Helpful tips below:
- When not to use PostBug
- Practical considerations for using postbug
- Strategic considerations for using postcards
- Tactical considerations for using postcards
1. 🚫 When not to use PostBug?
Avoid using postcards and other PostBug actions if:
- You're trying to reach a mass digital audience fast.
- The campaign is hyper time-sensitive (less than 48–72 hours lead time).
- You have no strategy and just want a new tactic for a change
- You're targeting recipients who routinely discard paper mail (e.g., some corporate settings).
- The issue is too complex for a postcard message—in that case, combine with long-form lobbying or briefing papers.
2. 📮Practical considerations for using PostBug
- Supporter reach: Can you reach supporters and other allies to ask them to send a postcard?
- Enagement: Will enough of your audience reply to make the impact you need?
- Wider initiative: Is this part of a wider campaign? It should be. Single tactics rarely win alone.
- Skills: Do you have designers and copywriters to develop the content (if not, you can commission PostBug for it)
- Time: Physical postcards take time to print, post get delivered and get noticed.
- Budget: Printing and postage has a small cost. How will this be covered?
3. 🎯 Strategic considerations for using postcards
a. You need to grab attention in a crowded advocacy space
- Why: MPs, councillors, and corporate decision-makers receive hundreds of emails daily. Printed postcards are tangible, visual, and hard to ignore.
- Use case: Competing against louder campaigns or during parliamentary moments with lots of lobbying.
b. You want to demonstrate constituent pressure
- Why: Decision-makers are more responsive to visible, local pressure—especially from constituents.
- Use case: Influencing MPs ahead of a vote, a budget proposal, or during a consultation period.
c. You want to show public sentiment physically
- Why: A desk stacked with postcards carries emotional and symbolic weight, unlike digital data that can be closed or ignored.
- Use case: Symbolic moments like a “delivery day” to Parliament, or showing support for a community cause.
d. You're targeting a select set of recipients (not a mass public campaign)
- Why: PostBug is ideal for reaching specific individuals (e.g., MPs, councillors, board members) rather than trying to influence broad public opinion.
- Use case: Persuading a company board, a regulatory body, or key local officials.
e. You're building a relational campaign (supporter + decision-naker)
- Why: A postcard can carry a story, a photograph, or a personal message. This can help humanise an issue for the recipient.
- Use case: Health, disability, education, or environmental campaigns where storytelling matters.
4. 🔧 Tactical considerations for using postcards
a. 🧠 Know your goal
✔ Influence a vote?
✔ Raise profile of an issue?
✔ Show widespread opposition?
✔ Build supporter engagement?
🔑 Define this upfront—it shapes everything else.
b. 🗺️ Choose the right targets
✅ MPs (especially wavering or marginal-seat MPs)
✅ Local councillors or mayors
✅ Executives of private or public bodies
✅ Voters (if using PostBug for persuasion/mobilisation)
🔍 Tip: Localised targeting is especially effective when combined with local constituency stories.
c. 🎨 Make the postcard visually compelling
- Use strong imagery tied to your cause.
- Keep messaging concise and emotive.
- Encourage handwritten-style messages or pre-set phrases that sound personal.
📌 Good visuals + brief, impactful text = higher chance of being read and remembered.
d. ✍️ Empower supporters to add their voice
- Let users customise the message or choose from options.
- Make it easy: pre-written templates with space for personal notes.
🤝 This enhances engagement and ownership.
e. ⏱️ Time it right
Use PostBug in advance of:
- Key votes or debates
- Committee hearings or consultations
- Policy announcements or spending reviews
🕒 Allow time for production and delivery—aim for postcards to arrive a few days before the decision point.
f. 📈 Follow up with recipients and supporters
- Tell recipients you’ll publish or share responses (if appropriate).
- Report back to supporters with updates—did the postcard pile grow? Did it get noticed?
📢 Closing the loop reinforces impact and supporter motivation.