Political texting, explained.
Field notes on running verified voter outreach, 10DLC and TCPA in plain language, and what actually moves a race.
Start here — the complete guides
Texting for a Mayoral or Municipal Race
Municipal races, mayor, council, local offices, run on small budgets, tiny universes, and low turnout, exactly where texting shines. Here's how to build a texting program for a city or town race.
Reaching Hard-to-Reach Voters by Text
Some voters are hard to reach through any channel, rural, transient, disconnected, or wary. Here's how texting reaches voters other methods miss, its limits, and how to combine it with other channels to close the gap.
AI and Deepfakes in Political Texting, the Rules Catching Up
AI is reshaping political outreach, and regulators are responding, from banning AI-voice robocalls to scrutinizing deepfakes. Here's where AI and political texting intersect, the emerging rules, and how campaigns should use AI responsibly.
What Is Phone Append, and Why It's Not Consent
Phone append is buying phone numbers to attach to a voter file. It gives you numbers, not permission. Here's what phone append is, why campaigns use it, and why it's not a shortcut to a textable list.
What Is Engagement Rate in Texting?
Engagement rate measures how many recipients actually interact with your text, replies, clicks, actions, not just receive it. Here's what engagement rate captures, why it beats open rate, and how to read it.
What Is an Opt-in Landing Page?
An opt-in landing page is where a voter lands to subscribe to your texts, from a QR code, ad, or link. Here's what it is, what a good one includes, and why it's central to growing a clean, consented list.
The CTIA Messaging Principles: The Rulebook Carriers Enforce
Most campaigns worry about the TCPA and forget the rulebook that decides whether their texts deliver at all. The CTIA Messaging Principles are the standard carriers enforce, here's what they require.
The Cost per Vote of Political Texting
Cost per vote is the metric that lets you compare texting to other channels honestly. Here's how to think about texting's cost per vote, why it's usually favorable, and the traps that inflate it.
What Losing Campaigns Get Wrong About Texting
The texting mistakes that hurt losing campaigns are consistent and avoidable. Here's what they get wrong, from treating volume as strategy to skipping the fundamentals, and what to do instead.
The Carrier Crackdown on Spam Texts, and What It Means for Campaigns
Carriers keep tightening the screws on spam texts, more filtering, stricter registration, faster bans. Here's what the ongoing crackdown means for political campaigns and why it rewards clean programs over loud ones.
How Much of a Campaign Budget Should Go to Texting?
There's no fixed percentage for a texting budget, it depends on the race, the goal, and the return. Here's how to think about allocating budget to texting, what drives the number up or down, and why cost per outcome matters more than a rule of thumb.
What TCPA Settlements Teach Campaigns
TCPA class-action settlements regularly run into the millions, and the fact patterns behind them are predictable. Here's what these settlements teach campaigns about the risks worth avoiding, and why the lessons rarely change.