Fall is election time, and we are nearing the heart of it now as the final days of September approach and October, then November, beckon. We already supplied you with tips for actually making and displaying campaign buttons, plus three tips specific to elementary school campaign buttons.
In this post, we provide you with four essential tips for designing the most effective and memorable campaign buttons possible.
Campaign season is upon us, which means that the making and displaying of campaign buttons is a matter of urgent importance to anyone running for office this fall. Fortunately for all of the candidates (old and young) and campaign managers out there, we just so happen to be experts at guiding you along the campaign button making process.
In fact, we have touched on the topic of making campaign buttons before, right here at The Button Blog. Here is our post on how to make a campaign button, which we posted for last year’s campaign season but which continues to be relevant this year.
In case you don’t want to read the whole thing, a quick summary:
Throughout history the campaign button has changed sizes several times.
Image Source: Wikipedia
As we explained in our recent campaign button history post, Abraham Lincoln was the first Presidential candidate to actively use campaign buttons to promote himself and his running mate; his buttons were round, as you can see to the right.
But other candidates in other elections have used varying shapes and sizes in an attempt to be different and stand out from the crowd.
The question is, which shape and size campaign button is right for you?
If you are campaigning, or helping to run a campaign, a campaign button maker will be a useful tool to let voters know who you are and where you stand on issues. Instead of wasting your time and money on mass phone or mail campaigns, try the more cost efficient and more effective alternative: campaign button making.
The price of postage goes up each year, making mail campaigns more and more expensive. They are also ineffective; most of the time people just throw your mass mail out because they consider it junk mail. With the advent of online bill pay and e-mail, people also check their mailbox less often. Phone campaigns can also backfire, because people will be upset that you are interrupting their dinner or other important activities.
So instead of using one of these expensive and antiquated methods of yesterday, stick with the tried-and-true method of using campaign buttons.
One of the most prevalent items in every campaign manager’s toolbox is the campaign button.
For building awareness, establishing brand, staying top of mind, and encouraging word-of-mouth promotion, among many other uses, the campaign button is a widely used tool by anyone running for any office.
Campaign buttons are inexpensive to make, as all you need is a circle cutter plus a button machine and some button making supplies. They are also easy to distribute and require very little effort from supporters to use. It is no wonder then that since Abe Lincoln first used them in 1860, the stature and ubiquity of campaign buttons has only grown.
In this post, we provide a brief history of political campaign buttons, along with some examples.
It is still just April, some 6+ months away from Election Day, but do not be lulled into a false sense of security.
If you are a candidate running for office, you do not have “plenty of time” to sit idly by without getting your name out there. Similarly, if you are planning to promote the cause of a candidate, the right time to start is now…not later.
That’s why we are here posting this in April. While all candidates and campaigns are different and unique in their own way, there is one constant throughout every campaign: the need for campaign buttons!
As you might have guessed, we know a little something about this topic. So let’s discuss how to make a campaign button.
Have you ever thought about starting your own home-based business? You may be surprised to learn that a nice chunk of our customer base uses our button machines and button making supplies as the means of production for their own home-based button businesses.
The purpose of this post is run down a few of the reasons why so many of many of our customers have gotten into the button making business part-time — or even full-time — from the comfort and convenience of their own home.
We know that a home-based business is not for everyone, and that making buttons isn’t the right choice for everyone considering a home-based business, but you should at least know the benefits of being your own button making boss.
Do not be fooled by the specificity of the number in the title. There is no finite number of uses for buttons, nor are we sure that what we are about to describe would fall in the exact 4,571th slot even if such a list existed.
The main idea is that there are tons of uses for buttons, and I just came across another one today.
On NPR.org, they have chosen to use political campaign buttons of recently deceased U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy to encapsulate his life. The good (his Senator elections), the bad (references to Chappaquidick), and the failed (his runs for President) are all represented in the ten-button cross section chosen by NPR.
One question that we get asked a lot by potential customers and people who are just curious about button making is: “What is the difference between a button machine, a button maker, and a button press?”
Well, I am afraid that the answer is quite complicated. In fact, it is so complicated that it will require all of one word, two syllables, and seven letters to explain:
NOTHING!