Should You Send A Fundraising Letter?

Anyone who has worked on a local political campaign knows that the task that no one wants to do is asking for money. But unless the candidate is going to write a big fat check themselves, you need to fundraise if you’re going to have a shot to win.

Before you start to push back, wondering if I’m saying that money buys elections, let me make a few things clear. Money doesn’t buy elections. Money isn’t the only thing that matters. Money doesn’t assure any campaign of victory. Having more money or less money (even by a wide margin) doesn’t preordain the outcome of your election.

With that said, you DO have to raise enough money to get your name and message in front of likely voters if you’re going to stand a chance. Simply put, while money certainly isn’t the only thing that matters in a campaign, it does matter. You can’t effectively and repeatedly deliver your message to the voters without some means of paid media – meaning money to send mailings, air TV/radio/web ads, print lawn signs and billboards, etc. Earned media is not enough to get the message to sink in, especially in local races where voters’ attention is thin.

So what’s one of the easiest ways to get started on political fundraising? I usually recommend embarking with a simple fundraising letter to a list warm prospects immediately after you announce your candidacy. That’s when, theoretically, you’ll have some nice “new car smell” to drive enthusiasm. (Note: Read this post for instructions on how to build your list)

Here’s a brief primer on what a basic fundraising “Beg Letter” package should include:

1. A Carrier Envelope that gets the recipient to actually open the package. Too many campaigns make the mistake of having fundraising mail (or any political mail, for that matter) look like political mail. Then the mailing ends up going straight from the mailbox to the recycling bin. Instead, I recommend making the envelope look as personal as possible. Use the candidate’s name and home address in a simple font for the return address, as opposed to a slick campaign logo that makes the package look like a dozen other political mailings the recipient may receive. Also, use a live stamp rather than a postal indicia. You can do this even if you’re using Bulk/Standard Mail; just ask for political consultant or printing company/mailhouse.

2. A Reply Envelope, preferably with pre-paid return postage (Business Reply Envelopes are better than pre-stamped return envelopes in terms of cost efficiency). The idea here is to make it as easy as possible for prospective donors to send you a check. Your returns assuredly will increase if you provide an envelope and pay their postage. Plus the contributor can’t screw up by sending the contribution to the wrong address.

3. A Reply Card/Form so you can collect information about the contributor for legal requirements and future marketing. Aside from needing the appropriate personal information for financial disclosure filings (the requirements vary from state to state and for federal races), this piece is your chance to easily collect supporters’ email addresses and cellphone numbers. Then you can market to them throughout the campaign to keep them apprised of happenings – and, of course, to again ask them for consider contributing. It also is your opportunity to set contribution “pricepoint” options.

4. The Letter, of course! None of the above three items matter if you don’t have a decent “ask” to make. For most campaigns, a letter directly from the candidate is the best option. For some other campaigns, a letter from a supporter (could be a spouse, prominent supporter or other surrogate) makes sense. It really depends on the particular race.

A soon-to-come future post will provide detailed suggestions for content for the letter, but here’s are a few tips to get you started for now. Regardless of who signs it, the letter absolutely must contain three key things:
A. Directly ask for a contribution.
B. Really, I’m serious. You need to directly ask for a contribution.
C. Can I be much more clear? YOU MUST DIRECTLY ASK FOR A CONTRIBUTION!!!

This might seem obvious, but if I had $20 for every draft “fundraising” letter I’ve seen that didn’t clearly and directly ask for a contribution, I’d have enough to fund a small City Council race. I’ll discuss some details about how to make this direct ask in the aforementioned future post but, as a rule of thumb, you should directly ask at least 2-3 times in the letter. It may seem repetitive, but the reader needs to understand loudly and clearly that it’s a call to action; not just an update on the campaign or the usual “vote for me” political mail.

So, back to our original question: Should you send a fundraising letter? Unless you’re funding the campaign yourself, the answer is undoubtedly “YES”.

Check back in soon for more detailed suggestions on what content to include in the fundraising letter….