Build Your Email List
Think of it this way: every email address in your database represents not just a potential voter on Election Day, but also a potential volunteer and a prospective donor. Use every possible opportunity to collect email addresses:
- Sign-in sheets at events
- Door knocks and phone calls ("What's your email address so I can send you updates about my campaign?")
- Prominently display simple sign up (typically email/zip or name/email/zip) on your homepage - it's better to get someone on your list initially and collect additional data about them down the road then to not have them on your list at all
Early on, you should draft out a rough schedule to regularly communicate with your list. This is a process that is ongoing, and should definitely reflect the campaign's field, political, communications, and fundraising needs.
- What are the three or four most important constituencies in your area and would it be valuable to be able to talk to this sub-group regularly?
- What pieces data do you want to collect about your email subscribers (address, phone number, union membership, most important issue etc.)?
- What will be the process for uploading offline lists of supporters and constituencies into your email database?
Your answers to these questions (and others you generate during this discussion) will largely determine your choice of email program.
When you're adding offline lists to your database, make sure you have permission to be emailing them. If people start marking your messages as spam, the effectiveness of your entire email campaign could be affected.