Stealth Bombing: Operation Mail New Hampshire

[max]

I'm getting prices for lists of registered GOpers and Indy's in New Hampshire. Given what the grassroots has accomplished with getting 7000 + pledges for V-Day Money Bomb in just a few days....I think we can pump out 100,000 pieces to NH.

Here's what I envision.

1. A chipin of $1500 gets us 75,000 names to start

2. As requests come in, I forward the names out. (might need a little help here!)

3. Volunters hand address and mail out a NEW slim jims, along with your favorite flyer AND a donor form which you can download at ronpaul2008.com....a personal note that you make copies of also adds a very nice touch... I would ALWAYS include www.ronpaulstopdreaming.com IT'S SO DAMN POWERFUL!

75,000 of these little stealth secret weapons penetrating NH households under the radar screen while HQ kicks off radio and TV blitz. This will also raise some found money for the campaign as well.

As campaign progresses, we literally blanket each of the early states.

Perhaps someone can put a website to track the totals we send out...get everybody pumped up as the number of pieces approached 50,000...75,000 and up...

Theres something about receiving a piece of hand addressed mail from an average citizen that will really give us a captive audience. This will be so much better than mail Iowa because we will include new slim jims, stop dreaming...and NH is a bigger event than that little straw poll.

what do u guys think?

It's a small state...so the stealth bombing 75,000 households may cover 100% of our market!!

[Brinck Slattery]

This is a fantastic idea - if it's at all possible to have the period where these are received and the period where the ads are running overlap, it could be extremely powerful marketing.

[jgmaynard]

I've done several political mailings and in the end, I have always gone with the postcard option. WAY cheaper and probably (ICBW*) almost or as effective as a hand written letter as long as the back is hand-written.

JM

* OK... I've never seen this anagram before I just used it either. But, it should be used more often on the web, IMHO. ICBW=I could be wrong. :)

[ItsTime]

I agree with this. You dont need to open those. and less likely to hit the trash without looking at it.


I've done several political mailings and in the end, I have always gone with the postcard option. WAY cheaper and probably (ICBW*) almost or as effective as a hand written letter as long as the back is hand-written.

JM

[TechnoGuyRob]

Great idea. I think we'll have to seriously organize a mail movement, soon.

[max]

postcards dont give enough info...with a letter you can stuff it with neat reading material....if its hand addressed from a stranger with a stamp it WILL be opened......

because this effort will be dispersed by 1000's of volunteers mailing 20-100 a piece....the few bucks extra postage is not an issue

[Lord Xar]

Max, I think this is a good idea.. but my only concern is "others" using our money and names to then promote their canidates or just "toss" the names..

How will we make sure that the names are used in a very "correct" way so that we are not hijacked..........

[me3]

Great idea. Some logistics need to be worked out, but this could provide a signifcant boost to the campaign.

[jgmaynard]

Hi Max:

First let me say, I like the idea, I appreciate your hard work, and Go Ron! :) Just suggestions below, take them or not how you will:


postcards dont give enough info...with a letter you can stuff it with neat reading material....

The problem is that like it or not, most people aren't readers or interested in politics. Honestly, IMO, most people won't read that much.

That type of thing would be GREAT, however, for a follow-up letter if a person contacts a group for more info.



if its hand addressed from a stranger with a stamp it WILL be opened......


It DOES make it far more likely, yes. That's been shown to be true, but I'd still bet dollars to donuts that a postcard would get read more often.



because this effort will be dispersed by 1000's of volunteers mailing 20-100 a piece....the few bucks extra postage is not an issue

Not for each person, but all together, it adds up. WOuldn't you rather someone spend $20 on postage and give $20 to the campaign than have them give $40 to the Post Office? :D

Again, thank you, and I like your idea. Everything above is just what my suggestions are from years upon years of experience.

JM

[Drknows]

Max, I think this is a good idea.. but my only concern is "others" using our money and names to then promote their canidates or just "toss" the names..

How will we make sure that the names are used in a very "correct" way so that we are not hijacked..........

I agree you need to get some ranking members from here and meetups involved so they dont go floating around. Just split them up 100 per person or something.

[schmeisser]

Holographic postcards rock!

http://www.holographicpostcards.com/holographicpostcards/index.htm

[freelance]

I agree that using only meetup members and long-standing forum members would solve the problem.

