Win Elections with Data

Are you running for elective office? Chances are you’re sending direct mail, taping a video commercial, recording a robo call and crafting email communications. When sending out an email broadcast message, look at the message of the candidate. Why should a prospective voter pick you?

Email communications should not be a rant about what’s wrong in politics. If I want to hear legislators bicker, I can turn on the television at 8 am or 3 pm, see them on split screen yell at each other into a camera and interrupt each other’s sentences. Everyone has an opinion and can complain about which candidate they may wish to have in local or federal government. Candidates should be writing about how they will make a long term impact and what they intend to accomplish once they are in office. Why is your leadership any better than the legislator who is already currently holding the job? If you’re already in office, why should constituents give you another term and did you bring “home any bacon”?

State the reasons why you are running for office, and the advantages of selecting your candidacy. Separating the distinctions and why you are the better, more positive candidate is the purpose of reaching out to each voter. It will make a difference in hopefully swaying enough of a majority into your corner.

One of my contacts had an email message that needed to go out quick. We set up an email broadcast account for a non-political mailing and started testing within 30 minutes. I imported the email list and was able to deploy the email message within one hour for an important event in the next 48 hours.

Email broadcasting works. If your email list is to contacts who know you and trust you, the open rate and results will be high. If the email list audience is not known to the sender, then it might make sense to throttle the mailing as it is being deployed which will allow it to go through spam, the ISPs who might block the mailing, or any potential complainers.

The bottom line is that when email broadcasting communication works successfully, it makes for a great harmony of product and services.

Should campaigns choose to spend time on social media? To a certain extent yes.

Campaigns are filled with volunteers. A twenty-something or thirty-something can set up a Facebook, Twitter, or Linked In Account. Regular updates make it worth while. However, if trying to reach out to as many people as possible and to reach out to as many eligible voters as possible, it’s imperative to have a comprehensive media strategy. Email communications, robo calling, direct mail, radio ads, cable ads are all part of the equation.

Email communications can be accomplished inexpensively if conducted correctly. Select targets, submit a minimum of records for appending, and email broadcasting regularly are opportunities to educate voters on the importance of a campaign, to pick a yard sign, to volunteer, to donate and to vote (including early voting).