Creating Your Website
Those first few months of campaigning (March - June) felt like a Black Hole of inadequacy and lack of knowledge. Everything was new, and campaign teams were focused on those candidates with a primary vote in June. I was told multiple times that having a website is a Catch 22 - not a lot of people look through your website, but not having a website it unprofessional and takes you down a few notches. I felt this pressure to get a website up, even though it was very early in the race and not a lot of voters were looking me up quite yet.
I was on vacation in Alaska in June and remember breaking down one morning because I felt so behind, but I also didn't know how to get started. I had started contact and was looking at signing a contract with Elevate Strategies, but oof, I was struggling. I finally purchased a website domain: voteaudryn.com and was thrilled to finally accomplish SOMETHING. (I bought the domain through google, and used my campaign debit card.)
The first website I created was with the help of a tech savvy coworker using google sites. I sent her pictures, we had my donation link up, we had an "about me" section and some of my values on another page. It was an adorable page and I loved it. We connected it to the domain, but it was still a bit stressful that the google site website was so long - you want website that are short and sweet so that people can look it up easily. Here is the first website that was created:
At the end of August, the website my campaign team came up with was finally complete. I would have stuck with my original website, but they knew how to make the website more professional, so I gave the full reign. This is their website:
My campaign team stuck with my color theme, which thrilled me. One thing I wanted from the beginning, was a color palette that represented me. I love America and I love the red, white, and blue, but that felt over-used in politics and campaigns. I picked colors and themes that made me happy and stood apart from other candidates (especially my opponent). I also try to create a colorful, bright, fun classroom, so I wanted that mirrored in my campaign.
The endorsements page on my website could have been stronger, including quotes and contact info for those individuals who endorsed me. The pictures were also a bit grainy. I would love to include selfies and pictures with those individuals who endorsed me. That would be meaningful in my opinion. I would also recommend having someone on your team keep tabs on who contacts you through your website. I didn't hear about people that reached out on my website, but also, I'm not sure how many people reached out with questions. It wasn't linked to my email, so maybe that would have been a good idea.
Your website is important. Remember, I had a comment on Facebook saying that people couldn't find what my goals were for the State School Board, so clarity and goal-oriented pages are necessary.
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