[rrcamp]

Does anyone have a guess as to how much this list costs?

[max]

Does anyone have a guess as to how much this list costs?

Minimum purchase is $1500...gets us 75,000 names

[max]

Hi Max:

First let me say, I like the idea, I appreciate your hard work, and Go Ron! :) Just suggestions below, take them or not how you will:



The problem is that like it or not, most people aren't readers or interested in politics. Honestly, IMO, most people won't read that much.

That type of thing would be GREAT, however, for a follow-up letter if a person contacts a group for more info.



It DOES make it far more likely, yes. That's been shown to be true, but I'd still bet dollars to donuts that a postcard would get read more often.



Not for each person, but all together, it adds up. WOuldn't you rather someone spend $20 on postage and give $20 to the campaign than have them give $40 to the Post Office? :D

Again, thank you, and I like your idea. Everything above is just what my suggestions are from years upon years of experience.

JM

I would only be disbursing the names...what the actual participants mail out is up to them...

I suggest a comprehensive flyer and slim jim...but if some choose to do postcards..to each his own...the important thing is get SOMETHING in the hands of EVERY voting household...set against the backdrop of the coming NH media campaign that RP is gonna launch..this will be VERY effective

[kmj.ronpaul]

>> 1. A chipin of $1500 gets us 75,000 names to start

Where are you getting these names from? Why does this cost so much? Fyi, each county maintains a list of registered voters, grouped by category (Rep/Dem/Independent). These lists should be available either for free or for a very low cost. It really shouldn't cost $1,500 for this. Maybe $50 - $75 at most.

When I requested my county's voter list, they mailed me a dvd with 65,000+ voters' info for $5.

You might want to think about tackling one county at a time. This may be more manageable. Realistically, we grassroots volunteers don't have the resources to send out mailings to millions of households. What's your plan for deciding where to focus? Are some counties more Republican or Independent than others? (again, you could determine this by looking at the voter lists you get.)

[max]

Max, I think this is a good idea.. but my only concern is "others" using our money and names to then promote their canidates or just "toss" the names..

How will we make sure that the names are used in a very "correct" way so that we are not hijacked..........

I doubt supporters for the other guys have the passion to pay their postage and copy their own literature to send stuff for them.

As for chucking the names...I would be copying and pasting so its not as though we could ever actually lose the names.

If I were to get a really BIG request (like say over 500 names) , I might follow up with a phone call and ask some basic RP trivia questions that only us RP fans would know....maybe ask for Meetup credentials etc.

[mavtek]

How about an early Christmas card?

[LibertyEagle]

My only concern is that several New Hampshire folks stepped up here, last time something like this was mentioned, and said to not do it. They said New Hampshire doesn't look kindly upon getting letters or phone calls about political candidates from people outside their state.

Before we do something like this, we'd better double-check with the NH Meetup groups.

We certainly do not want to do something that hurts more than it helps, our cause.

[max]

>> 1. A chipin of $1500 gets us 75,000 names to start

Where are you getting these names from? Why does this cost so much? Fyi, each county maintains a list of registered voters, grouped by category (Rep/Dem/Independent). These lists should be available either for free or for a very low cost. It really shouldn't cost $1,500 for this. Maybe $50 - $75 at most.

When I requested my county's voter list, they mailed me a dvd with 65,000+ voters' info for $5.

You might want to think about tackling one county at a time. This may be more manageable. Realistically, we grassroots volunteers don't have the resources to send out mailings to millions of households. What's your plan for deciding where to focus? Are some counties more Republican or Independent than others? (again, you could determine this by looking at the voter lists you get.)

realy?...I googled "voter mailing lists" online and 2 cents per names was cheapest I found.

Can you get this stuff free? We need NH GOPers and undeclareds...It wont be millions...NH is a small state and dont underestimate these RP fanatics. I raised $6700 for the upcoming full page Founding Fathers ad in just over 1 2 weeks....and look at how quick 8000 people signed up for V-Day money bomb.

These people are all crazy (like me)....we can do the WHOLE state...I know it

[LibertyEagle]

As far as voter lists go, has anyone asked the campaign if they have these lists already?

[max]

My only concern is that several New Hampshire folks stepped up here, last time something like this was mentioned, and said to not do it. They said New Hampshire doesn't look kindly upon getting letters or phone calls about political candidates from people outside their state.

