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101 Ways to Win An Election
Ever wanted to get a better deal for your community? Ever watched politicians and thought ‘I could do a better job’? This book reveals the secrets and skills you need to take the first step to power – getting elected.
Written by two experienced political insiders, it is a breezy, accessible grass-roots guide to running an election campaign at any level. It draws on successful tactics from around the world and presents the lessons in a digestible format – 101 short chapters that together will tell you how to win an
election.
Among the many lessons you will learn along the way are why you must learn to hate trees, why a picture is NOT worth a 1,000 words, why you must always have more people than chairs, why the best form of advertising is also the very worst, and why communicating is like cooking.
Written by two experienced political insiders, it is a breezy, accessible grass-roots guide to running an election campaign at any level. It draws on successful tactics from around the world and presents the lessons in a digestible format – 101 short chapters that together will tell you how to win an
election.
Among the many lessons you will learn along the way are why you must learn to hate trees, why a picture is NOT worth a 1,000 words, why you must always have more people than chairs, why the best form of advertising is also the very worst, and why communicating is like cooking.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published July 19, 2012
20 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Mark Pack
4 books10 followersAuthor Polling UnPacked: The History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, Bad News: what the headlines don't tell us and 101 Ways To Win An Election. Liberal Democrats Life Peer. Party President 2020-25. Edit Liberal Democrat Newswire. Host Never Mind The Bar Charts podcast.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 2, 2020
As a person dipping into political campaigning after a long break, I found book is very readable. It has the right balance of information and anecdote to keep you reading. It offers advice on motivation and team-building which can be applied to all walks of life.
I have bought three copies this book so far – one on kindle, a paper copy for reference, and one to give to a like-minded friend. It is inspirational - you will need to keep a notebook and pen to had to write down all the tips. I agree that it should not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands....it is far too good!
I have bought three copies this book so far – one on kindle, a paper copy for reference, and one to give to a like-minded friend. It is inspirational - you will need to keep a notebook and pen to had to write down all the tips. I agree that it should not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands....it is far too good!
April 1, 2021
Not sure how much of this book appeals to just Lib Dem members. A book that is an easy read but is probably more of one that you would dip in & out where relevant - as the authors recommend. Some of it goes further than you would expect depending on what level of political office you are aspiring to.
August 13, 2020
I would've liked a tad more detail on the real-life examples the authors give, but still a good read.
April 11, 2015
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2403243.html
I have no immediate plans to return to electoral politics (full disclosure: Cambridge City Council, 1990; North Belfast, 1996). However, I deal on a daily basis with people who are personally very much involved with elections, and occasionally they even ask my advice, so it was useful to return to basics with this handbook - not so much 101 different ways to win, as 101 steps that must be taken by a decently run election campaign, skewed very much to a particular part of the British environment (no massive campaign spending as in the USA, no compulsory voting as there is here; I also miss anything substantial on engaging with minority communities).
But a lot of it is of universal value, not just for election campaigns but for any public policy campaign, and I think the division into five main themes is sound: 1) getting a good message; 2) building a good team; 3) managing resources (money, time, and especially voter data); 4) communicating (leaflets, media, internet); 5) leadership. Some of the points transfer well beyond public affairs to any position of responsibility.
I think what struck me most was the early emphasis on message development. Back when I was a political neophyte in the early 1990s, this wasn't something we were told to worry about very much - the emphasis was on the mechanics of communicating with voters and hoping to get votes as the person best at doing that, and developing a local message beyond fixing the pot-holes looked a wee bit dodgy. But when I got involved with international democracy development in the mid-1990s, it became clear to me just how important message development is. This was (and is) a serious lacuna for all Northern Irish political parties: most of them are unable to give an elevator pitch statement as to why anyone should vote for them (see one recent example).
I commended this book to some Northern Irish activists the other day, and I commend it also not just to people who are themselves campaigning or thinking of campaigning, but anyone who is interested in how politics actually works in real life, as opposed to in the newspapers.
I have no immediate plans to return to electoral politics (full disclosure: Cambridge City Council, 1990; North Belfast, 1996). However, I deal on a daily basis with people who are personally very much involved with elections, and occasionally they even ask my advice, so it was useful to return to basics with this handbook - not so much 101 different ways to win, as 101 steps that must be taken by a decently run election campaign, skewed very much to a particular part of the British environment (no massive campaign spending as in the USA, no compulsory voting as there is here; I also miss anything substantial on engaging with minority communities).
But a lot of it is of universal value, not just for election campaigns but for any public policy campaign, and I think the division into five main themes is sound: 1) getting a good message; 2) building a good team; 3) managing resources (money, time, and especially voter data); 4) communicating (leaflets, media, internet); 5) leadership. Some of the points transfer well beyond public affairs to any position of responsibility.
