Although it’s a necessary part of the process, it seems candidate staff tend to have no respect for those of us receiving fundraising solicitations and, FYI, the really crazy messages all come from out-of-state. I guess the writers assume we are naive, forgetful, and mostly suckers for whatever they write and ask. They just have to ask, which is essential, and, yes, often the request does work.
Ninety-eight to 99% of emails I receive are fundraising messages, many from candidates I have no idea who they are. I clean out my email inbox several times every day. This has meant deleting one fundraising request after another, giving little or no thought and I know at least once a day I delete a message that I should have read and in some cases should have responded.
Typically, seven days a week, I will get more than a dozen or two requests a day from the Biden campaign. But, I can give Joe Biden a break. His direct fundraising letters, even those from his staff, usually have thoughtful appeals tied to real issues generally of concern. My problem with Biden’s campaign is that they ask me so often that I now just delete and move on.
In general, most campaign requests start asking for only $5. They share how desperate the candidate is and that the campaign will be all over if they do not raise $5,403 by midnight and your $5 will make the difference. The candidate is running for the United States Senate, and you tell me my $5 towards raising just $5K, could lead to victory? Do they think I am stupid? Yes, probably so, because the fundraising system works.
But the craziest thing I see in online political fundraising is the strategy to hit you from both extremes on the same day. For example, in a morning email the focus can be on a devastating new poll where the candidate they want you to support is crashing and can only be saved by a rush of new money. In the afternoon, that same poll for the same race shows the same candidate charging ahead and only with your dollars can the candidate hold the lead.
One of the best examples of that is the McGrath-McConnell race in Kentucky. On June 10th at 7:59am, I received this email headline: “Amy McGrath Wins” followed by “We just got the best news from Kentucky- brand new poll 41% to 41%. Amy is dominating him (McConnell).”
Ninety-eight to 99% of emails I receive are fundraising messages, many from candidates I have no idea who they are. I clean out my email inbox several times every day. This has meant deleting one fundraising request after another, giving little or no thought and I know at least once a day I delete a message that I should have read and in some cases should have responded.
Typically, seven days a week, I will get more than a dozen or two requests a day from the Biden campaign. But, I can give Joe Biden a break. His direct fundraising letters, even those from his staff, usually have thoughtful appeals tied to real issues generally of concern. My problem with Biden’s campaign is that they ask me so often that I now just delete and move on.
In general, most campaign requests start asking for only $5. They share how desperate the candidate is and that the campaign will be all over if they do not raise $5,403 by midnight and your $5 will make the difference. The candidate is running for the United States Senate, and you tell me my $5 towards raising just $5K, could lead to victory? Do they think I am stupid? Yes, probably so, because the fundraising system works.
But the craziest thing I see in online political fundraising is the strategy to hit you from both extremes on the same day. For example, in a morning email the focus can be on a devastating new poll where the candidate they want you to support is crashing and can only be saved by a rush of new money. In the afternoon, that same poll for the same race shows the same candidate charging ahead and only with your dollars can the candidate hold the lead.
One of the best examples of that is the McGrath-McConnell race in Kentucky. On June 10th at 7:59am, I received this email headline: “Amy McGrath Wins” followed by “We just got the best news from Kentucky- brand new poll 41% to 41%. Amy is dominating him (McConnell).”
Then, that same day, at 10:06am, I received this message: “Amy McGrath lost. Almost no one—seriously no one—is donating to hit our June goal. 36 hours left. If 12,254 people donate right now, we’ll hit tomorrow's ad budget goal and Mitch McConnell will lose.” Crazy as it seems, they do raise big money.
I want to make this clear, I am not discouraging folks from giving to candidates they want to support. I just wish that more candidates would use straight-forward requests and a little more honest substance on why one should make a contribution.
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