Before we do something like this, we'd better double-check with the NH Meetup groups.

We certainly do not want to do something that hurts more than it helps, our cause.

You are ALWAYS fretting over such silly stuff! Lighetn up sweetie

[Energy]

Postcards all the way (direct mail is highly effective and targeted):


Postcards are time-savers. Recipients don't even have to open an envelope to read your message. United States Postal Service studies have shown that, on average, only 14 percent of letters get read? On the other hand, postcards have a 94 percent readthrough ratio!

Postcards don't take up a lot of space. People can carry them in their pockets and pocketbooks, or even create postcard displays on their refrigerator doors!

Plus, a postcard isn't just something to send through the mail. You can use postcards as oversized handouts, hang tags, and mini information sheets.


Jumbo (5.5" x 8.5") is desired but standard 4x5 is fine if budget is limited.

Just the fact that people don't have to open anything justifies the small extra cost in using postcards. There are mailing houses (that print AND mail, you just give list) can get postage down to around .17 from bulk pricing.

Just make sure to put thought in designing the postcard especially copywriting. Have calls-to-action (e.g. go to youtube). Experiment with exciting, attention-getting, eyeball-grabbing headlines to get people to read (e.g. "Ron Paul Cured My Apathy", "I just registered as a Republican to vote for Ron Paul, here's why..."). Avoid being just another boring, cookie-cutter promo.

http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/4558/finalfh2.jpg

More discussed here: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=26348

[Bobby Johnson]

You are ALWAYS fretting over such silly stuff! Lighetn up sweetie

I don't know if I can agree with you, max. Think about it for a minute. New Hampshire voters are supposed to be very independant minded. This is what makes them a good state for Ron Paul. Now, if you had that mind set, would you appreciate people from outside your state telling you how to vote?

Running this by the NH meetup groups seems like a sound idea to me. If anybody should know the attitudes of the voters, it should be them.

[AFTFNJ]

We should have NH Meetup members mail out post cards or envelopes from NH.
Stat
Population Ranked 41st
- Total (2000) 1,235,786

Goal 50%?
617 983 x .17 cents for bulk postcard pricing ? =$105 057.11 !!!

[Brinck Slattery]

To avoid any problems, we can do the work to get this stuff all set up, and send it over to have it mailed from the NH HQ. We can all chip in for postage.

[AFTFNJ]

To avoid any problems, we can do the work to get this stuff all set up, and send it over to have it mailed from the NH HQ. We can all chip in for postage.

Sounds like a plan. I think Post cards are cheaper & we can target more people with them.

[GML3G]

Put the addresses in an Excel file, upload it to GoogleDocs, and share it with whoever is up for this. GoogleDocs allows multiple users to simultaneously work on a document, so if you've already mailed a letter/postcard to someone, check it off on the list.

[rs3515]

To avoid any problems, we can do the work to get this stuff all set up, and send it over to have it mailed from the NH HQ. We can all chip in for postage.

Before you do lots and lots of work, please talk to the folks in NH about this. Want to make sure everyone is spending their time on activities that NH is going to value.

Sending lots of postcards from out of state and not really understanding NH's culture is no different than sending 150,000 troops to Iraq and not knowing the differences between Sunnis and Shias.

[max]

I don't know if I can agree with you, max. Think about it for a minute. New Hampshire voters are supposed to be very independant minded. This is what makes them a good state for Ron Paul. Now, if you had that mind set, would you appreciate people from outside your state telling you how to vote?

Running this by the NH meetup groups seems like a sound idea to me. If anybody should know the attitudes of the voters, it should be them.

Would an "independent - minded" person really say to himself: "I was starting to like RP, but now that some outsider sent me a slim jim, I'll never vote for that guy"

Come on guys...stop being so damn cautious or we'll never win

[rs3515]

Would an "independent - minded" person really say to himself: "I was starting to like RP, but now that some outsider sent me a slim jim, I'll never vote for that guy"

Come on guys...stop being so damn cautious or we'll never win

It's not about being cautious, it's about making a 60 second phone call to NH to give them a heads up about what's going on.

[Brinck Slattery]

rs,
good idea. We should get their ok before proceeding, but if they're all mailed from in-state the whole "outsider" thing won't be an issue.

