6 Ways To Use Emails Effectively

Emails are the best tool for driving people to a political website, but they must be utilized the right way or they can actually drive people away. Here are my 6 rules for using emails effectively:

1. Build an organic email list.

Most big political campaigns are purchasing/renting voter matched email lists, but those lists should be used for the sole purpose of building an organic list – a list people sign up for. On my personal blog I jokingly said “I’m a lot more likely to eat a corn dog if I bought it.” Well, the same is true for emails. People will open emails a lot more if they signed up for them.

2. Don’t over do it.

People are getting sick of SPAM. You will lose readers if you bombard them with emails. Email them important issue pieces and forgo the nonsense. Don’t send them an email every time you receive a positive news story.

3. Don’t make it all about you.

Politicians fall in the “me, me, me” trap and quite frankly, voters just don’t care about that. They want to know about the issues important to them and that doesn’t mean some blanket political promise. Send emails about issues that are imminent, important, and meaningful.

4. Grab their interests and then make The Ask.

The worst thing you can do is to keep asking voters for something in every email. Whether it’s volunteering or donating, politicians just need to lay off. Talk about important issues and grab their interest first. Then make The Ask. Send four or five issues pieces before sending a request email.

Don’t get me wrong; you should always include donation and volunteer links on an email. Just don’t make donating and volunteering the purpose of every email.

5. Keep it short.

With the growth of the Internet, people are being bombarded with information overload. They don’t have time to read a three-page treatise on your tax plan. Give them a very brief summary with links to “read more.” I try to keep my emails under three paragraphs.

6. KISS.

Keep It Simple Stupid. Too many political campaigns try to prove how smart they are with complex emails and blog posts. Connect with voters by keeping your emails as simple as possible. I do it by using lists. Seth Godin recently wrote “the web loves lists almost as much as it loves video.” He’s right and voters love lists too. It’s a great way to KISS.

What Happens When Someone Googles Your Name?

Rumors and lies become truth when only one side speaks.

Two weeks ago I needed a new grill for USC tailgating. I Googled “tailgating grill.”

Last week I needed a new lawn guy. I looked for one on Google.

Yesterday I ordered a pizza on the Internet. I simply Googled “Pizza Hut, Columbia, SC.”

You see, that’s what people do now. The yellow pages, to-go menus, folded maps, encyclopedias, and many more paper tools of the past are becoming obsolete. Newspapers aren’t far behind. Today folks are going straight to Google for nearly all their needs.

So what happens when someone Googles your name? What do they find?

Read more

5 Reasons We Are Launching a SC News Aggregator

In today’s new global economy and 24-hour news cycle, people are being inundated with constant news updates around the clock.  Here in South Carolina we have seen a rapid growth in personal blogs and the use of new media by mainstream media outlets, all relevant and all constantly updated.  Unfortunately most people don’t know these news sources exist and even if they did, they don’t have time to check them all everyday.  It’s for these next five reasons that the Under The Power Lines team is launching a brand new, fresh out of the box news aggregator this week:

1. We need an unbiased news aggregator. No one in South Carolina is bringing people all the news, all in one place.  Current aggregators are cherry picking the news to match their views. Our new aggregator will link news stories and not be a gossip or opinion blog. We will also give readers our entire client roster so that they know exactly who is really paying us.

2. We need all the relevant news stories and not just six or seven every morning. We will post big stories from around South Carolina, all the latest presidential news, and other national stories that affect our political landscape. We will even post my “geek links” so that you can stay up-to-date with all the latest tech news and my other interests.

3. We need the news bright and early in the morning. Our morning starts early and so does yours. Most folks can’t wait until 10 am to get their news. They need to know what’s happening first thing in the morning. It will be our goal to update the news every weekday morning by 8 am.

4. We need the news updated throughout the day. News doesn’t stop at 8 am. It continues throughout the day and night. We will post new stories as soon as we can as they are happening. This isn’t our full time job, so we aren’t promising to have them up immediately, but we will get it done fast.

5. We need more ways to follow the news. Technology is changing and we plan to always stay up-to-date. Readers will be able to follow us on our website or by following our RSS, Twitter, FriendFeed, and Facebook feeds.

Stay tuned…

Web Video Production

In the last few weeks we’ve had numerous folks contact us to ask if we produce Senator Jim DeMint’s web videos.

The answer is YES!

