It wasn’t too long ago that we bore witness to the most talked about presidential election in American history. We’re still more than a year away but before you know it we’ll be back at the booths to determine who will lead our nation over the next term. Naturally, the next big election will be the perfect time to seize the moment. It presents a huge opportunity for the email marketer, but there is a right and a wrong way to go about it.

Do Encourage Subscribers to Vote

Whether it’s voting in municipal officials or representatives at the federal level, election initiatives are usually built around increasing turnout at the polls. Every voice does matter, so one of the best things you can do with your email marketing is highlight the importance of voting. You’d be surprised at how many people you can influence by explaining why they should get out and exercise their freedoms.

Don’t Try to Sway Them Which Way to Vote

Some people are as sensitive about their political stances as they are their religious beliefs. From the dinner table to the online community, discussions regarding political preferences have been known to get pretty heated. While it may seem like a novel idea to some, trying to convince your readers to lean one way or another is a can of worms best left unopened.

Do Exhibit Your Passion and Expertise

So you’ve decided to build an email campaign around the election. Why not make it count by going all out? If you are trying to persuade people on why they should vote, display a passionate tone that is more likely to get them to see your point. If you are leveraging the event to push a promotion, make sure you are basing your campaign on factual information and not merely opinions.

Don’t Show Support for a Particular Party

The only thing worse than using email marketing to convince subscribers which way to vote is using it to support a certain political party. This sort of approach could result in the type of dialogue that hurts your efforts rather than helps them. In a worst case scenario, subscribers may decide to cut ties with you completely.

Do Provide Value in Your Communications

Capitalizing on the election frenzy can be a great way to inform, educate and even boost sales. And while this type of campaign may require a different approach, many aspects remain the same, mainly from the standpoint of delivering valuable content. This may be the perfect opportunity to reward your customers with incentives for voting or simply putting up with you over the last term.

Don’t Waste Time

Political candidates tend to get started pretty early with their election day marketing initiatives. While it isn’t necessary to keep up with them every step of the way, timing is still crucial to your success. The last thing you want to do is deploy your campaign when subscribers are already occupied interacting with savvy competitors who beat you to the punch.