[nayjevin]

i would be sick of receiving stuff from all these candidates who always turn out to be empty suits.

but i wouldn't have ANY problem with getting something from ron paul, provided that piece of mail actually SHOWED me in no uncertain terms that he's different from the rest.

it's all in the packaging.

[SwooshOU]

I'd be up for helping.

[work2win]

I agree that we need to be cautious, but the more I think about it, the more I think it would help more than harm.

Option 1: F-it. We each mail out the letters ourselves. Each letter comes from a different state with a handwritten return address from said state. I find it hard to believe that such a letter would have less than 50% open rate.

Option 2: We mail the handwritten letters inside addressed envelopes in bulk to a NH address where they will be mailed from. What do we do for a Return Address? Blank?

Option 3: Do one of the above with some bitchin postcards. Something eye catching that will immediately set Ron Paul apart from the rest of the pandering empty suits.

[fcofer]

I just wanted to add that I think that this is an excellent idea, and that I will participate if you can organize it.

I think that what would really make this take off (as has been mentioned) is if there were some sort of interactive website that would actually show the status of the mailouts. When you can see your contribution making a difference, it motivates you to contribute even more (donating, writing extra letters, etc.)

Someone mentioned that NH residents might not like receiving political mail. I agree that we should consult the NH meetup group in case this is a possibility. However, I think that if the letters are handwritten, it would go a long way toward impressing people positively rather than negatively, and I think that we could organize the letter writing to accomplish this. Seriously, if I got a handwritten letter recommending the Ghoul, I would at least read and consider what the guy wrote, but if I got even the nicest preprinted pro-Ghoul graphical gobbledygook I'd trash it without thinking.

I'd also like to say that I am in favor of envelopes over postcards, but that may be because I tend to throw postcards straight in the trash. I am certainly receptive to hearing more arguments on the benefits of postcards vs. letters -- the cost might be prohibitive for letters.

This idea is particularly attractive because it's something that only OUR candidate could accomplish -- no-one else has thousands of supporters ardent enough to write individual letters and saturate critical areas of the campaign market. Plus, it sure would be cathartic to be able to do something about those d**n polls in states that are far away for most of us. Plus, we can all contribute -- those who are maxed out can chip-in to fund the organizing and procurement of names, and those who are strapped for cash can contribute by writing letters!

Anyone else who thinks that this is a good idea, speak up! I'd definitely like to see this happen.

[NewEnd]

I always put post cards in the trash, never even glance at them unless they are from a friend

I have always opened a hand printed envelope.

I started this thread:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=28167

Before I knew this one existed, which, to me, is an omen.

I think it would be best to at least have a short handwritten letter, on standard notebook paper, in large, legible handwriting.

And we can put the stamps on the envelopes ourselves. The handwriting on the envelope should match the handwriting inside, anyways.

[work2win]

I always put post cards in the trash, never even glance at them unless they are from a friend

I have always opened a hand printed envelope.



Exactly. I can see the WTF factor getting most people to open them.

[Sematary]

I'm getting prices for lists of registered GOpers and Indy's in New Hampshire. Given what the grassroots has accomplished with getting 7000 + pledges for V-Day Money Bomb in just a few days....I think we can pump out 100,000 pieces to NH.

Here's what I envision.

1. A chipin of $1500 gets us 75,000 names to start

2. As requests come in, I forward the names out. (might need a little help here!)

3. Volunters hand address and mail out a NEW slim jims, along with your favorite flyer AND a donor form which you can download at ronpaul2008.com....a personal note that you make copies of also adds a very nice touch... I would ALWAYS include www.ronpaulstopdreaming.com IT'S SO DAMN POWERFUL!

75,000 of these little stealth secret weapons penetrating NH households under the radar screen while HQ kicks off radio and TV blitz. This will also raise some found money for the campaign as well.

As campaign progresses, we literally blanket each of the early states.

Perhaps someone can put a website to track the totals we send out...get everybody pumped up as the number of pieces approached 50,000...75,000 and up...

Theres something about receiving a piece of hand addressed mail from an average citizen that will really give us a captive audience. This will be so much better than mail Iowa because we will include new slim jims, stop dreaming...and NH is a bigger event than that little straw poll.

what do u guys think?

It's a small state...so the stealth bombing 75,000 households may cover 100% of our market!!

