The world of campaign mailers is varied and complex, but don’t let that stop you from sending rad mail that gets you noticed. We’ve pulled together some things for you to think about as you start to pin down exactly how your campaign’s mail program is going to take shape.
Five Questions to Ask Before You Send Campaign Mailers
Getting your political direct mail out the door and into voters’ mailboxes can be a confusing process if it’s new to you (and frankly, even if it’s not so new to you). There are a lot of factors to wrap your brain around, such as the printer and the mail house to work with, the type of permit you can use to mail pieces, and the approval timeline you’ll have to meet to ensure your mail is arriving when it needs to.
For any campaign that is investing in political mailers, the timing of that campaign mail is a crucial question. Most political direct mail consultants will talk about the political mailer sending date in terms of the "drop date." This is the date that a printer physically delivers your political mailers to United States Postal Service (USPS), typically at a Sectional Center Facility (SCF).
Building a strong direct mail program for your political campaign doesn’t have to involve the amount of back-and-forth you may expect (or fear). Having a clear dialogue and a shared understanding of goals between the political consultant and the campaign team from the get-go can streamline the process and reduce the number of headaches for both parties along the way.
When it comes to making memorable direct mail for your independent expenditure campaign, the use of parody can be your best friend. Parodying (or even just dropping casual references to) a TV show, movie, book, or song to show that a candidate isn’t fit for office can make for a great IE contrast piece. The question is, how far can you go without putting your political campaign at risk of violating copyright laws?
Ah the land of ballot measures. It can be a complex, rocky terrain full of accusations of unforeseen consequences and government-run slush funds. Because of that, the messaging around ballot measures can get complicated, often requiring both a positive thrust and a set of careful inoculations (though you may also get lucky and just get to shout “Vote NO” at the top of your lungs and call it a day).
Printing errors and typos can turn your direct mail message into a crisis overnight. Whether it is a mailing of a holiday card or official ballots in an election, it is imperative to implement the best protocols and practices to ensure that your direct mail job gets into mailboxes without a hitch. There are many high profile printing errors and typos every election that probably could have been prevented with better planning and proofing.
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