It’s election time and direct mail is one of the most important tools that local campaigns can use to reach voters effectively. If you’re looking to design a political mail piece, here are a few basic guidelines and suggestions.
- Grab the Voter’s Attention - Remember, your mail piece is competing not only with every other campaign mailing that is sent out, but with catalogs, bills, business advertisements, etc…make sure yours stands out!
- Use Appealing Graphics, Pictures, Etc… – Your copy is important, but the most important part for the voters are the visuals…the voter wants to see who they’re voting for and it brings more of a personal touch to the mail piece. Use powerful graphics and pictures, including a color scheme that stands out but is also easy to read. Stay away from using the “good old fashioned” political colors and logos. If you do, your mail will simply blend in with all the other political mail that the voter receives and you want yours to stand out.
- Timing is Everything – The timing of mailings can be as important as the content. In some campaigns, you may want to hold the best negative attack until the final week when there is no time for the opponent to respond and after you have built up your own candidate’s credibility. In other circumstances, you may want to take the opposite approach and launch a tough attack early so that the opponent is forced to use resources to respond.
In order to make your mail piece succeed, you have to plan your campaign and design your mail piece to be effective and stand out amongst the crowd. By using the tips above, you should be able to design an effective and successful mailer…good luck!