I'm in! PM me and I'll give you my info so I can get those mailing addresses. I'll start with 100 please.

[Jordan]

I'd help write a couple a day. I think a handwritten letter from someone would do a lot of good to show how much support RP really has.

[AFTFNJ]

I'd help write a couple a day. I think a handwritten letter from someone would do a lot of good to show how much support RP really has.

What about people whose handwriting is like chicken scratch ?

[NewEnd]

What about people whose handwriting is like chicken scratch ?

thats why we need a staffer, to toss out any bad ones.

[klamath]

I really want to write to also, in fact I wrote to a bunch of the newspapers in NH. I got a letter back from one of the editors telling me that since I was from out of state I was doing my candidate more harm that good. I posted a thread on this and this was the response I got from
D_goddard and Geronimo from NH seconded it.

"Please, take it from someone deeply involved in NH politics...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lord help me, I've been totally immersed in NH grassroots politics for the past few years. As a "Free-Stater", I've made it my business to get more involved with the political scene here than I ever have been in my life anywhere else.

As someone who is working like a dog, doing everything in my power to deliver New Hampshire for Dr. Paul... please, please, do not barrage New Hampshire newspapers with any kind of message if you're out-of-state.

I don't care whether you think it's fair.
I don't care how important the message is.
If people here feel like "out of staters" are gaming a candidate, the visceral, emotional reaction is almost impossible for those of us "on the ground" to undo.

The NH-based Ron Paul meetup groups have already organized LTE campaigns from people within the state. I get the Concord Monitor at home and hardly a day goes by that there isn't a pro-Ron Paul LTE there already, from a "local person" -- in fact, one from my wife appeared in the Saturday edition

I applaud everyone's efforts, especially the Pro-Paul newspaper ads (and I chipped in $ to help with those). The ads are a great help; out-of-state LTEs are not.

Thanks again."

[literatim]

Then maybe someone in NH should start this with and put up a chip in for the postage, materials, etc?

[work2win]

I think this is still unclear.

That post clearly shoots down letters to the editor. What about sending letters/flyers directly to voters?

[Man from La Mancha]

Was not this attempted before by ladyjade3 her meet up group before for Iowa and HQ said not to and formed their own mail program?

'

[klamath]

Believe me I really want to write because I know how important NH is but the last thing I want to do is do more harm than good. We need some feedback from the boots on the ground there in NH.

[work2win]

Believe me I really want to write because I know how important NH is but the last thing I want to do is do more harm than good. We need some feedback from the boots on the ground there in NH.

Agreed.

[NewEnd]

Believe me I really want to write because I know how important NH is but the last thing I want to do is do more harm than good. We need some feedback from the boots on the ground there in NH.

agreed, but thats why I suggested we just mail in bulk to new hampshire, and then have them mailed separately from NH HQ.

[Lesgov]

Lots of very thoughtful and ambitious people on here, I love it. I really like the idea of sending out letters with slim jims. I have mentioned this a few times to others here(NH), but many seem reserved about it. I will talk with some of the meetup people tomorrow and get back on here.

We are doing lit drops but the northern part of the state is not being covered(less people). Letters should go out north of Concord,NH I would say. I bought a copy of the registered voters in my town, about 1,000 voters, it cost me $25.00. I've got about two hundred to go(door to door).

Thanks all for your help, I'll get back on tomorrow night and let you know what some are thinking here.

[NewEnd]

Lots of very thoughtful and ambitious people on here, I love it. I really like the idea of sending out letters with slim jims. I have mentioned this a few times to others here(NH), but many seem reserved about it. I will talk with some of the meetup people tomorrow and get back on here.

We are doing lit drops but the northern part of the state is not being covered(less people). Letters should go out north of Concord,NH I would say. I bought a copy of the registered voters in my town, about 1,000 voters, it cost me $25.00. I've got about two hundred to go(door to door).

Thanks all for your help, I'll get back on tomorrow night and let you know what some are thinking here.

thanks lesgov

:)

My hand is already cramping at the thought of writing letters, and my tongue wet with anticipation of licking stamps

[work2win]

Great!

[klamath]

Lots of very thoughtful and ambitious people on here, I love it. I really like the idea of sending out letters with slim jims. I have mentioned this a few times to others here(NH), but many seem reserved about it. I will talk with some of the meetup people tomorrow and get back on here.

