Consumer Law

How to Get Politicians to Ask Your Advice

By Sam Glover

Omar Ahmad has advice for people who want to influence politicians. He offers a formula: write a well-crafted letter by hand, once a month. He guarantees that if you do this well, the politician you write to will start calling you to ask your opinion.

If you aren’t able to watch the video, here is how Ahmad’s advice breaks down:

Write a letter. In pen.

Politicians—like many people these days—get a ton of e-mail. E-mail is spam. Phone calls are fielded by an army of lackeys and volunteers. Face time is fleeting and forgettable. Contributions are appreciated, but the amount you can afford probably won’t get you much in the way of access.

A handwritten note is an anachronism that stands out. If you want to get noticed, start with a pen and paper.

Write once a month

This gives you more chances to get noticed in the first place, obviously. And once you do get noticed, it puts you on the politician’s regular reading list.

Once you have the form and schedule in place, Ahmad outlines a four-paragraph letter format:

1. tell the politician you appreciate the work they do
2. say what is on your mind, but do not attack the politician
3. give the politician the “right” information
4. offer to help them out and provide the “right” information in the future

Sign your letter with a title

Whether you coach a little league baseball team or are the CEO of a major corporation, including your title shows that you have influence over others, and that your opinion might be representative of a larger pool of voters.

Send an original to the local office and a copy to the main office

I suppose this also helps to maximize the chances that somebody sees your letter. Other than that, I am not exactly sure why this is important.

(photo: Thomas Hawk)

Full post as published by Caveat Emptor on April 29, 2010 (boomark / email).