A good campaign doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built with a plan.

If you’ve decided to run and chosen your office — the next step is to map out how you’ll win. That’s where your campaign plan comes in. It doesn’t need to be fancy, but it does need to be clear, realistic, and rooted in your strengths.

At CrowdBlue, we help candidates turn passion into progress by organizing their campaigns around actionable goals — not guesswork.

🔧 What Every Campaign Plan Needs

Think of your campaign plan as a blueprint for everything that follows. It should cover:

🎯 Mission & Goals

• Why are you running?

• What are your top three priorities?

• What does success look like beyond just winning?

📆 Campaign Timeline

• When will you launch?

• When are your filing deadlines?

• When will you do outreach, host events, or ramp up Get Out the Vote?

💰 Fundraising Strategy

• How much money do you need to raise?

• What are your biggest expense categories?

• Who are your early donors?

📣 Communications & Branding

• What’s your message?

• What’s your story?

• How will you consistently share your values across email, social, and in-person events?

🧩 Use the “Campaign Timeline Builder” Worksheet

Our CrowdBlue Worksheet: Campaign Timeline Builder helps you:

• Set milestones by month

• Align field work with voter timelines

• Track deadlines for filing and reporting

• Plan your launch, fundraising pushes, and final GOTV sprint

📥 Download the worksheet and get your campaign calendar on paper — or into your dashboard.

💡 Pro Tips for New Candidates

✅ Work backwards from Election Day. Start from when voting begins and build your timeline in reverse.

✅ Don't overcomplicate the plan. Focus on key goals: raise money, talk to voters, and stay on message.

✅ Revisit your plan every month. Update your strategy based on what’s working and what needs improvement.

✅ Assign ownership. Every piece of your plan should have someone responsible for getting it done — even if that person is you.