By Brad Fitch

Congressional staff receive between 100 to 300 e-mails a day.  Within this enormous pile of electronic communication are:  1)  worthless updates from groups with no immediate legislation pending before the Congress; 2)  unusual opportunities to refinance mortgages and enlarge (or shrink) body parts; 3)  valuable messages that are central to that staffer’s daily work (and, if not read, could result the staffer getting fired).  How does your group ensure that your messages fall into the category #3?  Below are the 10 best practices for ensuring your e-mail gets read, saved, and genuinely integrated into a staff and the congressman’s decision-making process.

1.  Only E-mail When it’s Relevant to the Staffer.  Just because your boss thinks it’s great to send a weekly e-mail to Capitol Hill, it might also be a sure-fire way to be labeled a time-wasting spammer with delusions of relevance.  Timing is everything in congressional e-mail.  Send the messages when it’s close to a markup, hearing or vote (within a week).

2.  Include Relevant Data.  Staff scan e-mail looking for the nugget that is important to them -- a new policy position taken by your group, data on the impact of a policy on their state, or an anecdote that can demonstrate that policy’s impact on a real person.

3.  Target Judiciously.  Send messages to only those legislative assistants who have jurisdiction over the issue.  If it’s really important, cc the legislative director; and if really, really, really important (and could impact the congressman’s election) cc the chief of staff.

4.  Slave Over the Subject Line.  You should spend more time writing the six words in the subject line than in writing the message itself.  And, if possible, include the word “Invitation” in the subject line – staff think there might be an offer for free food in the e-mail.

5.  Keep it Short.  Mark Twain once said, “I would have written you a shorter letter, but I didn’t have the time.”  Take the time to craft a very short e-mail, no more than two screens long.  If you have more information to convey, add a link to your web site.

6.  Always Include Links.  Link to additional information to provide more background on the issue, link to downloadable documents that staffer can include in a briefing packet for the congressman, link to your site so that the staffer can confirm your credibility or power.

7.  Send HTML and Text Messages.  You should use a system that sends both kinds of messages for two reasons.  First, some staff have their e-mail system set to read only text messages.  Second, many will read the message on their BlackBerries, and HTML only message will garbage up the top of the message with unreadable computer code.  (FYI:  the Knowlegis suite has this capability.)

8.  Do NOT Send Attachments.  If you use Outlook or other desktop e-mail system to send an e-mail with an attachment to 100 Tax LA’s in the Senate, most will not receive the message.  The Senate computer filters will think that an identical e-mail with an attachment is likely a virus.  Use a system that uploads to the attachment to a secure server or to your own web site.  (FYI:  the Knowlegis suite has this capability too.)

9.  E-mail to “Thank,” Not Just to “Spank.”  When I was a legislative director on Capitol Hill, about once every three months a group would send a letter or e-mail thanking the congressman for doing something.  That letter or e-mail ALWAYS was put at the top of his “must read” file.

10.  Evaluate Your Efforts.  If you send e-mails regularly to Capitol Hill, you can evaluate what works and make adjustments.  What words or issues in the headline got opened the most?  What links got the most click-throughs?  Was the timing of delivery relevant to open rates and click-throughs?  One of the great things about technology is that you have reams of data to analyze and can constantly make adjustments to enhance your effectiveness.

As Knowlegis CEO and co-founder, Brad Fitch’s years of experience as a press secretary and Deputy Director of Congressional Management Foundation groomed his online communication skills. For more information, call Knowlegis at 703.289.9816.