Please vote no! Thank you!

“Please vote no! Thank you!” I stared at these five words, the only words in an email that someone had taken the time to send to every member of the House of Representatives. I just started laughing. It was a welcomed reprieve from a tense deadline week — two weeks ago.

I can’t identify with 100 percent certainty the number of the bill that the writer wanted us to “vote no” on but it was pretty good advice. During the chaotic week, I followed her advice numerous times as multiple bills rolled onto the floor that either increased regulation or created millions in new costs to the taxpayer.

The author of the email had accomplished something hundreds of others struggled to do. In her brevity, she had made her email stand out and get noticed.

I think we probably received more emails during that week than at any other time in the history of the Legislature. Various issue groups have started delivering their emails to all legislators instead of just the legislator who represents the emailer. This means we must sort through hundreds of emails from non-constituency in an attempt to find those who are from the district.

Based on my attempts to find constituency emails. Here are some tips for making your email stand out.

Create a unique subject line. Many subject lines from the mass email services are the same. When we see these subject lines we know that it is a mass email.

Consider placing the first name of the legislator as the first word of the email or in the actual subject line.

Most issues groups send mass emails containing a salutation such as “Representative Murphey” or “Representatives.” These standard salutations while respectful actually suggest that the email is likely sent to all representatives and is not from a constituent.

Our inboxes show us the first line of the email text. We see the subject line, and the first line and then make a determination of if we should open the email or not.

During deadline week, as I processed hundreds of emails, I successfully caught one of the constituent’s emails because she used the salutation “Mr. Murphey” in her first line — a salutation few use, but very effective at enticing me to open the email. Another misspelled “Representative Murphy” — a key indicator that this was not from an email service. I opened and read both of these emails.

For protocol reasons, none of the automated services use the legislators’ first name. The use of a first name is certain to grab our attention and I for one appreciate the personal and less formal approach.

I am certain that the use of the first name in the subject or first line of the email will effectively capture my attention and stand out from the others.

Keep the message brief and on point. Remember the example of the person who simply wrote: “please vote no.” I read her email!

Finally, avoid the practice of attaching a file containing long text. It’s an IT security risk for us to open that file and the long text isn’t likely to be read by time-pressed legislators in a deadline week. If you must develop your text within a separate file, that’s fine but simply copy and paste the text into your email.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. I also hope that I didn’t miss too many from local writers. If I haven’t yet responded to your email, I apologize. Please understand our situation and don’t hesitate to send it again.

Thank you for reading this article. Your interest and input are much appreciated. Please do not hesitate to email Jason.Murphey@hd31.org with your thoughts and suggestions.

Sincerely,