We are doing lit drops but the northern part of the state is not being covered(less people). Letters should go out north of Concord,NH I would say. I bought a copy of the registered voters in my town, about 1,000 voters, it cost me $25.00. I've got about two hundred to go(door to door).

Thanks all for your help, I'll get back on tomorrow night and let you know what some are thinking here.

Thanks!

[RobS]

I would imagine a independent person would LIKE to get information about candidates that are outside the norm/not covered much on MSM. Perhaps we should be careful about how we word the postcard to just be informational and not pushy.

Would you rather receive some bulk mail or a postcard from someone who truly believes in what they are talking about? Who cares whether they are from another state or not... if it was from Canada or something that might be a little different...

Edit: Whatever the NH people say I will go along with. Just know that us RP'ers in other states really want to win New Hampshire : )

[american.swan]

I like the post card idea better. Yeah it's smaller, but every postal worker who touches it or sees a mess of them come by his/her position will read them. Can't hurt to have a bunch of postal workers voting for Ron Paul.

:) Also a post card always gets read. Letter's unless they clearly don't look like junk mail will be thrown away.

[Eric21ND]

You could always do a follow up letter at a later date. Do the post card first, get them thinking about Dr. Paul first.

[NewEnd]

:) Also a post card always gets read. Letter's unless they clearly don't look like junk mail will be thrown away.


No they don't. I never read postcards... especially postcards that look like they were mass produced. I have ALWAYS opened a handwritten letter, regardless of who it was from.

[Energy]

No need to handwrite at all.

If you're sending postcards: use printer to print the address. Handwriting is irrelevant since nothing is opened.

If sending letters (this has be tried and tested by a $100 million direct marketer): on the envelope, affix a label with the return address (printed with printer), use a printer to print the home address using a handwriting font in blue color.

There you go, no cramped hands.

I say stick with postcards. People can put them on the fridge, pass them around, mailmen sees it.

Postcards are time-savers. Recipients don't even have to open an envelope to read your message. United States Postal Service studies have shown that, on average, only 14 percent of letters get read (though I'm sure they didn't test a lot of handwritten envelopes if any). On the other hand, postcards have a 94 percent readthrough ratio! (based on real world testing)

I trust tests done on a mass scale rather than one person's experience.

[Lesgov]

I received a post card a couple days ago from an Obama fan. It had a picture of him on the front, on the back it said:
Dear -----,
I hope you will consider voting for Barack Obama, he has a history of bringing people together on both sides of the political divide to solve problems. Please feel free to phone with any questions @ 000-0000.
Sincerely,
Jane Doe

The problem with this as I see it is that it says nothing about the man. That's why I think the slim jim would be good.

[bgky4paul]

Count me in to participate in this. I will go along with whatever the NH people suggest, but I also recommend the hand-written approach, be it a letter or a postcard. Even though I "read" pre-printed postcards, they quickly hit the trash. Something hand-written always catches my eye. If I rec'd a handwritten letter from NH at my house in KY, I think I would be compelled to open it and see what was so important.

[dmspilot00]

use a printer to print the home address using a handwriting font in blue color.

Sorry but I disagree completely with this idea. When I see a letter in my mailbox with fake handwriting on it, it really pisses me off. And I have never been fooled into thinking it was real handwriting.

[anotherone]

I always put post cards in the trash, never even glance at them unless they are from a friend

I have always opened a hand printed envelope.

I started this thread:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=28167

Before I knew this one existed, which, to me, is an omen.

I think it would be best to at least have a short handwritten letter, on standard notebook paper, in large, legible handwriting.

And we can put the stamps on the envelopes ourselves. The handwriting on the envelope should match the handwriting inside, anyways.


I'm the same. Things that look like commercial mail get about a 0.1 second glance and go in the trash. I *always* open hand written envelopes, but not the ones that are computer printed to look hand written.

[jgmaynard]

Who cares whether they are from another state or not... if it was from Canada or something that might be a little different...


You don't know NH very well, do you? LOL. I live an hour from our state capital and even here, papers and people talk about how we don't want to be ruled by people in Concord. :D

But I think it's better to have people from anywhere than to not have people, so come join the fun!

JM

[JimDude]

This is a good idea and im on board. Lets push this thing.

