
I don't want to start fundraising immediately this time.
If you can afford it, go for it. Fundraising is only necessary early in the campaign if you cannot afford to pay the startup costs yourself. But it doesn't hurt to fundraise early if only to get a head start on the process. If early donors don't max out, you can hit them again later in the campaign.
I need to get a direct mail campaign started to take the local temperature and find out if I can garner up any volunteers from it. Any suggestions on direct mailings, anyone?
Postcard. It's cheaper. Plus, you never want to mail a #10 envelope, it gets lost in the shuffle too easy. You want a large postcard mailing (no envelope), preferably wider than a #10 and of a color other than white, so that it stands out in the mail pile. Don't pack it with information, 300 words or less on both sides. Include a picture of yourself on one side that takes up at least a quarter of the surface area of the postcard. Your text should be a 50 word biography, five bullet point issue summaries, your web address (prominent), a campaign slogan, and whatever incidental language you find to be necessary. On the other side of the postcard, leave space for addressing and devote the rest of the space to an issue statement - generic constitution watermark with quote by a founder and a picture of said founder will do.
It's a costly venture, however, even if you get a bulk rate on postage. Between postage and production you're spending close to $0.50 per unit - imagine what that adds up to when you're doing a mailing to three counties. In order for it to be profitable, you need to focus on your conversion rate (the number of people who take the time to research you further by visiting your web site or attending your events). In direct mail sales, a 1% conversion rate is fine. That won't work in politics, though, because at the end of the day you're going to need at least a 20% conversion rate in order to it to have any meaningful effect on the voting population before election day. So don't get too revolutionary in what you say. Consider the mailing a sales pitch for a job interview. Cite more your credentials as a community leader than your ideology. The one and only goal is to get the conversion - spark enough interest to the greatest number of people for them to type your URL into their browser or stop by your local meetup group - so make sure to include both forms of contact on your mailings.