I think what struck me most was the early emphasis on message development. Back when I was a political neophyte in the early 1990s, this wasn't something we were told to worry about very much - the emphasis was on the mechanics of communicating with voters and hoping to get votes as the person best at doing that, and developing a local message beyond fixing the pot-holes looked a wee bit dodgy. But when I got involved with international democracy development in the mid-1990s, it became clear to me just how important message development is. This was (and is) a serious lacuna for all Northern Irish political parties: most of them are unable to give an elevator pitch statement as to why anyone should vote for them (see one recent example).
I commended this book to some Northern Irish activists the other day, and I commend it also not just to people who are themselves campaigning or thinking of campaigning, but anyone who is interested in how politics actually works in real life, as opposed to in the newspapers.
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March 4, 2013Sorry I meant to say I "haven't finished" above - not sure why I can't edit the original review - just a typo!
April 16, 2013
A really good synthesis of what is importante in the execution of a campaign in terms of organization, communication and achieving political impact.
April 8, 2019
101 Ways to Win is a short, easy to read guide for those interested in starting a career in politics. The chapters are short, concise, and a breeze to read.
Mark Pack does a good job sharing his expertise in the field and real experiences he's seen. One enjoyable part of this book is that Pack inserts some humanity into his way of thinking. Pack also mentions a few personal items that should not be overlooked on the campaign trail.
Though the book shares some interesting insights, it can be a bit dry here and there. I also found the lack of measurable goal-setting a bit disheartening. Yet, this book seems to be more focused on small, local elections instead of large or national ones. And a lot of small elections are won on the ground.
3.5/5, rounded to 4/5. Short, fun read. A bit dry and can be better.
Mark Pack does a good job sharing his expertise in the field and real experiences he's seen. One enjoyable part of this book is that Pack inserts some humanity into his way of thinking. Pack also mentions a few personal items that should not be overlooked on the campaign trail.
Though the book shares some interesting insights, it can be a bit dry here and there. I also found the lack of measurable goal-setting a bit disheartening. Yet, this book seems to be more focused on small, local elections instead of large or national ones. And a lot of small elections are won on the ground.
3.5/5, rounded to 4/5. Short, fun read. A bit dry and can be better.
August 9, 2017
Mark Pack ran the Liberal Democrats' internet campaigns in the 2001 and 2005 general elections and Edward Maxfield has worked on political campaigns for over 30 years (both local and national) and in this interesting and informative book they set out 101 practical tips in 101 short chapters for running an election campaign, divided into 5 sections: message, team, resources, communicating the message and leadership.
August 19, 2024
An extremely accessible read looking at the ingredients required to win an election. Each chapter was very short making the message very digestible.
The chapters focussed on communication and honing your message into strong sound bites really resonated. Both authors have significant electoral success and this experience shone through in every chapter.
The chapters focussed on communication and honing your message into strong sound bites really resonated. Both authors have significant electoral success and this experience shone through in every chapter.
March 4, 2018
Loads of interesting anecdotes, lacks structure and a clear action plan to take away. Relies almost solely on experience, which is clearly very impressive but the inclusion of surveys and randomised controlled trials would add value.
March 27, 2024
A really practical guide to running an election, in very small bite-sized chapters that can be used as reference points. It won't be the most interesting book for those who are not involved or likely to be involved in elections but for those who are, it is a great 'handbook'.
December 26, 2019
Really helpful book. I am not trying to win an election, but I am hoping to study politics at university so this has been a really helpful insight into the world of politics and elections.
May 7, 2020
Loved the book - Full of great and useful information - I would highly recommend! :)
August 28, 2015
This is ok, I suppose. It talks about how to run a political campaign, though it has some ommissions. There is not much about the role of the candidate nor about the agent. It is mostly about the role of the agent - fair enough as the authors are agents so that must be what they know most about. Slightly irritating was the way that the authors go on about how wonderful they are. Obviously we all think we are wonderful, but I'm not sure I would say that so often. The one thing I did find annoying is that all the examples they give come from the left of politics, they are LibDems so that is what they are interested in, but some of the examples were fairly obscure for someone from the right of politics (like me) while some obvious right of centre examples did not rate a mention.
November 28, 2014
Praktisch toepasbaar, vrolijk. Korte hapklare brokken dus ook tijdens de campagne nog terug te lezen. Kern met name over hoe je de campagne organiseert, niet heel strategisch uitgewerkt.
March 7, 2016
psychobabble and marketing theories masquerading as politics
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews