How to market Ron Paul 101

[Matt Collins]

A I D A

Do I have your attention?

Are you interested? I know you are, 'cause it's fuck or walk!

Decision. Have you MADE your decision FOR CHRIST?!

and ACTION.

HUH?!?!

 

[libertygrl]

Matt, that was such invaluable information. I was going to take out a large stack of books from the library on this topic but you saved me the trip. Thanks!

Keeping this same theme in mind, I wanted to get some feedback about the idea of direct mail marketing. To be more specific - neighborhood flier distribution. We could come up with a flier with the principles you just outlined. Perhaps we could include the differences between the top candidates and Ron Paul. (Globalists vs. Constitutionalist)

But here's the thing: Is there anyway we could come up with something very inexpensive yet creative, in which we could place the flier in? Something gimmicky that we could hang or tie on a door? I get fliers put in my door all the time for either lawn care, chinese food take out, local elections, etc. I barely even look at them. They get thrown out right away.

My desire is to come up with a way in which the person on the receiving end, will remember the unique flyer idea and connect it to the name/image of Ron Paul. Something that will stick in their head. Is it possible to come up with something that is:

A. Inexpensive
B. Fast & Easy for volunteers to assemble
C. Clever and Memorable


I've always been into unique product packaging. I know we certainly don't have the budget to tackle something big like this, but perhaps we could all brainstorm on something that is unique yet inexpensive.

These were just a few ideas that were popping into my head - (As we near the holidays)- small Xmas stocking that could tie on a door with a ron paul sticker on it. Inside, a rolled up flier tied up with string or a ribbon. (This shouldn't offend people. A xmas stocking is not a religious item. I know a Jewish person who likes to decorate for xmas too)!

Or if not Xmas, some other theme that ties in with Ron Paul's message. Liberty? Freedom? The Constitution? A Revolution? Perhaps some kind of packaging that would be reminisent of Colonial American culture? A test tube??? (He's a Dr.) I don't know. I'm just throwing some ideas out.


Also, I think this should be a nationwide rally - just like we did with the signs, and have the groups from each state go around door to door within their own communities, and drop off fliers. I think we are slowly beginning to realize that this massive support online, is just that. Online! We need to start reaching out to those people that don't have the internet or the time to use it - Seniors, busy mothers, some blue collar workers, etc.

Maybe this should be done on a certain weekend each month. Something on a short-term regular basis so that we can reach as many residences as possible. Perhaps come up with a clever name. Just one example - "Project Flier Drop."

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Advice?

 

[Matt Collins]

I know Nashville was looking for some door hangers to go door to door with.

 

[nexalacer]

How to "persuade voters to vote for Ron Paul"

If the people you are talking to are having problems with his "libertarian" ideas, there is a good approach to get them to agree with him:

Argue from Morality!

If you want to know more on arguing from morality, check out my post:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=26312

 

[Matt Collins]

If the people you are talking to are having problems with his "libertarian" ideas, there is a good approach to get them to agree with him:

Argue from Morality!

If you want to know more on arguing from morality, check out my post:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=26312

Yeah, we don't need to change anyone's mind about their own philosophies (RP can do that from office later on). Right now we just need their vote, and that is all.

 

[nexalacer]

Yeah, we don't need to change anyone's mind about their own philosophies (RP can do that from office later on). Right now we just need their vote, and that is all.

Maybe I'm confused... why would someone agree to voting for Ron Paul if they don't agree with his philosophies?

 

[Matt Collins]

Maybe I'm confused... why would someone agree to voting for Ron Paul if they don't agree with his philosophies?

Because not every voter out there actually LOOKS at the issues... MANY people (I would dare say most) vote on how the person talks or speaks or their personality or what state their from, or their name recognition etc etc... all superficial reasons instead of looking at where the person stands and their personal philosophies etc.

 

[Matt Collins]

This Is Important - Bump!

 

[nexalacer]

Because not every voter out there actually LOOKS at the issues... MANY people (I would dare say most) vote on how the person talks or speaks or their personality or what state their from, or their name recognition etc etc... all superficial reasons instead of looking at where the person stands and their personal philosophies etc.

