"Snail Mail" and e-Mail - Examples of How NOT To Do It

In a previous post, we discussed some basics of what makes a good e-mail and what doesn't.  You might be tempted to take the text from your "snail mail" letters and do a cut-and-paste into your e-mails.  But I warned you.  Don't.  It won't work.  Especially if the subject is all about fund-raising and donating to the cause.

Yesterday, I went to the post office to collect my mail.  Guess what was in the mailbox.  Yup.  One of those "snail mail" letters asking me to donate to the cause.  

Did I Ever Reach The Bottom??
I sliced the envelope open and peeked inside.  Holy crap Batman!  Wall-to-wall print.  Both sides of an 8 1/2"x 11" page!  Asking me to donate to the cause ........  or at least I think that's what it was all about.  The letter didn't even get 3 seconds of my attention.  Immediately dumped into the recyle bin underneath my desk.  

Today, I retrieved the letter from the recyle bin, scanned it, and decided to post to the blog to show you exactly how NOT to ask for money.  

Take a look at the letter.  Ask yourself one question.  Would you donate to the cause? (Click on the letter for a larger view.)  

...And On To Page 2...
But that wasn't all!  At the bottom right corner I was asked to "Please see over..."!!!

I didn't even make it to the "P.S. Your donation today is incredibly important."

"A Message From President Clinton"
Around the same time I was scanning the above letter, in came an e-mail from President Clinton.  I opened the e-mail and up popped the part above the fold.  

Not much detail about the content of the e-mail except that it's "A message from President Clinton".  Sometimes those e-mails are interesting.  So I started to scroll down to the bottom ..... scrolling ....... and scrolling ..... and scrolling .....

Are you still with me??? (I hope you are!!)  Never mind that large red "Donate" button at the bottom of the e-mail!  I never got down that far.  Was this one of those copy-and-paste jobs from President Clinton's "snail mail" letters?

"Yes, I AM angry" - Hitting The Nail Right On The Head!
Around the same time, I received another e-mail from US Senator Elizabeth Warren.  It was one of those "weeks that wuz" for Senator Warren.  She'd lost her cool at a conference in Las Vegas and had gone ballistic.  It was all over the media.  Never one to lose an opportunity, out went the e-mail to her e-mail subscribers.  But this one packed a triple-whammy!

Remember those 3 important lines in an e-mail?

• "Subject" line
• First line of the e-mail
• "From" line"

Aside from the fact that I enjoy reading Senator Warren's e-mails (the "From" line), wow, did the "Subject" line ever catch my interest!!  (Click on the photo for a larger view.)  

Senator Warren wasn't beating around the bush on this one!!  This is what showed "above the fold".  (Click on the photo for a larger view.)  

Digital Media- Connecting The "Dots"
When I opened the e-mail, what caught my eye was a link to a video that was the subject of her e-mail.  It didn't take a lot of reading to get to the point.  All I had to do was watch the two-minute and 33-second video.  On Facebook!!  (Facebook now has video-upload capability.)

Senator Warren had discovered the power of using Facebook for her videos.  Because the video is on Facebook, she was also asking us to "share" the video with our friends!  When I last looked, she had over 46,666 "likes", 66,000 "shares", 2,756,492 "views" (the number of people who had watched her video) and climbing!

Holy crap Batman!  We've now got a way to increase the number of "Friends" and "Followers" on Facebook simply by using old-fashioned e-mail, including a link to a Facebook video, and asking us to share it with our Facebook "Friends".  Talk about boosting our social media game!!!  And it didn't cost Senator Warren a whole lot of money to do it.  Just some creative thinking.  

Personalizing Social Media - Keep It Going-And-Going-And-Going!
But it just didn't end there.  She carried it right to the end of her e-mail.  Take a look at her Facebook and Twitter logos.  You usually see the impersonal Facebook "F" and Twitter "bird" at the end of an e-mail, website, or blog.  

Senator Warren had changed those logos into a more personal "Follow Elizabeth on Facebook" and "Follow Elizabeth on Twitter".  Much more effective than a couple of dull logos!

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Methinks some people need to take a close look at how Senator Elizabeth Warren creates her correspondence.
  

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Next up:  Meet Me At The Fair - All about display booths. 

