Congress is inundated with tens of millions of emails and letters each year. In some years, more than 50 million Americans have sent an email to Congress.
This volume presents an extreme challenge to legislators and staff who want to read and respond to every piece of correspondence. For public affairs teams, this volume is a major barrier; you are competing against scores of other interests for a sliver of staff time.
If your email does not stand out, it will be difficult to maintain a conversation over policy and have your ideas heard.
Academic researchers Beth Long and Jessica Pugel at Pennsylvania State University’s Research-to-Policy Collaboration Center studied email preferences among policymakers. Based on their findings, here are research-backed tips to keep in mind for every step of crafting emails to legislators and staff.
Target Your Contact List
Before you write, you need to decide exactly who needs to hear your message. Use these best practices to build a targeted, effective list.
1. Choose Recipients Relevant to Your Policy Objective
To boost your email open and click rates, tailor your recipient list to only include relevant officials and staffers. You should target recipients according to:
- Which committees they serve on
- Members who are the most vocal on your key issues
- Voting history and past legislative actions
How Quorum Helps: Quorum’s platform covers more data than any other solution, helping you identify professionals working on federal, state, local, and international issues. You can use Quincy, Quorum’s patented AI assistant, to instantly research officials.
Ask Quincy questions like:
- “Which legislators have voted ‘yes’ on renewable energy bills in the last session?”
- “Who sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee?”
- “Summarize Senator Smith’s recent press releases regarding healthcare reform.”
This allows you to build a list based on behavior and influence, not just job titles.
2. Automate Bulk Email Personalization
Sending multiple emails and copying and pasting the body for each message is a hassle. Instead, use a mail merge to ensure your message is delivered to the correct recipients without wasting time.
Personalize your mail merges with names and titles, and use a conversational tone so it does not read like a cold, impersonal email blast.
Pro Tip: Quorum allows users to personalize emails with fields like district or state, staff names, or even custom data—like how many facilities you have in a given legislator’s district. This kind of localized economic footprint data makes a compelling case for support.
Strategically Craft Your Message
When you write your message, keep these research-based best practices in mind to increase performance.
3. Write Transparent Subject Lines
The subject line is the first thing an email recipient sees. Research shows that subject lines containing specific keywords (like “science” or “evidence-based”) generate 50% more link clicks than generic subject lines starting with words like “regarding”.
Policymakers prefer to know what to expect before opening an email. Avoid “clickbait” tactics; policymakers and staffers are inundated with email and have learned to spot and ignore these tactics.
Best Practice: Make your subject line transparent and straightforward to get higher open, click, and response rates.
4. Keep Your Message Short (Unless It’s Personal)
Shorter emails—those 500 words or less—resulted in nearly 100 more clicks compared to longer emails in research tests.
Instead of including endless paragraphs, summarize your key points in a sentence or two and include a link to a more detailed document or one-pager for further reading.
The Exception: Personal stories. Policymakers prefer to hear from constituents directly to get a firsthand understanding of policy impact. Personal emails received 7 times more clicks than newsletter-style emails.
5. Leverage AI to Draft and Refine Content
Writer’s block shouldn’t slow down your advocacy. You can now use AI to draft emails, briefing materials, and social posts in seconds.
How Quincy Helps: Quincy can help you brainstorm and draft high-quality content immediately.
- Drafting: Ask Quincy, “Draft an email to Rep. Rick Allen’s Chief of Staff requesting a meeting about the new infrastructure bill”.
- Refining: Ask Quincy to rewrite your technical policy position into a short, punchy email for a general staffer.
- Context: Ask Quincy, “Why might this legislator care about this issue based on their voting history?” to find the best angle for your pitch.
6. Make It Visual
Long paragraphs make it hard for readers to keep track of what is important. Use visual elements to guide the reader’s eye.
- Strategic Bolding: Bold only the key information. A reader should be able to understand your main point by reading only the bolded text.
- Bullet Points: Use lists to break up dense text. Ensure your bullet points agree grammatically with the intro sentence to maintain flow.
7. Time Your Outreach
Timing is everything. Research suggests that sending emails when legislators are actively in session or when a specific bill is moving through committee increases relevance.
Use legislative tracking tools to set up alerts. With Quorum, you can establish an early warning system to stay ahead of emerging policy developments. When a relevant bill moves, you can instantly mobilize.
8. Include a Clear Call to Action (CTA)
Don’t leave your reader guessing. Explicitly state what you want them to do.
- “Please vote NO on HB 123.”
- “We request a meeting to discuss…”
- “Click here to read the full report.”
Ensure your CTA is visible and specific.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the best way to address an elected official in an email?
Always use their formal title. For a Representative, use “The Honorable [Full Name]” in the address block and “Dear Representative [Last Name]” in the salutation. For a Senator, use “Senator [Last Name].” Accuracy in titles shows respect and professionalism.
How long should an email to a legislator be?
Research indicates that emails under 500 words perform best. Staffers scan emails quickly. Get to the point in the first paragraph. If you have complex information, attach a one-pager or link to a website.
Can AI help me write emails to Congress?
Yes. Tools like Quincy, Quorum’s AI assistant, can draft emails, summarize bills, and research legislators for you. Quincy helps you work smarter by turning insights into staff emails and briefing decks with a click.
Does sending the same email to multiple officials work?
Yes, but personalization is key. “Form letters” are often filtered out or ignored. Use mail merge tools to insert specific details—like the legislator’s name, district, or relevant local data—to make each email feel unique and relevant.
How do I find the right staffer to email?
You need accurate contact data. Quorum provides human-verified contact information for federal, state, and local officials and their staffers. You can search by issue area to find the staffer specifically assigned to handle your topic (e.g., “Health Policy LA”).
What should I do if I don’t get a response?
Follow up. Staffers are busy. A polite follow-up after a week is appropriate. You can also try reaching out through a different channel, such as a phone call or by engaging with their office on social media. Quorum allows you to log these interactions and set reminders for follow-ups.