How new Members of Congress achieve successful communications strategies

Launching your communications program as a new Congressional office can be daunting, but there are steps to consider right away.

According to Jen Daulby, former Chief of Staff at Indigov and current CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation, it starts with a simple question: Do your constituents know their new Congressperson?

“Is this new Member new to politics and to government service? If so, first and foremost, make sure that constituents in the district know who their new Member of Congress is, and how they can communicate with them and your team.”

Jen Daulby has a two-decade career serving Members of Congress and has held positions on Capitol Hill ranging from intern, Chief of Staff, and Staff Director of a committee. She has drafted, edited, and approved thousands of Congressional correspondence throughout her career and even co-authored the last review of the Congressional franking rules to improve communications with constituents.

Her advice is to carefully consider both responsive and proactive communications.

Proactive Communications

“How do you inform constituents about important issues being considered in Congress, the Member’s position, and important activities the Member is doing?” she asks.

Consider your cadence for outbound communications, and look at other Members in your state to learn what’s effective, and what isn't.

Responding to Constituents

“Every day it snows in Congress,” says Daulby. “Every day you walk into your office, you’re going to have a few hundred and possibly a few thousand pieces of mail, depending on what Congress is doing.”

Have a game plan that answers these questions:

• How and when do you respond to mail?
• What is your system for approving messages for staffers?
• How often will you communicate?
• How much of your resources will you dedicate to responsive communications?

While that’s no easy feat, technology solutions like a Constituent Management System can support many of these efforts.

The harder part? Knowing what to say.
“As new staff, it’s hard sometimes to figure out what your Member’s position is on all the issues that people expect you to have a position on.”

Her advice is to begin with an issue book that can help keep the entire office on message for policy issues.

“Sprinkle that in with all the personal information on the Member that you’ll get to know, so that people in the district feel they know that Member and connect with that person in a personal way.”

Get in touch to learn how Indigov products can support both proactive and responsive communications!