Meeting Basics -

Herewith some simple tips and tricks to make your meeting or event a bit more professional and ...........  if you'll pardon the pun ........  eventful ....

Name Tags - Give Everybody A Name
Whenever you hold a meeting or an event, you want to have everyone wearing name tags - volunteers and guests.  

• People can talk one-on-one without having to go through the formality of asking for a person's name.  
• Some people are too shy to ask for a name.  
• There's a higher likelihood that names will be remembered.  
• It makes things look more professional.  
• You won't have to try and remember the name of a person you've been introduced to less than 5 minutes ago.  

"Peel-and-stick" name tags (Avery® 8164 Mailing Labels, 3-1/3" x 4", Pack of 150) can be readily "branded" with your campaign logo, name, and message so that labels are more than just your regular brand of blank name tag.  It also reminds the audience why they're here.  A simple tag line of "I'm supporting Cathy Candidate", the party logo and party colours will readily do the job.  

The objective of a name tag is to be able to READILY and EASILY see a person's name.  I don't want to be looking at your bellybutton or cleavage to find out what your name is. 

• Leave lots of white space to PRINT the name in LARGE BOLD type.  
• DON'T use a pen.  
• DON'T use a Sharpie marker.  
• Use a large CHISEL marker.  

Volunteer Sign-Up Sheets & Cards
An important objective of a campaign meeting is to collect names along with phone numbers and e-mail addresses.  Your guests are a potential source of voters, volunteers, and donors.  As a minimum, have sign-up sheets.  

Better yet, have sign-up cards.  They're easy to make from a package of 4"x 6" or 5"x 7" index cards. 

• Print them using MS Word
• Add your logo and branding.  
• Run them through your printer.  
• Total cost less than $10 for 250 cards.  
• When you print the cards, print on the blank side.
• The lined side can be used for comments by your guests or by your volunteers.  

Whenever you have an event, set up a table by the entrance manned by volunteers.  Make sure everyone signs in!  As a minimum, name, phone number, mobile phone number, and e-mail address is all that's needed.  Anything more than that will result in a line-up of people coming through the door.  And you don't want that.  Better yet, register your guests with your sign-up cards.  

And make sure you send them a "Thank you for attending" e-mail!  It not only thanks them for coming but it also confirms their e-mail address.  You're going to need those e-mail addresses when the campaign heats up as election day gets closer.  

Have The "Donation" Forms At Hand
It takes money to run an election campaign and yours is going to be dependent on donations.  There's nothing worse than having a guest offering to make a donation and you then scramble trying to find the official form.  Have them readily available on the table, along with a simple but large "Donation" sign.  Make it obvious that you are looking for donations.  

Typically there are two types of donations - the single donation and the regular monthly or bi-weekly donation that comes out of your guest's bank account or credit card.  It's those regular donations that you're looking for - the $20, $50, or $75 a month contributions.  

Make sure you have somebody on the table who is exclusively looking after donations.  Put a volunteer - an extroverted one - who's familiar with the election authority rules and isn't afraid to make "the ask".  

Pass The Hat!
In holding your event, there are costs - room rental, refreshments, audio visual, etc.  Passing the hat is a good way to recover some of those costs and add a bit to your campaign coffers.  Make sure you have a hat, bucket, basket, or collection jar handy.  

You'll also need some hat-holders - the people collecting the money - near the exits.  You don't want them at the front of the room when everyone is leaving by the back of the room.  These volunteers should be the extroverts on your team, not afraid to ask for the donation.  

At the beginning of their shift, bartenders "seed" the tip jar with money - quarters, loonies and toonies.  You don't see any pennies, nickels or dimes.  It's a hint to the patrons to tip the bartender.  And it works.  Do the same with the hat before you pass it around.  Seed it with $10's and $20's.  That gives a hint to your guests of what's appropriate to put in the hat.  Seed the hat with loonies and toonies and that's what you'll get.  

Collect The Volunteer Cards!
As your guests leave the room, make sure they've signed your registration form or volunteer card.  Have one of your people near the exits asking people and making sure that they've filled in the registration form/ volunteer card.  That same person can be handing out volunteer cards for your guests to sign, particularly if they've been inspired by your speech or presentation.  

