Most lawmakers and staffers can tell when they’re reading a form letter — and they’re likely to tune out if it looks like the same message went to everyone. At the same time, most advocacy professionals don’t have the time (or staff) to draft 500 individual emails. That’s where personalization at scale comes in
Advocacy professionals and government affairs teams know that lawmakers receive hundreds of messages a day — most of which get ignored. But with the right strategy, it’s possible to scale outreach efforts while still making individual lawmakers feel like your message was meant for them.
The concept is simple: use data to group lawmakers meaningfully, then tailor your outreach so each group hears from you in a way that reflects their interests, concerns, or past positions.
We’re sharing our best practices for using segmentation, storytelling, and digital tools to personalize outreach at scale, without sacrificing substance or authenticity.
The Real Challenge: Scale Without Losing Relevance
The pressure to reach lawmakers efficiently often leads to form letters and mass emails. But those approaches rarely resonate. Legislative staff know how to spot a generic message — and often disregard it.
A Congressional Management Foundation study showed that 63% of staffers say personalized messages are more influential now than before the pandemic. On the other hand, form messages rarely move the needle: just 3% of staff said they had “a lot” of influence on undecided lawmakers (Forbes Tate Partners).
This presents a clear tension: advocacy must scale ,but not at the expense of credibility.
The good news is that outreach doesn’t have to be completely custom to be effective. A message that reflects the recipient’s state, district, or committee role is far more likely to be read than one that doesn’t.
Personalization at Scale: What That Really Means
Personalization at scale isn’t about writing 500 different emails. It’s about grouping lawmakers in smart ways, and making small, meaningful adjustments that reflect those differences.
For example:
- Lawmakers in swing districts might get one version of your message.
- Those who sit on a relevant committee might receive a version that highlights their oversight role.
- Supporters can receive a message that reinforces their position and thanks them for their advocacy.
Quorum’s segmentation, custom targeting, and messaging tools make this easy. A few words of context go a long way. A lawmaker is more likely to engage if they see a reference to a bill they’ve co-sponsored, a stat from their district, or a constituent quote.
This isn’t just theory. In the American Bar Association’s “Student Debt Week of Action,” advocates sent pre-written messages that individual members could personalize. Thousands of emails and tweets were sent, but because advocates added their own stories and local context, the messages felt personal — not mass-produced. That kind of outreach made the issue harder to ignore.
Email Outreach: Avoiding the Form Letter Feel
Email remains one of the most effective ways to reach state lawmakers. But effectiveness depends on more than just hitting send.
The goal is to make every email feel like it was written for the recipient, even if it wasn’t. That doesn’t require major rewrites. It requires smart segmentation and small content shifts — a different subject line, a line or two of district-level data, or a reference to relevant committee work.
Here are some common strategies used by advocacy professionals:
- Segment your list by region, party, or stance on the issue.
- Adjust language based on known priorities (economic arguments for some, equity-focused framing for others).
- Include local context — even one sentence can make the difference between “delete” and “read.”
Teams that track metrics like open rates and responses often find that more targeted emails perform better than broader campaigns. And follow-up matters — not just for results, but for relationship-building. A quick thank-you when a legislator takes action can go a long way.
Some organizations even set up dynamic follow-ups that thank legislators who cosponsor a bill while sending updated information to those who haven’t yet. The message: we’re paying attention, and we’ll keep engaging respectfully and consistently.
Video: Bringing Stories Into the Conversation
Video messages are becoming more common in advocacy, and for good reason. They can help humanize policy issues in a way that static messages often can’t.
You don’t need high production value. A short, clearly spoken message from a constituent or subject-matter expert often carries more weight than a sleek promo. The key is relevance: Does the video show the impact of the issue on real people? Does it speak to the community the legislator represents?
During the pandemic, many organizations began using video more often. The National Restaurant Association, for instance, sent weekly 90-second updates to keep members informed. Using the same approach with short, issue-focused videos can work for lawmakers too.
Quorum Grassroots now allows supporters to record short videos directly within advocacy campaigns. These videos are collected through campaign pages and can be reviewed, approved, and used in lawmaker meetings, digital campaigns, or social media. Because they come from real people, they often resonate more.
Social Media: Visibility at Scale
Most state legislators are active on at least one social platform, and staff often monitor those channels for constituent feedback.
That means coordinated, public-facing messages can complement your direct outreach. Twitter (now X), Facebook, and even LinkedIn can be useful venues for reinforcing your message.
For example, the ABA’s student debt campaign included a “day of action” where advocates posted messages using the hashtag #Debt4Giveness and tagged their state lawmakers. These posts were short and varied — no copy-paste templates — but unified in purpose. The result? Legislators were tagged by multiple constituents in the same week, from different corners of their district.
This approach doesn’t just increase visibility. It shows grassroots support in a public space, which can matter when lawmakers are weighing whether an issue is politically relevant.
Syncing Channels: Building a Multi-Touch Strategy
The most effective campaigns coordinate their outreach across multiple channels. Instead of sending one-off messages, they create a sequence:
- Start with a targeted email.
- Follow up with a short video.
- Reinforce the message on social media.
- End with a phone call or in-person meeting if possible.
Each step builds on the last. And when lawmakers hear the same issue from multiple angles — especially from their own constituents — it becomes much harder to ignore.
Some organizations pair grassroots outreach with grasstops engagement. While the public makes noise online and via email, organizational leaders or lobbyists speak directly with influential lawmakers. The goal isn’t just attention. It’s influence backed by community support.
Measuring and Improving
Once your campaign is in motion, the next step is learning from it. Which messages had the highest open rates? Did one version perform better than others? Which lawmakers responded, and what kind of messaging reached them?
Advocacy teams that track these metrics can improve with each campaign. If local data increases engagement, use more of it. If one group of lawmakers didn’t respond, consider changing the channel or framing.
And over time, this data does more than shape your next email — it helps demonstrate ROI to stakeholders, board members, or coalition partners.
Advocacy professionals don’t need to choose between efficiency and authenticity. With the right approach, you can scale outreach while making every message relevant and real. And, that’s what it takes to stand out and get results in today’s fast-moving policy environment.