Tips to Make Political Direct Mail More Democratic
We find it sad that as Democratic political direct mail consultants, the mail we see is often very un-democratic. It’s hard to get real engagement from voters or constituents if you don't even try. Here are some tips on how to increase engagement in your campaigns and make real democratic direct mail.
Map it Out: Maps are a very simple way to get engagement in a campaign. For instance, we deigned Democratic direct mail for a primary in Philly that used a simple map of the city to showcase the candidate’s accomplishments. We have used similar maps to show early voting locations or the consequences of a ballot measure. Whatever the purpose, maps allow voters to engage with political direct mail.
Reply Cards: If you look around your house I am sure you will find lots of little direct mail post cards asking you to fill out info and send if back. Why? Because they cost very little and can begin a real conversation with voters and members.You should try and use the best techniques of commercial direct mail and use it in political direct mail. Follow up with voters by making sure your political direct mail universes are phone matched and can be cookie or IP-zone targeted, and you can create a real integrated engagement with voters.
Knock Knock: Following up with door knocks is one of our favorite ways to get real engagement. In these cases, we use walk cards with tear offs or phones and tablets that collect real actionable information. This information you gather can be used in small run political direct mail, email or phone calls on specific issues to follow up on.
Test Test Test: There is a misconception that all political direct mail tests cost a lot of money. The truth is, it doesn't have to. Using control groups and AVI surveys is a cheap and effective way to quantify the results of your mail and help increase engagement in the long term.
Increasingly it is important to have that real conversation with voters and to engage in long-term relationships with constituencies. And really, isn't that the democratic way? Your political direct mail program can create real engagement it just takes some creativity and strategy. Please tell us how you are using political direct mail and other tactics to engage voters and make more democratic direct mail here: