How to Create Your First Campaign

The Campaign Wizard guides you through creating your campaign in 7 easy steps. By the end, you'll have a fully configured campaign with AI-generated strategy, budget framework, and team structure.

The Campaign Wizard helps you set up your campaign step by step

What you'll need

• Basic campaign information (candidate name, office, district)

• Election date

• About 10-15 minutes to complete

The 7-Step Campaign Wizard

Step 1: Select Campaign Type

Choose the type of campaign you're running:

• Federal - U.S. House or Senate

• State - Governor, state legislature, statewide offices

• Local - City council, mayor, county offices, school board

• Ballot Measure - Initiative or referendum campaigns

• Organization - PACs, advocacy groups, party committees

Select your type and click Continue.

Select your campaign type

Step 2: Define Your Role (Optional)

Tell us your role on the campaign. This helps us customize your experience:

• Candidate - You're running for office

• Campaign Manager - You're managing the campaign

• Field Director - You're leading voter contact efforts

• Volunteer - You're helping out

You can skip this step if you prefer.

Select your role on the campaign

Step 3: Campaign Basics

Enter the core details about your campaign:

• Campaign Name - e.g., "Smith for City Council"

• Candidate Name - Full name of the candidate

• Office Sought - The position you're running for

• State/District - Your electoral jurisdiction

• Election Date - Primary and/or general election dates

• Party Affiliation - Democratic, Republican, Independent, etc.

Enter your campaign details

Pro Tip: Be Specific with Location

The more specific you are about your district (e.g., "California State Assembly District 15" vs. just "California"), the better our AI can research and analyze your race.

Step 4: AI Strategic Analysis

This is where the magic happens. Pulsar's AI researches your race and generates:

• District demographics and voting history

• Competitive landscape analysis

• Key issues and messaging opportunities

• Win number calculations

• Strategic recommendations

This analysis takes 1-2 minutes. You'll see a progress indicator while it runs.

AI analyzes your race and generates strategic insights

What the AI Analyzes

Our AI pulls from public data sources including voter files, election results, census data, and news coverage to build a comprehensive picture of your race.

Step 5: Strategy Setup

Review and customize your campaign strategy:

• Campaign Message - Your core narrative and pitch

• Target Voters - Who you need to reach

• Key Issues - Your priority policy areas

• Fundraising Goal - How much you plan to raise

The AI pre-fills suggestions based on its analysis. Edit anything that doesn't fit your vision.

Review and customize your campaign strategy

Step 6: Build Your Team

Invite team members to join your campaign:

• Enter email addresses of people you want to invite

• Assign roles (Admin, Manager, Volunteer)

• Add a personal message to your invitation

You can skip this step and invite people later from Settings.

Invite team members to join your campaign

Step 7: Review & Launch

Review all your campaign details on the summary page. You can go back to any step to make changes. When everything looks good, click Create Campaign.

Review your campaign details before launching

Success! Your campaign is created

Your new campaign dashboard

You're All Set!

After creating your campaign, you'll be taken to your dashboard. From there, you can:

• Explore your dashboard

• Import your contacts

• Complete your launch checklist

Troubleshooting

AI analysis is taking too long

Analysis typically completes in 1-2 minutes. If it's been more than 5 minutes, try refreshing the page. Your progress is saved automatically.

Can't find my district

If your specific district isn't listed, choose the closest match and add details in the campaign name or notes. You can always update this later in Settings.

Want to change something after creation?

All campaign settings can be edited after creation. Go to Settings > Campaign to update any details.