Use The Mike
You may think you have the best voice in the world which you think will project to the back of the room.  I've seen too many times when orators have the option to use the sound system and don't.  Big mistake!  The amplification of the sound system gives you a presence in the room that you can't get just from your voice alone.  If a microphone is available, use it!

If you're going to make lots of presentations in small halls (meeting rooms, seniors residences, legion halls, community centres), invest in your own sound system.  It doesn't have to be expensive.  

Make sure you stay behind the speakers.  Otherwise you'll end up with that high-pitched squeal.  And when you've finished speaking, make sure you turn your microphone off!  Too many politicians have been caught making inappropriate comments when they thought the sound system was off.  

Do a "sound test" before your event.  During the event have one of your key volunteers stand at the back of the room to make sure the sound quality is good.  Before you start talking, ask if everyone can hear you.  Periodically keep an eye on that volunteer at the back.  Make sure they give you the "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" on your sound quality.  

Say "Thank You!"
In the 2008 election Barack Obama got 13 million e-mail addresses.  Three million of these people gave over $500 million to the campaign on-line through 6.5 million contributions.  That is, the average donor gave more than twice.  It just goes to show how valuable those e-mail addresses can be to the success of your campaign.  

Each one of those names you've collected represents a potential voter, volunteer, or donor  Make sure you thank them for attending your event.  Send them an e-mail.  Thank them for attending.  Ask them to volunteer for your campaign.  And don't hesitate to ask them for a donation.  Follow some of the principles we outlined in our post on e-mails.  Include a big red "call to action" button on the bottom of your e-mail.  

Ma belle femme attended a "meet the candidate" coffee party a couple of Sundays ago.  She wanted to learn more about the candidate.  However, the candidate was occupied with someone else and didn't get the chance to talk to my wife.  She returned home a bit miffed.  It was bothering her all the next day.  Later in the evening she received an e-mail from the candidate thanking her for attending and apologizing for not having had the chance to talk to her.  Needless to say, that e-mail confirmed her vote for the candidate.  

"Thank you" e-mails and phone calls are an excellent way to put volunteers to work.  Get them to input the information into spreadsheets or whatever system or database your campaign is using.  Prepare some text.  Make sure the e-mail is sent out within 24 hours of your event.  Sending it out 3-4 days later sends the wrong message.  

Those Important Follow-Up Conversations
You and your key volunteers are going to have conversations with some guests where there should be follow-up conversations.  Make sure your volunteers collect the names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses of those guests (remember those volunteer sign-up cards??)  The day after your event, make sure you have personal conversations with these guests.  A phone call or a meeting at the local coffee shop is all it takes to get another key volunteer organizer, fund-raiser, communications strategist, blog writer, issues researcher, or phone banking coordinator on your team.  

Celebrate Your Success - Build The Team!
By the end of your event, the adrenaline will really be pumping.  Everyone will be on a high.  Teams always celebrate successes.  Right now, immediately after the meeting is the time to do it. This is a good time to discuss what worked well, what didn't, what could be improved.  Make sure someone makes note of these issues.  And most important, use this as an opportunity to thank everyone for their help in making the event such a big success.  

Follow it up the next day with a personal e-mail to ALL your volunteer team (some of them may not have been able to attend the event).  It's an excellent way to generate momentum, to do some team building, to personally stay connected with your volunteers, to show them you care, to keep your team energized, and to make them feel they're an important part of your campaign.  

*****

I've been to a number of campaign events over the past 12 months both as a guest and as a volunteer.  I only received a couple of "thank you" e-mails.  Nothing kills enthusiasm or changes a vote like the voice of silence.  Opportunities are never missed.  If you don't take advantage of the opportunity, someone else will.   And it just might be your opposition.  Make sure you're "screaming" loudly so that everyone, especially your volunteers, can hear you loud and clear!

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Oops - Almost Forgot.  Clean Up Your Mess!!
How often have you visited an event, had some light refreshments, and then looked around for the garbage can or recycle bin?

Usually there's only one small garbage can, no recycle bins, with the result that, at the end of your event, the garbage cans look like this:

You don't want that happening to you.  Here's some tips to keep the place clean.  

