As our lives become increasingly digitized, the opportunities for constituents to engage with lawmakers have significantly increased. Today, constituents can contact their lawmakers by email, phone calls, telephone town halls, social media channels ranging from Twitter to Instagram, and now occasionally on Zoom. Lawmakers are even beginning to wade into more unique forms of engagement like Snapchat and Twitch.
However, with a higher volume of messages across a variety of communication channels, it’s more important than ever to take steps to make your message stand out from the crowd. Here are a few strategies every message you send to a policymaker should include, regardless of communication method:
- Your name and address: Policymakers typically only respond to messages from their constituents, so you should focus your energy on those who have to earn your vote rather than targeting officials nationwide.
- An Intro to the Policy Issue You Care About: This is pretty straightforward—be clear about the policy topic you want to discuss.
- A Story: Describe why this issue is personally important to you. This both helps the policymaker understand why it is important and provides unique details that lawmakers will remember.
- A Call to Action: So, you’ve discussed the policy and shared a compelling story of why it is essential, now the ball is in the policymaker’s court. Be clear about what you want them to do. Is there existing legislation you want them to sponsor? Do you want them to come on a site visit to understand better why this is important? Do you want them to introduce new legislation? Vote a certain way? Whatever your message, be clear on what action you want the recipient to take.
While these strategies are critical regardless of your communication channel, there are nuanced strategies relevant for each unique channel. Here are strategies and messaging frameworks for making the most of email, Twitter, and phone calls:
Email is the most common form of communication with lawmakers. With that, comes a higher volume of messages to each policymaker’s inbox than other channels. But that doesn’t mean these messages aren’t valuable. For one, an email provides more room for writing than a social post, meaning you can explain in the most depth why a policy is critical and the lawmaker should care.
Many advocacy organizations use a pre-written email that advocates send through digital advocacy software platform so advocates can email their lawmakers in just a few clicks. Driving a high volume of emails like this is valuable in that lawmakers typically determine their policy priorities based on the amount they hear from their community. So, even for lawmakers who agree with your stance, sending a high volume of messages can force them to spend more time on that issue than others.
However, lawmakers typically use software to bulk read emails that have the same language. So, you can improve your efforts by sharing a personal story that makes your email stand out. These stories also help policymakers when they are looking for stories to share in committee hearings or a speech to the chamber.
Here is a template you can use to write personalized messages lawmakers will read:
Hi [POLICYMAKER OR STAFFER NAME],
My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a constituent living at [YOUR ADDRESS].
I am writing to discuss [POLICY ISSUE].
This issue is important to me because [personal story].
As my [representative in Congress, mayor, governor, state senator, etc.], I would like you to [call-to-action].
If you have questions about my story and would like to discuss this policy further, I can be reached at [email address or phone number].
Best,
[Name]
The best part about engaging with policymakers on social media? It’s public. This means that lawmakers have heightened pressure to respond because their constituents can see if that lawmaker is ignoring messages from their community. Meanwhile, on Facebook, the only constituent statements that everyone can see on an official’s page are in comments, making it easy to get buried and avoid responding to it. The same is true on Instagram, where you are limited to tagging or commenting, and there is less opportunity for dialogue.
How do you write an effective tweet that lawmakers will care about in 280 characters or less? Follow this framework:
As your constituent and someone impacted by [ISSUE], I urge [@LAWMAKER] to [CALL TO ACTION] [#CAMPAIGNHASHTAG]
Phone Calls
While phone calls can seem like the most challenging action to take, it is one of the most effective ways to get the attention of a lawmaker. When the phone rings in your house or your cell phone goes off in a meeting, it’s impossible to ignore, right? Now, imagine the phones going off constantly for hours or days in a policymaker’s office. If constituents can keep up a steady stream of phone calls, the office will be much more driven to act.
For many, calling their elected official’s office to advocate for a policy issue is not something they have a lot of experience doing. The best way to go into a phone call is to have a basic script to ease the nerves of knowing what to say. Here is a framework you can use when calling your local lawmakers:
My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a constituent living at [YOUR ADDRESS].
I’m calling because [ISSUE] is important to me.
This issue is important to me because [YOUR STORY].
I am asking you to [CALL TO ACTION].
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best Practice
While each of these channels has unique benefits, the best outreach combines them so that no matter where a lawmaker reads, they are getting messages from constituents.