Should we rely on superficialities to get Ron Paul elected? Remember what happened to Dean in '04? He looked unbeatable until a superficial "yeeeeaaaahhhh!" scared everyone away.

I understand what you're talking about and it's great advice, but if we want a solid base that will continue to work towards freedom even in the case that Ron Paul doesn't get elected, we MUST focus on the philosophy. If we want a more solid "commitment to vote for RP", we must break down the philosophy.

If you take an hour or two of your own time to study "the argument from morality", you can then explain it to the people you're "selling" RP to in 5 to 10 minutes. Is 5 to 10 minutes too much to ask for a more solid vote for RP and someone who will stick to the freedom movement even after this election?

 

[Matt Collins]

I understand what you're talking about and it's great advice, but if we want a solid base that will continue to work towards freedom even in the case that Ron Paul doesn't get elected, we MUST focus on the philosophy. If we want a more solid "commitment to vote for RP", we must break down the philosophy.

Of course the philosophy is important. But what's more important is to get someone in office who shares our philosophy (RP). Sound marketing techniques will absolutely decide if RP wins or not. The only thing we need to get RP into office are votes. That's IT. We can educate people about libertarianism at a later date, but right now, we just need their vote.

 

[Matt Collins]

Sorry for bumping again but this is important

 

[nexalacer]

Of course the philosophy is important. But what's more important is to get someone in office who shares our philosophy (RP). Sound marketing techniques will absolutely decide if RP wins or not. The only thing we need to get RP into office are votes. That's IT. We can educate people about libertarianism at a later date, but right now, we just need their vote.

I'm glad I can continue to bump your thread while expressing my point! Good for us both!

That said, you still didn't answer my question... how will superficial commitments guarantee that people vote for Ron Paul?

Furthermore, why must it be either/or? Why can we not incorporate the important philosophical basis into the marketing strategy?

I agree, marketing is very important, but if it's not based on anything real, it will become just another fad. And the worst thing that could happen to America right now would be for Ron Paul's message to be just another fad.

 

[schmeisser]

new here!

Hello all. New member and supporter here. Mostly because I was so annoyed after watching Hannity's treatment of RP on FOX. I am going to start doing my part and have a few ideas. Once upon a time, I was involved in the whole "making money on the internet" craze and saw some valuable promotion tools used that might help here. My experience is that this type of web user is generally libertarian leaning to begin with.

1. As we have seen thus far in the revolution, web traffic drives more web traffic. If nobody has done so yet, Click exchange sites (do a google search for click exchange and you will find numerous sites) are a quick way to drive traffic to supportive sites. I looked and I have over 5000 credits left from a long time ago that I am going to direct to various RP sites.

2. Banner exchanges for site owners are a great way to get impressions shown on other web sites. Again a search will reveal numerous exchanges. Also "Top Site" lists where users vote.

3. Years ago, I ran across the best advertisement I have ever seen. Oddly enough it was from some church ministry group, but was extremely effective. I saw what appeared to be a 20 dollar bill on the ground folded in half and then in half again. When I picked it up, I found that it was just a small paper advertisement printed to look like a portion of a 20 and folded in half with an advertising message inside. I must have kept that thing for 10 years I thought it was so cool - I probably still have it somewhee, but can't find it. In any event, something like this with a catchy message inside seems like it would stir up a lot of buzz. Something like "Don't Laugh - the 20 in your wallet will be just as worthless in a few years!" with some promo information. I'm sure everyone could come up with a bunch of catchy messages.

4. Maybe I am missing these somewhere, but some nice flyers that people could download and print out at home or Kinko's would be nice. Maybe some really provocative stuff to get people's attention like "Never Pay Income Taxes Again!".

I see from my reading that a lot of people are scared of making RP a fad, but I think the situation is so dire that any means necessary to get the message out and get the name recognition is required. Once we can get people to "tune in" maybe we can "turn them on".

Heck, let's go all out. How about a Ron Paul MLM plan/ ponzi pyramid (RonPaulCashMatrix.com or RonPaulsCashMachine.com ). Send in 10 dollars, 5 goes up the chain of referrers, and 5 to RP. Make it a spoof of social security and medicaid!

