Constituent communication is an essential part of the policymaking process. Legislators rely on receiving feedback and requests from their voters in order to craft policy that reflects the wishes and needs of the community they serve. Successful grassroots campaigns can effectively shape lawmaker behavior and legislative outcomes. However, grassroots campaigns can also be unsuccessful if executed without considering several important factors.

The three most important things to consider when developing constituent messaging are:

Constituent communication that presents sincerity, along with clear data and real-world impact that supports your position, will resonate deeply.

Subject line: Crafting a subject line that communicates your position and the issue is an important first step. When inundated with messages, it's important to realize that these offices will most likely not be reading every message. A simple, straightforward subject line:

This will make it easier for the legislator or legislative staff to organize emails to tally the number of constituents concerned about a specific issue. Avoid crazy punctuation, all-caps, and other things like that so your messages aren't flagged as spam or disregarded by the office.

Constituent message body: Within the first one to two sentences, it's incredibly important to reference that a constituent is communicating with them. From there, the floor is wide open for how you want to lay out your position. I think it's always best to take on the persona of your core advocate. How would they talk about this issue? What are the impactful things about this issue that will impact them? Weave those data points in there as well. If you're pairing your grassroots with in-person lobbying, it will be good to reference data that your people are communicating to legislators to reinforce those numbers.

Personalization: Muster allows account administrators to turn on Message personalization for their advocates. You can allow advocates to edit the form letter you've created, or you can add a personal story box for them to fill out.

Personalization can make a huge difference in how a campaign is perceived by a legislator and his/her staff. While it’s important to be direct and straightforward about the legislative request, it is also important to leave room for constituent sentiment. Consider allowing your advocates to add their own personal story tagged onto your form message. This provides great data on how involved your advocates are, and Muster's analytics allow you to view how they've customized their message.

Subj: Please vote Yes on Save the Unicorns (SB123)

As one of your constituents, I am writing to express my strong support of Senate Bill 123 (SB123), which is currently under consideration. Saving the Unicorns is incredibly important legislation that will have an incredibly positive impact on the environment, the economy, and families in our district.

The Unicorn population continues to decline. As of 2023, there was nearly a 19% drop in the total Unicorn population. This precipitous decline has led to the struggle of petting zoos across the country and a nearly 40% rise in sadness.

I believe that SB123 addresses the root causes of the unicorn population issue. Any legislation enacted by our representatives must be thoroughly researched, well-considered, and designed to benefit all members of society. This bill is an opportunity to pass sound legislation for our families.

I respectfully urge you to consider the voice of your constituents and support SB123. I would appreciate your response to this letter, outlining your stance on the bill and any actions you plan to take regarding it. Thank you for your attention on this matter.