• Bring along extra-large garbage bags with you.  This way you're assured they'll fit over whatever garbage bins are available. 
• Ask the custodial staff for extra garbage bags.
• Bring along blue and black recycle bins
• Periodically check to make sure the garbage and recycle bins aren't overflowing.  
• Bag up the garbage and put new bags in the containers.
• Find out where the garbage goes and put the bags there. 
• Make sure the recyclables get recycled.  DON'T put them in the garbage bin!  You'll lose lots of credibility.  

I know that nobody likes looking after garbage but somebody has to do it.  Leaving a mess leaves a very bad impression with the custodial staff who are charged with keeping the hall clean.  You can be sure they'll be complaining to their management.  It could jeopardize your future use of the hall.  It could also lose you votes.  Leave the place clean.  

Next up:  "Snail Mail"  and e-Mail - Examples of HOW NOT To Do It".  

e-Mails and e-Blasts - A Campaign's Key Communications Tool

If you're responsible for the e-blasts for your candidate or riding association, here's some "do's" and "don'ts" in crafting an effective e-mail.  

Make It Mobile!
Pay attention to the only three lines that matter. An estimated 65% of all e-mails are now opened on a mobile device. That means, when it comes to open-rates, you've got just three lines to convince the average subscriber to come inside:

• ""From" line
• "Subject" line
• The first line of your email

Why only these three? Because these are the only three lines that mobile devices display.

The first line, the "From" line is kind of obvious.  However, make sure you've chosen an e-mail address that's memorable and reflects who you are.  

For the last two – the "subject" line and the first line – here's all you have to remember: 

• Keep it short.  You'll get about 35 characters before you get cut off. 
• Make it personal. Use yours' or your candidate's name whenever possible. 
• Don't beat around the bush. Get right to the heart of the matter. 
• Lead with the benefits. 

Include a question or two right up front to catch the reader's attention.

Watch The Subject Line
The same holds true for anyone still using their regular e-mail client.  Here's an example from my G-Mail account.  Note the difference in subject lines.  Which ones catch your interest?  Which ones give you a hint of what the e-mail's all about? Simply based on the subject lines, which one do you prefer?  Okay so I cheated and highlighted the one I like.  But take a look at the other subject lines.  (Click on the photo to get a better view.)  

e-Mail Ain't "Snail Mail"!
You may be tempted to take the text from your "snail mail" letters and cut-and-paste them into your e-mails.  Don't.  It won't work, especially if the subject is all about fund-raising and donating to the cause.  Take a close look at those snail-mail letters.  You'll find they're long, lengthy, impersonal, and boring.

Elements of a Good e-Mail
Barack Obama's campaigns of '08 and '12 found that the best format for e-mails consisted of: 

• a short opening paragraph explaining the purpose of the e-mail;
• a short second short paragraph that's a "call to action" (eg donate, volunteer, sign-up, attend, etc) with a link to the donate/ volunteer/ sign-up/ attend website page; 
• another short paragraph reinforcing the first two paragraphs; 
• a final fourth paragraph that reinforces the "call to action" and another link to the "call to action" webpage. 

Or better yet .... instead of the link ...... a colourful "Call To Action" button.

Get Rid Of Distractions! - One Topic At A Time
We've made a big mistake in the above paragraph.  Our "Call To Action" button asks the reader to do 4 different things ........ donate ....... volunteer ........ subscribe ........ and sign-up.  The more links you have in an e-mail ... in our case 4 "calls to action" ... the less likely the reader will do what we want them to do.  While we might want them to donate, they're more likely to click the "Subscribe" button.  

The solution?  Break the long e-mail into four separate ones and discuss only one topic in each e-mail.  Follow a logical sequence of events.  For example, it might be the following:  

• Subscribe - to the weekly campaign news.  We establish the communications link.
  
• Sign-Up - for a Q&A, campaign kick-off, training and information sessions, meet the candidate, and other special events.  We get to meet you.
  
• Volunteer - for a door-to-door canvass, for the sign-team, Days of Action.  We want you to really get involved and engaged with the campaign. 
  
• Donate - to keep the campaign going.  Always make sure you have a good reason to donate.  Simply holding out your hand ain't gonna do it!
  

Or it might be some other sequence that will produce the results you want.  Rather than have one cover-all-the-bases e-mail, it's also a good way to keep the communications flowing.  