Thanks for the place to hang out and read about RP.

Rick

 

[Matt Collins]

That said, you still didn't answer my question... how will superficial commitments guarantee that people vote for Ron Paul?

Furthermore, why must it be either/or? Why can we not incorporate the important philosophical basis into the marketing strategy?

Because more than likely if someone tells you they are going to vote for someone, most likely, they will.

If you ask someone "can I have your vote" and they think for a second and say "yes" then there is a high probability they will uphold that commitment.

We don't need anything other than votes. RP can help spread the libertarian + constitutional philosophies from "the bully pulpit" once he gets into office. Also, to try to do that now will divide efforts and lose focus on winning the race.

It is much harder to convince someone to change their political ideology than it is to get their vote.

The Orlando Meetup leader Nick has this sig on his e-mail: "We are running a campaign, not a debate society".

 

[Ridiculous]

As far as ideas to promote Ron Paul goes, from what I have seen on here people have great ideas. Other ideas are very well intentioned, but have the potential for some negative blowback.

People give their well intentioned ideas a "halo effect" and refuse to admit or acknowledge that there might be some negatives. This doesn't happen just with Ron Paul supporters but in all kinds of marketing situations.

The marketing 101 solution to this is called a SWOT analysis....

Strenghts Weeknesses Oportunites Threats

You can read about it more here:
http://www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetemplate.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis

And in marketing, it doesn't matter if your opportunities and strengths are greater than your weaknesses and threats. If you even have a few weaknesses and threats you do what you can to eliminate or minimize them, or at the very least you have some sort of contingency plan.

Don't just come up with an idea and go with it, first think if there are any negatives.

 

[nexalacer]

Because more than likely if someone tells you they are going to vote for someone, most likely, they will.

If you ask someone "can I have your vote" and they think for a second and say "yes" then there is a high probability they will uphold that commitment.

We don't need anything other than votes. RP can help spread the libertarian + constitutional philosophies from "the bully pulpit" once he gets into office. Also, to try to do that now will divide efforts and lose focus on winning the race.

It is much harder to convince someone to change their political ideology than it is to get their vote.

The Orlando Meetup leader Nick has this sig on his e-mail: "We are running a campaign, not a debate society".

Again, happy to attempt to give this post more attention because I do think it's valuable. Marketing is, obviously, incredibly important to get people to try any product you want to sell. And Ron Paul is a product that will certainly appeal to many people.

The problem, however, is we don't have any real idea if the people it appeals to are all people that are willing to take the time and effort required to register as a Republican and vote in the primaries. I've talked to many people that like his message but would never register Republican. I've met others who don't even KNOW you can vote in the primaries. This doesn't even take into account the people that like Ron Paul but have deal breakers like abortion or immigration or the Department of Education that they don't agree with.

When we attempt to use marketing techniques to get people to vote for Ron Paul, all we can do is get them to SAMPLE his message. We cannot get a commitment because marketing works from the argument from effect... that is, it appeals to their interests. But if his message is OPPOSED to their interests... like they want social security to be "fixed"... they will take a sample and then toss the product, sure to never try it again.

A good example would be New Coke. It had a spectacular marketing campaign, something like 10 billion dollars, yet it failed because people just didn't "get" it. Of course, as die-hard Ron Paul supporters, it's sometimes hard to see how people just won't "get" him, yet it is sure to happen and possibly quite often! Yet, even if some people "get" it, they won't necessarily do something about it because the argument from effect is not that effective. If it were, the welfare state would have been dismantled when the Libertarian party started talking about its ills 40 years ago. The biggest failure of the libertarian movement is the fact that it sticks to its guns with the argument from effect while the statists are constantly arguing from morality.

The only truly effective argument is, and has always been, the argument from morality (<---LINK!!). It's an easy argument to learn and once you understand it thoroughly, even easier to explain to others in a short period of time. It's not about changing their political ideologies over night, it's about showing them how Ron Paul's political ideologies are moral, and planting a seed that, if fed with enough of Ron Paul's message, will surely grow into a supporter that will be sure to vote in the primaries and general elections. Furthermore, it will ensure they will be lifelong supporters of freedom, rather than the subjectivist/post-modernist/relativists that our horrible public-school system has likely made them.