And YES, our team can produce high grade television quality web videos for your campaign too. Here are just a few we’ve created over the past few months:

NEARLY 250,000 VIEWS:

Purchased Email Address Lists Work

(cross-posted at wesleydonehue.com)

I hate to disagree with Patrick Ruffini. After all, he has been playing on the web a whole lot longer than I have and to compare my online experiences with his would be pretty absurd.  But while Patrick has been playing on the web, I’ve been playing on the streets, running the nuts and bolts of state legislative and US Senate campaigns.

Here’s what I learned:

People get sick of seeing political television ads during CSI commercial breaks.

People get sick of us filling their mailboxes with political junk mail.

People get sick of us calling them during dinner.

Does that mean we should stop?  I’m hoping right now that my opponents are saying yes.

Read more

A New Site for Congressman Gresham Barrett

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Congressman Gresham Barrett in his reelection campaign. Check out his new website, produced by our little web firm, by clicking here.

The press release:

CONGRESSMAN GRESHAM BARRETT LAUNCHES GRESHAMBARRETT.COM

ASKS VOTERS TO SIGN THE “BRING CONGRESS BACK NOW” PETITION TO SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI

(WESTMINSTER, SC) – Congressman Gresham Barrett (R-SC) announced today the launch of his new website at www.greshambarrett.com. The website will focus on communications with constituents and furthering the conservative message leading up to the fall elections.

The website features the latest news, videos, and blogging by Congressman Barrett concerning the issues facing the 3rd Congressional District and South Carolina. The website also features a special Solution Center focusing on the hard-hitting issues of the day, such as energy independence and wasteful pork-barrel spending, and bringing comprehensive solutions to those issues.

The new site will launch featuring the “Bring Congress Back Now” petition to Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“Americans are fed up with $4 a gallon gas. They are tired of having their very livelihoods held hostage by foreign countries that happen to control the oil. It is finally time to do something about it,” Congressman Barrett said.

He continued “Unfortunately, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) believes it is more important to block a vote on this important issue until AFTER the election when she might have more votes to defeat any comprehensive energy legislation. She let Congress go home for a five-week vacation while you continue to suffer the pain at the pump.”

Congressman Barrett’s website also includes links to online networking sites Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube and will grow to include new social networking sites as they expand. “By using the latest social networking sites, we can spread our conservative message to new constituents and engage them in the latest debates on the issues. These new online communities are truly a new form of expression in democracy and I’m excited to be a part of it,” said Barrett.

The website, www.greshambarrett.com, is maintained by Under the Powerlines, a Columbia-based strategy group specializing in e-campaigns for clients such as Senator Jim DeMint and Congressman Joe Wilson.

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As Featured on CNN

Our new DeMint / Hensarling Energy Freedom Day countdown website was featured on CNN’s Political Ticker today. Check it out:

DeMint, Hensarling launch ‘energy freedom’ countdown Web site

(CNN) – As House Republicans continue to focus on energy policy, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas launched a new Web site Tuesday that highlights October 1 as the day the congressional ban on offshore oil drilling will end unless Congress takes some action to continue the ban.

The site prominently features a YouTube video clip of DeMint and Hensarling discussing energy policy and encouraging the public to contact their representatives in Congress about lifting ban on offshore oil drilling and oil shale recovery. The site also contains a clock-like widget counting down the time until October 1. Visitors to the site can copy the HTML code for the widget so that they can embed the countdown clock on their own blogs or Web sites. Visitors can also sign an online petition on the site and read a blog about energy policy.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, also recently launched a Facebook application that allows users to add a gas-pump-shaped October 1 countdown clock to their profiles on the popular social networking site.

These online developments come on the heels of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement Monday on Larry King Live that she would be open to holding a vote on offshore drilling if it were part of a larger energy package. Pelosi’s change in position echoes a similar change in position by Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Since August 1, House Republicans have been staging a protest against Pelosi’s refusal to hold a vote on an energy bill before Congress’ five-week recess began.

Hot Air on energyfreedomday.com

Captain Ed and crew over at Hot Air are spreading the news about Senator DeMint and Congressman Hensarling’s new site - www.energyfreedomday.com.

Check out the Hot Air post.

Jim DeMint’s Energyfreedomday.com

We are excited to announce another website we have launched with Senator Jim DeMint, this time in conjunction with Congressman Jeb Hensarling. Check out www.energyfreedomday.com. And while you’re there, make sure you sign the petition and grab the widget for your site.

An Update from Nathan’s News

SC State Representative Nathan Ballentine gives us a quick update from the State House on education funding. Check out Representative Ballentine’s blog at www.nathansnews.com.

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