When I was a reporter I would spend two seconds working out whether that letter, email or fax was worth looking at.
Yes, I know a fax. Well, I am very, very old as my daughter keeps reminding me. It’s not the only thing she’s right about.
The two seconds I’d spend as a reporter would be looking to see if there was an answer to two questions:
Is this my patch?
Is this a story?
Now, the email inbox is the place where interesting stuff lands. If you are looking to send out email marketing then the subject line is the key to the door.
I’ve blogged about Democratic Party subject lines before. I’m returning to them because I find rhythm absolutely fascinating.
In an election, channels can be a petri dish for communications. In 2008, Barack Obama’s campaign made a real difference by using email. Before this, political campaigns had email addresses that were never monitored that would send the same message from the candidate.
The joy of Obama’s 2008 campaign was that multiple emails were tailored to multiple types of supporters.
Here’s a week in subject lines
17.5.24 The Democrats / New Senate Polling
17.5.24 Team Joe / $1 before midnight.
16.5.24 Democrats.org / Less than six months out
16.5.24 Democrats.org / to flip the House blue?
16.5.24 Joe Biden / One thing my grandpop used to say
15.5.24 Team Biden-Harris Alert / Show President Biden you have his back
15.5.24 The Democrats / By the numbers…
15.5.24 Barack Obama / Sweetening the deal for you
15.5.24 DNC Headquarters / We cannot overemphasise how critical this is.
14.5.24 Sam Cornale, Team DNC / An explanation
14.5.24 Joe Biden / I am inviting you to an event with some special guests
14.5.24 DNC HQ / You’re invited: May Supporter Briefing
14.5.24 Democrats.org / You (yes, you!) have a role to play this November
13.5.24 Democratic HQ / A special day:
13.5.24 Joe Biden / Because you’re a member of this team, we wanted you to to be the first to know about our new contest
12.5.24 DNC HQ / 23 states
11.5.24 Team DNC / The good, the bad and the…
11.5.24 The Democrats / Four quick sentences about the work we’re doing
11.5.24 Team Joe / Any amount you can pitch in today
What this can teach you
In seven days there’s 18 messages. Yes, you can contact supporters more than once ina blue moon. However, to lessen the repetition, there are several senders.
They’re not always direectly asking for money. They’re showing that yes, you are part of this campaign too.
The routine admin is things like Democrats.org or Democratic HQ. The more personalised messages are from Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
The Joe Biden messages are especially interesting. They’re longer:
16.5.24 Joe Biden / One thing my grandpop used to say
14.5.24 Joe Biden / I am inviting you to an event with some special guests
13.5.24 Joe Biden / Because you’re a member of this team, we wanted you to to be the first to know about our new contest
7.5.24 Joe Biden / Humbly asking, can you contribute $25 today?
3.5.24 Joe Biden / Me + Jill + Dan + ice cream
They’re not just longer but they’re the kind of messages you can imagine him hearing.
They’re human. You can sign-up for Democrat email alerts here.