He worked on his ranch, gave speeches, did radio commentaries and wrote a weekly newspaper column.
Don't see that much difference between what he did and what Sarah Palin is doing right now, apart from Sarah Palin doesn’t own a ranch, and Plain is working on TV instead of on radio like Reagan did. They both gave speeches around the country, and Sarah Palin has written plenty of Op-Eds in all kinds of publications including USA Today, The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
It’s a lot bigger exposure on FOX for Sarah; that’s about it as far as differences go. TV is also a little riskier just because expression comes into play as well as what is said.