Mailing Lists: Best Practices

• Introduction
• Creating & Saving Mailing Lists
• Sending Bulk Emails
• Mailing Lists: Best Practices 1-Pager

Introduction

Whenever a mass email is necessary to distribute, anxiety naturally creeps in.  Thoughts tend to race through the mind such as "Did I include all the people necessary?" or "Is this message going to be effective?".  Follow our tips below to ease the mind and become a Mailing Lists master, delivering sound messages to the right people at the right times.

Creating & Saving Mailing Lists

1.) Keep Officials & Staffers

You should be presented with the option to include Legislators, Staffers, or both, on every Mailing List you create.  We recommend keeping both sets of contacts in your list.  When it comes time to actually send out a mailer, the same list can be used to target both groups of people:

2.) Save Your Mailing Lists

Regardless of the need -- whether that's reaching out to a committee, chamber, or responding to a bill -- save your Mailing List each time you create one.  The temptation to send the email out ASAP is easy to cave to when creating from a Committee page or the Whipboard.  However, if you save your list, you can access it in the future to reuse it, saving you time in the long run.  Avoid temptation to 'Send Email', and instead, choose 'Save List' from the creation window:

3.) Use a Naming System

Whether acronyms or full words work best for you, pick an option and stick to it.  Make your future self love you when it's time to send out a bulk message and make the titles easy to comprehend:

Avoid wasting time digging through poorly named lists and instead, set yourself up for success with a naming system.  Regardless of the system, we recommend including any necessary details such as Legislature, Chamber, or Party.

Sending Bulk Emails

1.) Review the Details

Before sending an email, always review the details of your list.  Make sure you're contacting the right people.  If necessary, Export your list to review District information:

The file will be downloaded in .csv format.  Open it in Excel or Google Sheets, for example, to review:

2.) Keep Message Brief

Lawmakers and their staff get inundated with emails and phone calls daily.  Their inboxes can look like alphabet soup.  To stand out from the pack, make your Subject lines compact, and keep your message brief:

Use what we call an "economy of words".  That is, try to express the value of your message in as few words as you can.  Bullet points are a great option for this.  Your email recipients will be thankful for your consideration and well constructed message, and the odds that they read it will increase.  

3.) Don't Use Pictures, Files, or Multiple Links

Legislators and their staffers have strict firewall protections for their email inboxes.  This means that emails containing files, pictures, or numerous links will get blocked in attempt to ward off potential security threats.  One, maybe two links (URLs) is usually acceptable.  Keep this information in mind when sending out mass mailers, and ensure that your messages actually get delivered as intended.

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