The marketing is absolutely necessary, but rather than trying to sell a product that gives people the opportunity to toss it aside just like another old "tickle-me elmo", let's create more of a propaganda-type message. I hate to use the word propaganda, because it is always used to support negative power-systems. However, for lack of a better term, I have no choice. And in reality, propaganda is so effective because it works from the argument from morality. Our history books didn't say "the New Deal was good" because it was in the peoples' best interests.... it says it was good because it was right.

We need to use that approach with Ron Paul. His message is not good because it's in our best interests (although it is!), rather, it's good because it is moral and right.

 

[realitywiz]

Yes... We have a LOT of name recognition work to do. That is why we should support the November 5th money bomb. Check it out at www.thisnovember5th.com. We are trying to get at least 100,000 people on the internet to donate $100 to the official Ron Paul campaign on November 5th.

That's $10 Million in ONE day!!! This will send shock waves throughout the mainstream media and will prove to be a great leap forward in our efforts for greater name recognition. More people will flock to the internet to research Ron Paul. Let's get ready to educate them.

I also had this idea... and there may be some potential negatives to it, so I need some feedback. I'm going to get a stamp from RonPaulStamp.com. Then I'm going to take some cash out of my bank account, stamp all my money, and spend a few hours every day going to various department stores in my area, and beyond my area, and shop. I will buy lots of items. I can always return all the merchandise I don't want, at a later time, or on the same day too.

The point is the pump as much stamped currency into circulation as much as possible. I would go to several stores in one shopping mall, then go to another shopping mall and return the stuff (most malls have the same big-brand stores like Sears, Macy's, etc.). Then buy more stuff with stamped dollars and return later.

If we all did this, I mean every one of us Ron Paul supporters on the internet, we can have a great impact on name recognition.

Also, please don't forget the the various money bombs such as November 5th. Also look at www.ronpaulmoneybomb.com.

We should go to shopping malls on weekends and put ads on the cars' windshields or business-card size ads and stick them into the driver's side windows. We can also put magnetic ads on our own vehicles and drive around busy shopping mall parking lots on weekends, as well as the main roads during the work week where most of the traffic is.

Furthermore, Ron Paul deals with many issues. We need to take every one of those issues and spread the message to the appropriate audience. One of the issues I am very concerned about is health freedom, the freedom to access vitamins and supplements. Big Pharma wants to restrict access to vitamins and natural medical treatments, and Ron Paul is fighting back hard! I am currently writing letters to influential figures within the holistic health community such as Deepak Chopra and others.

I will be briefly announcing such ideas on the www.ronpaulnation.com blog for better exposure. Be sure to check there often.

 

[Matt Collins]

The marketing 101 solution to this is called a SWOT analysis....

Strenghts Weeknesses Oportunites Threats

SEE THIS:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=17677&highlight=SWOT

 

[Matt Collins]

Bump again

 

[iladelphxx]

I have a degree in Marketing from Temple University's Fox School of Business and Management and a current position in sales for a Fortune 500 company.

My advice would be to try and come off as professional and knowledgeable as possible when spreading the message. The more credible you look/sound, the more likely a person will listen to you and be persuaded by your actions.

Do not be overly forceful. Try to counter all rejections in a calm demeanor, then restate your positions and try to cater the message to whomever you are talking to.

DO NOT COME OFF AS AN UNINFORMED NUTJOB!

Do not force people into conversations against their will, berate them when they do not want to listen, or litter their private property with unwanted flyers etc.

A bad impression/experience can garner just as much word of mouth as a good one...

My main advice: Ask them questions and engage them in a friendly conversation.

People are more easily persuaded by people who they feel like they have built a relationship with, not a person they feel like they have to argue against.

Ask what their concerns are and why they feel the way they do...

Ask them who they are currently supporting and why...

Learn the poistions and weaknesses of the other candidates and use them in your arguements (The number one rule in business is to know your competition as well as you know your own products)

Remember: Word of mouth is one of the most powerful, yet delicate, ways to get your message across. There needs to be great care in it's implementation...