Timing Is Critical!
Put some thought into the sequencing and content of each of these e-mails.  We don't want 4 e-mails arriving in the in-box all at the same time.  The first one might get read.  However, the other 3 are likely to hit the garbage can real fast.  Think about the timing! 

One e-Mail ..... One Topic
I received an e-mail the other day about a gathering of political friends.  A fundraiser.  A high-level guest in attendance.  A most interesting speaker!  Looked as if it was going to be a really good event.  I was interested!

So I scrolled down the page.  Somewhere near the bottom was information on next week's politics-in-the-pub.  So I started to read that.  Very quickly, my train-of-thought shifted to the pub event.  I almost forgot about the main event with the guest speaker.  

Moral of the story?  One e-mail ..... one topic.  If it's another event the following week, it's a good reason for another e-mail after the main event.  Another way to keep everyone engaged in the campaign. 

Watch Your Language!

• Make it personal - "I", "you", "we" ......"If we want to win this election ....".  "To win this election, I need your help."  Stay away from the 3rd-person-impersonal ...... "It has come to our attention .......",  "It should be noted that .......".  
• Get rid of the tongue-trippers!  You aren't writing an essay for your English teacher.  You want the reader to do something. Don't beat around the bush.  Hit the nail on the head.  Use a call-to-action they'll quickly and readily connect with.  
• Bring your e-mail to life!  Make it exciting!  Instead of "We request your attendance at our upcoming event ... ", how about "This Saturday is going to be an exciting moment in our campaign and we'd like you to be a part of it!"

Fund-Raising Is Not About Asking For Money.
If it's about fund-raising, have a good reason.  There's nothing worse than continuously holding out your hand begging for money.  A good reason changes the scenario from looking for a handout to donating to a good cause: 

• "Our healthcare system is under threat from Dr Day and we need to tell Canadians how it will impact them.  Can you help!?"; 
• "Joe neo-Con just got a boost from a major fund raiser.  Can you pitch in to help us regain the ground we've lost?"  

Fund Raising Success - An Example
I like the way US Senator Elizabeth Warren does her fund-raising e-mails.  Never a person to miss an opportunity, Senator Warren always gives you a good reason to donate.  Take a look at the subject line that she used in one of her recent e-mails.  "Is there such a thing as quadruple down?"

Some background.  Two Wall Street banks, JP Morgan and Citigroup, were witholding $30,000 from the Senate Democrats election campaign fund because they didn't like Senator Warren's views on "too big to fail".  Those banks were major news in the Wall Street Journal and other major media outlets.  Not a person to miss an opportunity, she sent out an e-mail asking her supporters to match the $30,000 being witheld by the banks. Within 24 hours, she ended up raising $60,000 - double the amount she had asked for.  Making reference to the $60,000 as "doubling down" (2 x $30,000), she went out again with another e-mail asking if there was such a thing as "quadrupling down" (4 x $30,000 = $120,000).  (Click on the photo to get a better view.)  

In the body of her e-mail, she followed all of the above rules for writing e-mails - short, personal, right to the heart of the matter, the use of "energizing" words, the call to action, ..... the whole structure of the e-mail ...........  and, most important, that big red "Donate" button.  (Click on the photo to get a better view.)

Words Are All-Powerful - Use Them!

Note her use of words:  

• "I asked you to help us"; 
• "I asked you to help double it"; 
• ".... reach such a ginormous goal, but what the heck"; 
• "I have incredible news:"; 
• "....we TRIPLED it"; 
• "What do you say we really show them and QUADRUPLE it?"; 
• "..... fired their warning shot"; 
• "Let's send Wall Street the loudest possible message that their bullying won't make us go away."  

Words that catch your attention and really inspire!  

• Lots of "I", "you", "we".  
• Use of words that catch your attention ..... "ginormous";  "what the heck", "incredible", "fired", "warning shot", "bullying".  

In a matter of a few days, she had raised over $120,000. 

While your campaign might not be able to do something like that, I'll bet $1,000-$2,000 would go a long way in helping your campaign.  

Never miss the opportunity.  

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Up next, "Meeting Basics".  

PS - For Christmas 2015, nearly 70% of Amazon's customers used a mobile device to shop.  Who'd 'a thunkit, eh!?