Getting elected to any type of local, state, or national office is hugely expensive. As a result, most politicians are beholden to special interest groups who contribute heavily to fund their election and reelection campaigns.

There are plenty of ways that political candidates could raise money the right way, but that requires work and quite frankly, a lot of them take the easy way instead.

If they'd only use their brains and build grass roots fundraising organizations, leverage the power of the internet, and avoid wasting money on ineffective advertising, they could get elected without compromising their beliefs.

Remember how Howard Dean shocked everyone in 2003 with his fundraising prowess? Well, that success is a huge arrow pointing at new ways to raise funds online.

12 tips for online political fundraising:

Website name capture
Your candidate website should be designed to capture the names and email addresses of as many visitors as possible. Use the technique known as name capture that presents a special page to visitors asking them to be added to your mailing list. That way, you can add as many as 50% of your site visitors to your follow-up autoresponder messages.

Offer RSS feeds
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) distributes new website postings to everyone who've signed up to receive your info. This is great for getting media coverage, creating a lot of links back to your website, and keeping supporters updated.

Blogging
Add a blog to your website explaining your positions on the issues. Blogs are all the rage these days and having one will get you additional exposure within the political community. Be passionate in your postings! Allow visitors to add comments, but set them to be approved.

Podcasts
Doing podcasts explaining your positions on important issues is another great way to push information out to the public. Create multimedia presentations for others to view such as speeches, hot topics, requests for donations, etc. You can get setup to podcast for under $100.

Position papers
Post detailed position statements on your website on how your views contrast with opponents. This will attract people searching for information on the issues.

Press kits
Provide summary info on your website in PDF document format for press kits to increase media coverage.

Collect donations online
Howard Dean stunned everyone back in 2003 with his online fundraising capabilities. Do the same in your race. Make it easy to receive campaign donations with one-click donation buttons.

Interactive website
Include interactive content on their site such as blog comments, forums, streaming videos of speeches, audio files, photos, "tell a friend" capability, etc.

Sell promo materials
Sell tshirts, hats, campaign buttons, bumper stickers, polo shirts, supporter kits, lawn signs, banners, placards, etc. Put the profits into your campaign fund.

Voter Registration
Provide detailed voter registration information for your area. Ask people to sign up for registration drives and Election Day turnouts.

Show Passion
Tell us exactly how you will MAKE US BETTER!

Start using these online political fundraising tips today.