Director of Government Outreach and Constituent Communication

Chat Topic: Crafting Effective and Influential Constituent Messages
Date: April 28, 2008

What is effective messaging?

Effective messages are concise.  Constituents should state their purpose for writing in the first paragraph, follow that up with a specific “ask”, target the right office at the right time, and always be polite.  Here is a good example of an effective message:

Dear Congressman/woman ,

As a constituent and voter in your district, I am writing to ask you to please cosponsor H.R. 1234, the Flags for Americans Act, introduced by your colleague, Congresswoman Betsy Ross.  As a member of the organization Flags for Americans, I believe that every American who wants to buy a flag that has been flown over the U.S. Capitol should be able to do so through their Representative and Senators.  As you probably know, the bill is scheduled to be voted on next week, and I hope I can count on your support.  Thank you for your attention to this matter of importance to me, and I look forward to receiving your reply.

Sincerely,
Constituent Name

This concise message is effective as it is easy to read, is direct, polite, and gives key information like the bill number, bill name, the sponsor’s name, your position and a brief statement of support, as well as the status of the bill.  Additionally, it uses “please” and “thank you,” requests a reply, and identifies the name of the organization behind the campaign.  This is a simple message that could fit on a BlackBerry, which is a good guideline.  It is well-timed, being sent in advance of the vote.  If you are targeting a particular office, it is acceptable to call the office to give them a heads-up so they can prepare for your messages.  You may also ask their preference on how they prefer to receive constituent communications (e-mail, postal, or fax).

When I ask Congressional staffers “How do you prefer to receive constituent messages?” e-mail is far and away their preference.  Electronic communications are the easiest, most efficient methods for staffers to process as it saves them time from having to manually enter the information into their database. Offices also save money by replying with an e-mail, rather than crafting postal messages and using paper and ink. For maximum effectiveness, avoid sending multiple copies to one office, or too many in a short period of time.

Make your messages more effective by using Capwiz·XC’s Organization Signature and the For Policy Makers page.  By identifying your group, you are adding up each constituent message to the greater voice of your organization, and numbers do matter.  Congressional offices maintain mail reports, and it is to your organization’s advantage to be named on that report.  An office is more likely to take your group seriously if they know that your campaign is well-organized and that several of their constituents are active members. 

To learn more about Organization Signature and the For Policy Makers page, please read the March Hill Insider chat wrap-up or contact your Account Manager.

Here are some helpful tips when creating your advocacy campaigns:  

• Quality matters, not always quantity.
• The organization behind the campaign matters.   
• You and your advocates need to understand the legislative
• There is a difference between being noticed and being effective   
• Personalized messages are most effective
• Avoid including multiple topics in a single message, stick to one subject
• Do not forget to reference the bill

Your Questions and the Hill Insider’s Answers

Q: What can I do to help my advocates write effective messages?
A. Give them the necessary information they will require to write an effective message.  Make sure you educate them well on your position and why their action will help your cause.  Provide them with the resources and links that will assist them.

Q:  Do you have a suggested word count for e-mails?
A. Brevity is important in sending effective messages, and I would suggest as a guideline that messages be kept within the 500-1000 word range.  Now, there are times where a longer message is necessary as you may have to provide important information.  Plus, there is no need for a minimum as sending a short one-liner “thank you” email is acceptable.  CapwizXC has the impact meter that you can use to assist in writing your message.

Q: When making the letters personalized, how do you make sure your members fill out all of the information including the [insert comment here] section?
A. In messages to your advocates, stress to them that if they edit and personalize their email to Congress, they will have more influence.  But, remind them to delete the [] if they have nothing to say.  Or, you could in your message just tell them that the message is editable and to insert a personalization after the {X} paragraph.

Q: When sending with Knowlegis and advertising events for staffers, ie briefings, is there a particular format that you'd recommend?
A. From what I’ve heard, it is best to put the word “Invitation” in the subject line as that generates the largest open rate on the Hill.  In the body, include the relevant information about date, time, location, and topic.  Target the proper legislative assistant.  You might also consider calling them to invite them personally, if you feel comfortable or know them, and you can do this in coordination with the email invite.

Q: We couldn't make it any easier for our members to send an e-mail to their legislators.  They do not do it.  Is that less of a format problem and more of an approach problem or is there something else we can do to make it easier for them?
A. Remember to stress to advocates that every voice they hear from adds to the growing chorus.  The more constituents that identify as members of your group the greater your presence will be and harder for an office to ignore.  Make sure you convey to them that their message matters.  Find a way to relate the issue to them and detail how it affects them and how it will impact their lives and their family’s.  Plus, make sure you are not asking them to take action too often or you lose their willingness to write.

Q: In your experience, how effective were messages that had those personalized inserts in the letters but weren't filled out?
A. I would say that there is no effect.  When I was a staffer and I wasn’t aware of Capitol Advantage’s role in the mail, I assumed that the messages were part of an organized campaign where the person chose not to fill in the brackets.  Or, I assumed there was a computer error.  But, every message was processed like any other.

Q: Perhaps you covered this, but how effective, really, are email actions. How do they compare to hand written letters or phone calls.
A. Now that technology for staffers to reply to messages has caught up, emails are the most effective way to communicate with your elected officials, especially in Congress.  They reduce the time a staffer has to take to manually enter them into their systems because they are capable of grabbing the constituent’s information; they save money on printer paper and ink; and they save money on franking since it costs them nothing to send an email versus the postage of sending a written reply.  I have spoken with several offices, and by far an away, email is the preferred method.

Q: If I have my members call Congress, what should they say?  Do they have to identify themselves?  How would the offices know they're constituents?
A. Make sure right away they state their name, where they live – an office will know they are a constituent based on the city or county the reside - that they are affiliated with your organization, and have them state their message.  Make sure they understand why they are calling, that they understand the issue, and make sure they are not confused on the phone.  Have them give their name, address, email, etc. and have them request a reply.  You can even ask them to reply via email.

Q: How do you know when you're message has been successful? Is there a way to measure your success?
A. It can be difficult to measure your success, but some ways include reading the reply they send to constituents.  If it is on point and detailed, then it is likely that your message was effective.  If you ask them to sign on to a letter or to cosponsor a bill, if they take that action, it is a sign of success.  Now, any one thing may or may not be the difference, but combined with outside influence and a multipronged attack, you can achieve your desired result.

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