For years, direct mail has been used as a means to reach and influence voters via political mailings, whether that be flyers, leaflets or other direct mail marketing means. Despite a rise in digital efforts to capture younger audiences, political mailings via direct mail are still an effective way to engage an audience and reach more voters. In this blog, we discuss political mailings, providing you with all you need to know to create a successful campaign.
- The Importance of Political Mailings
- What Do Political Mailings Consist Of?
- Key Elements of a Successful Political Mailing Campaign
- How are Political Mailings Distributed?
- Measuring the Success of Political Mailings
- Political Mailing with DMS
The Importance of Political Mailings
There are many reasons for campaigning parties and political groups to send political mailings. With the main objective to reach a target audience whether that be new or existing voters, political mailings remain a very substantial part of political campaigns. Here are a few reasons why:
Tangible Engagement
A piece of direct mail is a physical piece of marketing delivered to a voter’s front door that they can interact with, unlike a digital advert that can be easily scrolled past or deleted. A political mailing demands attention and therefore has higher engagement rates. Research shows that 95% of direct mail is engaged with.
Highly Targeted
Direct mail can be highly targeted via the segmentation of audience demographics or geographical locations. In fact, over 30 million UK households can be reached using mail. Mailers can then be tailored to specific demographics to create relatable content, ensuring the right information reaches the right people. For example, an older generation may be concerned about pensions, whereas a younger audience may relate more to getting onto the housing ladder.
Trust & Credibility
Studies have found that printed materials carry more credibility than digital alternatives. They are perceived to be more trustworthy and a potential voter could be more likely to perceive a political campaign as more serious if they receive a political mailer. Studies have found that 87% of participants described mail as believable.
Promote Key Messages
Political mailing is commonly used to promote a party’s manifesto and used as a means of persuasion, but can also be effective in reminding voters of deadlines, voting dates, polling station locations and other information that can all help to boost voter turnout.
What Do Political Mailings Consist Of?
Political mailings can take many forms and there are a range of services available to support political parties in reaching their audiences and voters. Typically, mailers take the form of leaflets, flyers, postcards or brochures, depending on the content, such as candidate mail, or polling cards.
Key Elements of a Successful Political Mailing Campaign
1. Strategy
Every successful political mailing campaign is down to a strong strategy and impeccable planning. This involves defining objectives, identifying target audiences and building a timeline to account for ample time to design, produce and distribute your political mailings.
2. Data Accuracy & Segmentation
Accurate audience and voter data is key for a successful campaign. Ensuring your mailings and messaging are getting in front of the right people is vital, so having up-to-date and segmented mailing lists is key. Segmentation should be based on various factors like voting history, location, demographics and political affiliation.
3. Design & Copy
The design of the political mailings is also important to ensure a successful campaign, as is the compelling messaging within it. It will need to resonate with the audience, be recognisable as being from the sending political party or group, and be visually appealing. Copy should be clear and concise as well as feature a clear call-to-action, whether that be to vote on election day, visit a website or attend an event.
4. Personalisation
Personalisation on direct mailers has been shown to increase engagement and response rates, and political mailings are no different. A simple touch like addressing the recipient by their name and referencing local issues within their area will catch their attention, make your mailer relevant as well as make them feel special, seen and understood.
5. Timing
In a political campaign, timing is everything. A political mailing will likely be part of a wider campaign, so it’s important to schedule them to arrive on doorsteps at key, strategic moments. For example, just before a voter registration deadline, early voting periods or the days right before election day. Frequency is also an important aspect, as the more an individual sees a message, the more likely it is reinforced, creating a bigger impact.
6. Compliance
It is also important that a political party complies with the necessary regulations surrounding political mailings, including disclosure requirements and postal regulations. Compliance ensures no legal issues and also retains the integrity of the campaign. Parties must be GDPR compliant and be in accordance with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)’s political guidelines.
How are Political Mailings Distributed?
Political mailers are usually sent out via door-to-door distribution. It is a crucial element of any electoral campaign and is typically executed by volunteers. However, properly preparing political mailings for this type of distribution is essential for ensuring effective delivery.
That’s why it’s recommended to use a professional direct mailing house, who have the expertise in preparing electoral materials. They will work to ensure all mailings are well-organised for volunteers to efficiently deliver to every household on their designated routes.
Measuring the Success of Political Mailings
Measuring the success of political mailings is essential in measuring the overall success of a campaign as well as the individual components, creating learnings of how to improve in the next round of voting. Key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure are:
Response Rates
Track the number of voters who responded to a CTA, such as visiting a website or attending an event.
Voter Turnout
Analyse changes in voter turnout in areas targeted by the mailing campaign.
Engagement
Use surveys or follow-up calls to gauge voter sentiment and engagement with the mail piece.
ROI
Compare the costs of the mailing campaign with the benefits, such as increased voter support or higher turnout.
Political Mailing with DMS
At DMS, we provide an excellent, professional and high-quality direct mail service to support political mailings. From election mail production and printing, door-to-door distribution as well as support in managing data to ensure a successful campaign.
We are very experienced in all things political mailings and have been trusted by many political parties over the years. For more information click here, or speak to our knowledgeable team by clicking here.