Political Direct Mail

Last week we released our first ebook: Political Direct Mail In The Digital Age. The book explains why with all the technology we have, political direct mail in the digital age is still relevant. We explain how you should decide on direct mail and targeted communications strategies for political and advocacy campaigns. We also discuss the cost of direct mail, micro-targeting strategies and how to use direct mail for GOTV.

Although media consensus paints causes and candidates, blue for liberal and red for conservative, the USPS is color blind and regards all mail politically directed, motivated or otherwise, the same.  However, when the USPS sees RED (tags) on mail, it acts quickly on ALL political mail!

Democratic direct mail: What does a mail firm do? Admit it, this is a question that a lot of people have wanted to ask but were too embarrassed: Well, never fear, After doing  award winning campaign mail for over ten years The Campaign Workshop is here with the answer. Below is a very general, and in no way exhaustive, overview of the duties of a good Democratic direct mail firm.

“Nasty, brutish and short,” doesn’t just sum up Thomas Hobbes’ feelings about the state of nature – it also applies to the often-lonely life of a piece of Democratic direct mail. It’s tough to get noticed and stand out from the other items stuffed in the mailbox, and even if it does get noticed, it’s usually quickly tossed out and forgotten.

In part one of this series we talked about the characteristics of a good printer for political direct mail printing and how to find them. This week we’re going to talk about schedules and paper.

I have heard the story many a time; "I am running down ballot in a state-wide primary, so I am only going to do television." Sadly, if you are still using a Television only strategy you may miss many voters you need to reach.

In a nutshell, franked mail is mail sent from congresspersons to their constituents to communicate official business. You might even say that franked mail is the original political mail. The history of the congressional frank dates back before the founding of the United States, to the English House of Commons in the 17th century. The frank was authorized by the American Continental Congress in 1775 and the first franking law was enacted in 1789.

If you make use of USPS for political direct mail, there are some important changes happening with the United States Postal Service (USPS) beginning in January 2014. The biggest change is that Full-Service Intelligent Mail is now required for automation pricing (automation pricing gives you discounted postage rates) for First-Class and Standard letters and flat mail as well as Periodicals and Bound Printed Matter.

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.

Many times it is difficult to distinguish between what is considered political mail vs. election mail. Here’s a quick rundown of the differences between the two.