Tips For Creating A Great Palm Card
Tips For Creating A Great Palm Card
As a candidate, one of most space and cost effective tools you can have at your disposal is a palm card. Palm cards should be thought of as “campaigns in a capsule” because they should contain all of the highlights of your candidacy. That said, having a good palm card is not as easy as slapping your name in a pre-formatted card from your home printer. Here are a few tips to have a great and memorable card.
You can see palm card examples here:
Tell the voter why you deserve their vote.
Your campaign should have a motto or catchphrase “Confident. Caring. Committed.” or “For a better today and a brighter tomorrow” are some examples. Use this and expound on it. Give a short stump speech as to why you are the candidate they should vote for.
Use high quality, professional photos.
Just because you might have a good camera at your disposal doesn’t mean you should skimp here. If you can afford to, go pay for a professional photograph and use it on the card. Some retail stores even have booths you can make an appointment for. They don’t take long, look great, and are usually quite inexpensive.
Follow election laws: remember your disclaimer!
All election advertisements or publications must include who paid for it. Find out exactly what has to be included and have it somewhere on the card. Note that the font can be as small as possible while still being readable.
Be consistent with the rest of your campaign.
Don’t try to cater to everybody if that’s not what the rest of your campaign is about. Keep your message, and thus your campaign or “brand”, consistent as it will affect your credibility and public image.
Include your contact information.
Be sure to include reliable contact information on your card so that potential donors or political contacts can reach you. If you don’t already have “secondary” emails or phone numbers that you check regularly it might be useful to set them up: odd are you will not want to have your mobile number or primary email for every John Doe that you hand a card to.
Separate yourself from your opponent wherever possible.
This includes not only message but media appearance. Avoid similar colors or design schemes that your opponent uses, include key policy differences, and always try to have positive themes about yourself on your cards. Remember, these are like tiny summaries of your campaigns and should represent you as such.
What type of Paper Should I use on My Palm Card?
The best paper for your palm card is 14pt Gloss Coated. 14pt is the proper wait and the gloss coating will project the card and make nearly indestructible while you are on the campaign trail. An uncoated paper will not hold up well to the way you are going to treat your cards while you and your campaign volunteers are using them. They will be thrown in back seats, sliding around trunks and handled roughly by your team. The weight of the card or paper stock should be 14pt. 14pt paper is heavier the 100lb paper and cost about the same. Don’t buy cheap 12pt paper stock. Printers use 12pt stock to increase their profit margins. If you look around you can find 14pt stock for a better price than you are getting from the printers selling the 12pt stock. They are counting on your not knowing what your are doing.
In closing; Use high quality photos on your palm card, minimize the message so that it is on point with your campaign, if you have a a great personal story you can put that on the back of the card, and lastly print on a good 14pt gloss stock so that your palm cards hold up to the abuse your team is going to give them.
Good Luck on the campaign trail!
Thank you for running for office and good luck. You can see palm card examples here:
