In 1998-2000, I was a grad student in foreign affairs and writing constituent correspondence in the U.S. Senate. Back then, every letter was logged in a database, so you knew which voters received which responses and when.
From 2000-2002, I recruited and trained advocacy volunteers for the American Cancer Society and started a newsletter for patients, caregivers, and advocates, explaining cancer issues in the Kansas legislature. This work more than tripled our volunteer engagement, giving Kansas better legislative outreach metrics than all but two states (CA, TX).
In 2003, I was sworn into the Kansas House of Representatives. Our orientation regarding constituent work was essentially “good luck with that”. I was 27, broke (and therefore cheap), and needed to reach 14,000 voters. Mailers cost $0.37 each for postage alone, not to mention design, printing and mailing costs. Facebook ads didn’t exist. In fact, Mark Zuckerberg was a Harvard freshman. Heck – MySpace wasn’t yet invented! But email… Email was free.
So, I launched the Sharp Record, a legislative email newsletter “Translating Politics Into English” to help voters understand complicated policies and procedures and why they should care.
Whether it was concise correspondence from your US Senator, an explanation of a tobacco tax, or a description of amendment procedure, it’s amazing what happens when you provide relevant content in a relatable way. Voters are enfranchised, empowered, and they engage. Email strings with voters could go back and forth dozens of times, especially over the course of a 24-month term.
- When campaigning door-to-door again in 2004, I would recognize the name on my paper spreadsheet from months of email banter – one voter of thousands, and one of hundreds with such banter. Where were those emails when I needed the mental trigger for the voter’s priorities? In my email inbox. I might be able to find it on my BlackBerry if I had service.
- When I saw a voter at the grocery store, but couldn’t remember her husband’s name, I needed a way to look it up and address them by name. Bonus points for seeing the dog food in their cart and asking about their Great Dane, Tiny.
- When a voter requested a yard sign, I needed to know not only that they wanted one back in March, but also that it had been delivered in September, needed replaced after Halloween “mischief”, or was picked up after the November election.
The Sharp Record became so popular I began writing for colleagues who had grown tired of their constituents asking for the same. There was a niche market I was uniquely qualified to fill, but lacked the chutzpah to hang my own shingle.
In 2007, I left the legislature to work in private sector community relations. By 2011, I was stagnating in meetings about planning meetings and drowning in required reports that were never intended to be read. I started calling my legislative colleagues on a Saturday, and by Monday morning, I was at the Capitol with a full load of newsletter clients. Filling one niche opened another as newsletter responses poured in. Legislators were inundated with constituent responses, but had no way to track those relationships. This time, I could do something about it.
In my federal, state, and local communications and campaign experience, I know when you have millions of dollars and dozens of staff and volunteers, your toolbox overflows. On the flip side, if you’re funding and running your own campaign for school board, you still need good data, but the tools don’t exist for low-budget, no-staff races.
Now, picture a typical State Senator, your City Councilman, or School Board Member. I’m guessing you pictured a gray-haired man in his 60s? Indeed, that is the most common demographic to run for office. How do I get that guy to use technology to improve his public service?
- Design it specifically for him. If he can use it, everyone else will be fine. I’ve volunteered, ran, and campaigned for 25 years. I know what you need and what you don’t. It’s all the bells and whistles he doesn’t need and won’t use that gum up the wheels and makes him shut down. If he cringes when logging in, he won’t use it.
- He likes being elected. If you’re reading this, you probably do, too. As John Madden says, “Usually the team that scores the most points wins the game.” Having a mental trigger about your interaction with each voter enhances each relationship. Relationships=votes.
Giving voters a government they can see, hear, and understand, establishes buy-in.
It’s my job to help you give constituents a relationship with their government they can see and feel. If they have buy-in, they’re more invested in the outcome. Let VoteSharp help you ensure that outcome is your Election Day victory.