aspiringconstitutionalist
08-01-2008, 10:29 PM
Why were the 11-5 and 12-16 moneybombs so successful during the Ron Paul campaign?
I think a few reasons were:
-Ron Paul was a national candidate and was getting national media attention (albeit not as much as the other candidates). Many Ron Paulites haven't even been made aware of BJ Lawson.
-They were taking place during better economic times.
-They really milked the money out of Ron Paulites. Many of us scrimped and saved and some even went into debt to donate on these days. Many of us took on financial pain for months to come because of our donations to Ron Paul, and the evidence for this is the lower and lower numbers we had with each successive moneybomb after 12-16.
-The moneybombs had several weeks to plan and get the word out.
-The moneybombs were tied to significant dates and had powerful themes ("Remember, remember the 5th of November"... "Boston Tea Party--the start of the revolution")
-This may seem trivial, but I think one of the most important factors in what made the 11-5 and 12-16 moneybombs so successful was emotionally-moving Youtube videos. I know it sounds goofy, but really, I honestly think it was the Youtube videos that motivated people.
-The moneybombs seemed "official." There was a good consensus, lots of people were behind them, and there weren't all sorts of random moneybombs floating around.
In any case, the fact is that moneybombs work. They unite people behind a common cause and compel them to donate more than they would otherwise. Many patriots complained and dragged their knuckles through the whole moneybomb era of the Ron Paul campaign, saying that Ron needed constant small donations spread out throughout the season. That may indeed have made financial planning easier for Ron's campaign, but what those folks didn't understand is that we couldn't have gotten the amounts of money we did were it not for the moneybombs. There is a very important psychological factor in moneybombs that is not to be ignored.
The first three points I mentioned earlier are points that we can't change with BJ's campaign. BJ is not running for President, and is thus not going to get national media coverage like Ron Paul did. The economic environment today is what it is and many of us just can't afford to donate now like we did a year ago, period.
But I think we can plan one more significant moneybomb, hopefully landing over $1 million for BJ Lawson.
However, the new moneybomb needs to:
-Be given sufficient lead time to plan and spread the word. At least four weeks. But it can't be too late that the money will be useless at such a late stage.
-It needs to be tied to a very powerful date. Not just a mere holiday or someone's birthday, but to a day that is associated with something revolutionary. A date that is marked by some huge event.
-This sounds juvenile, but it's true: we need awesome, tear-jerking Youtube videos to promote it. Ghoeberx style. eLib3rty style. You know what I'm talking about.
-It needs to be something we can all get behind, and it needs to feel "official," like it is THE moneybomb, not just "a" moneybomb.
-We need to really give it 100% this time, and put forth way more effort than we did for the Lawson Liberty Fund moneybomb (not saying that many people didn't work their asses off for that one, but we have to double down on our efforts even more). We need to utilize Facebook, Meetup lists, Myspace, email contact lists, everything to get the word out.
If any of you have ideas for a new BJ Lawson moneybomb with all these factors in mind, let's get going and developing it here in this thread and make this one BIG.
I think a few reasons were:
-Ron Paul was a national candidate and was getting national media attention (albeit not as much as the other candidates). Many Ron Paulites haven't even been made aware of BJ Lawson.
-They were taking place during better economic times.
-They really milked the money out of Ron Paulites. Many of us scrimped and saved and some even went into debt to donate on these days. Many of us took on financial pain for months to come because of our donations to Ron Paul, and the evidence for this is the lower and lower numbers we had with each successive moneybomb after 12-16.
-The moneybombs had several weeks to plan and get the word out.
-The moneybombs were tied to significant dates and had powerful themes ("Remember, remember the 5th of November"... "Boston Tea Party--the start of the revolution")
-This may seem trivial, but I think one of the most important factors in what made the 11-5 and 12-16 moneybombs so successful was emotionally-moving Youtube videos. I know it sounds goofy, but really, I honestly think it was the Youtube videos that motivated people.
-The moneybombs seemed "official." There was a good consensus, lots of people were behind them, and there weren't all sorts of random moneybombs floating around.
In any case, the fact is that moneybombs work. They unite people behind a common cause and compel them to donate more than they would otherwise. Many patriots complained and dragged their knuckles through the whole moneybomb era of the Ron Paul campaign, saying that Ron needed constant small donations spread out throughout the season. That may indeed have made financial planning easier for Ron's campaign, but what those folks didn't understand is that we couldn't have gotten the amounts of money we did were it not for the moneybombs. There is a very important psychological factor in moneybombs that is not to be ignored.
The first three points I mentioned earlier are points that we can't change with BJ's campaign. BJ is not running for President, and is thus not going to get national media coverage like Ron Paul did. The economic environment today is what it is and many of us just can't afford to donate now like we did a year ago, period.
But I think we can plan one more significant moneybomb, hopefully landing over $1 million for BJ Lawson.
However, the new moneybomb needs to:
-Be given sufficient lead time to plan and spread the word. At least four weeks. But it can't be too late that the money will be useless at such a late stage.
-It needs to be tied to a very powerful date. Not just a mere holiday or someone's birthday, but to a day that is associated with something revolutionary. A date that is marked by some huge event.
-This sounds juvenile, but it's true: we need awesome, tear-jerking Youtube videos to promote it. Ghoeberx style. eLib3rty style. You know what I'm talking about.
-It needs to be something we can all get behind, and it needs to feel "official," like it is THE moneybomb, not just "a" moneybomb.
-We need to really give it 100% this time, and put forth way more effort than we did for the Lawson Liberty Fund moneybomb (not saying that many people didn't work their asses off for that one, but we have to double down on our efforts even more). We need to utilize Facebook, Meetup lists, Myspace, email contact lists, everything to get the word out.
If any of you have ideas for a new BJ Lawson moneybomb with all these factors in mind, let's get going and developing it here in this thread and make this one BIG.