Best Practices for Political Direct Mail

Direct Mail Isn’t Going Anywhere

For over a decade, critics have predicted the decline of political direct mail, likening it to flip phones—functional, perhaps, but outdated. Despite these predictions, direct mail has not only endured, but it continues to thrive and serve as a powerful tool in the digital age. While it may not always generate the same buzz as digital ads or social media content, direct mail consistently delivers real results when it comes to reaching voters. Direct mail may not be the right tool for every political or advocacy campaign, but it remains one of the most effective ways to reach, persuade, and mobilize voters. 

This is our bread and butter, and we can talk about this for hours, so drop us a note if you’re considering running a direct mail program.

Here are some key terms and definitions to refresh your understanding.

Do People Actually Read Direct Mail? 

Yes! Especially older voters, who are among the most reliable to turn out on Election Day. While millennials and Gen Z voters are more likely to engage digitally, older voters are more consistent in checking their mail and more likely to reside in a stable residence where mail pieces are actually received. This makes mail a strong vehicle for voter contact, particularly around turnout and persuasion efforts. 

Unlike digital or TV, direct mail allows you to target named individuals at known addresses, providing a level of specificity that’s hard to match. And while not every voter will open and read every piece, studies over decades have shown that direct mail can have a significant impact—boosting name recognition, message retention, and voter turnout. 

Building a Smart Direct Mail Program 

To get the most out of political direct mail, it must be part of a larger strategy. 

Here are the key building blocks: 

• Plan ahead. Start with a campaign plan and a detailed budget. Know how direct mail fits into your broader voter contact strategy and what it can accomplish for you. Will mail serve as your primary communications medium, or will it supplement another tactic?

• Establish contrast. Politics is a comparative business. Voters need to understand the difference between your campaign and the opposition. Establishing a clear contrast requires more than giving voters a reason not to vote for the opposition—you also need to show them why they should support you by having a theme and message for your campaign. To learn more about how to recreate a message, read our blog post about the Tully Message Box.

• Repeat your message. Consistency builds trust and familiarity. Use the same themes, language, and color scheme across your direct mail pieces. Even if you’re driving yourself crazy by sticking to the same message, repetition helps voters remember you and what you stand for.

• Design with voters in mind. Minimal copy and clean visuals make your message more digestible. Always include a strong call to action (e.g., Vote on November 7) that stands out as well.

• Use strong visuals. Whether you are using custom photography or stock images, ensure that your images are crisp, compelling, and effectively reinforce your message.

• Appeal to emotion. Facts matter, but stories and emotions move people. Talk about problems and solutions, but don’t go too heavy on statistics. Highlight the human consequences of policy issues in your political direct mail. Frame your statistics within a personal narrative that resonates with voters.

• Target the right people. You need to be strategic about who you’re mailing to. Calculate your vote goal, identify your target audience within your mail universe, and ensure you’re speaking to the right people—not just the largest audience. Look at past turnout in similar elections to get a sense of how many people you can expect to turn out on Election Day. Pin down the people who make up your base versus the voters you may be able to persuade.

Saving Money Without Sacrificing Direct Mail Effectiveness 

Mail can be a pricey tactic, but strategic choices can help you control costs without compromising effectiveness: 

• Gang print. Printing multiple mailers together is a great way to save money. If you decide you want to gang print two pieces together, they must be the same format (e.g., two 8.5 x 11 postcards) and mailed to similar universe sizes. The cost per piece for gang-printing will be lower than the per-unit cost for two single-run jobs. Including gang runs in your program can reduce overall cost, but it requires careful planning.

• Run NCOA checks. NCOA or national change of address is a system to remove people from your mail universe who have moved out of your locality (and who we presume can’t vote in your election. You should ask your printer/mailhouse to NCOA your list, as it will reduce costs and improve your targeting. 

• De-dupe and household your list. Don’t send multiple pieces to the same person or address unless it serves a clear purpose. You can sort your file by name, address, or voter ID to manually remove duplicate records or have your printer/mailhouse do it for you (depending on your list size, the second option might be the way to go)

• Be smart with format. The format of your mailers can impact your costs. Larger pieces stand out but may be more expensive. Select the format that strikes a balance between impact and cost, and works best for your budget and strategy. Format aside, paper stock can also impact your pricing. You don’t want to print a bulk mailing on standard printer paper that you’d purchase from Staples for your home, but you likely don’t need the most expensive paper out there either. Don’t be afraid to ask a printer for samples and see what they recommend based on your needs. 

• Use a nonprofit permit. If you’re a nonprofit, like a union or an advocacy group running a direct mail program, you may be able to apply for a nonprofit postal permit to save money on postage. If eligible, nonprofit postage rates can offer significant savings.

• Print locally. Always factor in shipping costs when building a direct mail program. Shipping from a faraway printer will elongate your timeline and might wipe out any savings. Go local whenever possible, or as close to local as you can.

• Carrier route sorting. If you’re mailing enough pieces to a dense area, you may be able to carrier route sort your mail to save some money. This means you’re sorting your bulk mailing earlier in the mailing process so that the task doesn’t fall to local post offices. Pre-sorting for delivery routes can save both time and money.

Tracking and Delivery: Make Sure It Lands

Good direct mail programs include systems to track when pieces are printed, shipped, and delivered. Below are a couple of the systems we employ at The Campaign Workshop:

• Printer proofs. A printer will send a proof for your approval before a piece goes to press. If you have not seen a proof come through, check with your printer to ensure they have the final art and all the components they need to get your piece printed and out the door. Never send mail without signing off on a final proof.

• Request samples. At The Campaign Workshop, we always ask the printer to ship mailer samples to staff at least one day in advance of any drop date. This way, we can verify the quality of the print job and ensure that the pieces look as we envisioned.

• Follow up regularly. Ensure you follow up with your printer leading up to every drop date to ensure your program remains on schedule. This is particularly important during election cycles, when printers are often under pressure for time.

• Monitor postage. A payment receipt is a good indicator that your piece is entering the mailstream. One day after any pieces drop, you should request a 3602 form from your printer/mailshop. This form details the drop date, job number/code, quantity, permit, and postage costs associated with the mailer.

• Use Intelligent Mail barcode tracking. The USPS uses Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMb) to track the location of your mail. If you’ve set up IMb (which you should ask your printer/mailhouse to do), you can pull a report that shows when your pieces have been scanned at a postal facility. You can expect a piece to show up in voters’ mailboxes a few days after the scan date.

• Add seeds into your universe. Finally, you can add seeds into your direct mail universe as an extra check on your mail delivery. We utilize a third-party company that provides addresses of individuals in the area we’re mailing to who have agreed to report the day they receive specific mailings. Depending on the size and concentration of your universe, delivery dates may differ. We include at least a couple of seeds in every mailing and check a couple of days after a piece drops to see if the seeds received the piece.

This is a long and detailed process, but The Campaign Workshop is here to help. Take a look at some of the work we’ve done to help clients produce eye-catching, effective direct mail programs. 

Political direct mail remains relevant because it is tangible, targeted, and trusted. It cuts through the digital noise, provides a lasting visual impression, and speaks directly to voter in their homes. Direct mail continues to earn its place in campaign plans by offering consistency, measurable reach, and precise targeting that’s hard to beat. 

While trends and voter contact tactics change and evolve, political mail remains a constant. It’s not about choosing between old and new; it’s about strategically integrating every tool available to build the strongest campaign possible. 

Have questions or want to learn more about direct mail? Click below to get in touch or check out the rest of our blog for related content.