“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise and live out the true meaning of its creed”. Thus began Martin Luther King’s famous manifesto -I Have a Dream. In this single statement, he epitomizes the basic content of a rich manifesto.

It’s been proven beyond doubt that bulk SMS is a very effective means of pushing out a political manifesto for electoral positions aspirants. If this manifesto was to be given on a podium either in a large crowd or on television, it would be possible to make it a long comprehension depending on the time afforded to the person. But since SMS are usually short, sometimes it becomes a challenge to put all the aspirations and goals in a single SMS while still keeping it short. There is an easy way of going about this though.

The first thing a political aspirant who wants to prepare a manifesto will want to do is to understand how to write an interesting and captivating manifesto. The principles can help in shaping the writing, thus ensuring the main points are not lost while it’s still a short message.

Three very important elements of a good manifesto are your goals/aims, your belief, and your expertise. Finding a way of putting all these in an SMS can go a long way in ensuring a perfect manifesto that can be read in seconds.

Your goals have to do with what you are aiming to achieve if allowed to serve as you can see in the example stated earlier. These can be itemized and it is important not to deceive the populace or make promises that you cannot live up to. Your goals must be realistic. If you summarize only things you know you are capable of accomplishing, you shouldn’t have a problem keeping it short.

The belief is about a general line of wisdom in the world you agree with or something of a personal value or character you have come to agree with. This is also an integral part of a good manifesto. It gives the people an insight into your personality and gives them an idea of whether or not you can accomplish your set goals.

Then, talking about your expertise, if you have been in a position of leadership or authority before, your manifesto is an opportunity to make this known. While not being direct in saying for example; “I was once a SUG president in my school”, something like “as a once SUG president, I strongly believe I have the leadership skills for this position” can suffice.

Also, remember that there are lots of manifestos everywhere and even those you are competing with equally have manifestos. Avoid the temptation of copying others. Stick with the principles above and carve out your niche.

One other thing that makes manifestos long is that many persons spend more time and text hammering and attacking their opponent(s). That is a total waste of time and resources. The principal figure is you, and it’s important to focus on yourself.

To get more space for the goals, beliefs, and expertise information you want to send through SMS, you can develop a motto out of these three things and use it as a sender ID for your manifesto text messages. It doesn’t necessarily have to be your name. In the content, you can then add your name.

As a general rule, it is important to use simple, clear, and concise words. Trying to be too poetic, using difficult grammar, or being over-excited in the text will only make it long and turn off potential voters.

Also, remember that all the major contents of a manifesto need not be added in the same SMS. The campaign is a process and therefore, you can send them in batches at calculated intervals. On the day of the election though, you can now put them all together and then add a strong call to turn out for the election. Do not forget also that bulk SMS allows you to get real-time feedback from the recipient and as such their contributions can be used as a basis for future campaign SMS, thus sending according to need and therefore keeping it short.

If all the above suggestions are adhered to, it is believed that you can make your political campaign SMS the 160 characters maximum for a page of message and be confident you will get the recipient’s attention.

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Do you have contributions on what has just been considered? Let us know.