[Lesgov]

Well I like the idea anyway, I guess there is some concern here on what the letter will be like.
As far as letters coming from out of state, I don't see a problem with it. If I got a letter from out of state, I would certainly open it. And I wouldn't have a problem with an out of stater telling me how much they like their candidate.
I think something mentioning how important their vote is in the primary would be good, maybe a short form letter, then a couple of handwritten sentences.

That's my .02 for what it's worth

[max]

[If youse guys are that uptight about this "foreign states" thing (as if an envelope from a fellow countryman is equivalent to the UN taking over NH)..you can write on a cover sheet..."I have always admired the free spirit and independent nature of you folks in NH. With that in mind, I respectfully ask that you take a few moments to review the attached information about the one candidate who I feel best represents the true traditions of the American constitution."...

or something similar.....kiss their ass a bit and it will be fine....

Has anyone found anything out about getting free lists?...I would hate to drop $1500 when we could put that towards postage and copying costs.

totally disarms any uptight New Hampshirian who thinks his state is under occupation from us "foreigners."

[deedles]

I be willing to get my meetup to help with this effort... count me in!

[jgmaynard]

Someone mentioned that NH residents might not like receiving political mail.

OMG that is funny! "Someone" says a lot of stuff on the web, don't they? ;) jk.

No, trust me, we have 2 elections (possibly going to 3) every year, getting political mail, phone call and volunteers and candidates knocking on our doors is a price of living in this state.

JM

[fcofer]

OMG that is funny! "Someone" says a lot of stuff on the web, don't they?

Actually, the "someone" to whom I was referring was not a random entity on the Internet, but rather a poster from this forum who posted in this thread. (It was LibertyEagle; I couldn't remember her name at the time that I wrote my comment.)


My only concern is that several New Hampshire folks stepped up here, last time something like this was mentioned, and said to not do it. They said New Hampshire doesn't look kindly upon getting letters or phone calls about political candidates from people outside their state.

Before we do something like this, we'd better double-check with the NH Meetup groups.

We certainly do not want to do something that hurts more than it helps, our cause.

JG, I hope that you're saying that there's nothing to worry about...?

[mavtek]

I'm in!

[Thunderbolt]

I'm getting prices for lists of registered GOpers and Indy's in New Hampshire. Given what the grassroots has accomplished with getting 7000 + pledges for V-Day Money Bomb in just a few days....I think we can pump out 100,000 pieces to NH.

Here's what I envision.

1. A chipin of $1500 gets us 75,000 names to start

2. As requests come in, I forward the names out. (might need a little help here!)

3. Volunters hand address and mail out a NEW slim jims, along with your favorite flyer AND a donor form which you can download at ronpaul2008.com....a personal note that you make copies of also adds a very nice touch... I would ALWAYS include www.ronpaulstopdreaming.com IT'S SO DAMN POWERFUL!

75,000 of these little stealth secret weapons penetrating NH households under the radar screen while HQ kicks off radio and TV blitz. This will also raise some found money for the campaign as well.

As campaign progresses, we literally blanket each of the early states.

Perhaps someone can put a website to track the totals we send out...get everybody pumped up as the number of pieces approached 50,000...75,000 and up...

Theres something about receiving a piece of hand addressed mail from an average citizen that will really give us a captive audience. This will be so much better than mail Iowa because we will include new slim jims, stop dreaming...and NH is a bigger event than that little straw poll.

what do u guys think?

It's a small state...so the stealth bombing 75,000 households may cover 100% of our market!!

Why would you pay for the names? The campaign has them for free!

[Thunderbolt]

Why would you pay for the names? The campaign has them for free!

They get them automatically from the National GOP. All candidates do!

[fcofer]

They get them automatically from the National GOP. All candidates do!

Does that include Independents as well?

[DeadheadForPaul]

I dig the postcard idea Ive only read pg 1, im sure there are 1,000,000 good ideas on here

[Thunderbolt]

Minimum purchase is $1500...gets us 75,000 names

Why would you spend a dime on this? The campaign already has the names. They cost them nothing! You would do better going to the GOP and asking for names telling them you are doing a voting drive and need voter lists.

I will not take money away from the campaign when we already own this information.

If the campaign will not give you the lists then perhaps they do not want you to do this. That would be the only explanation.

It is crazy to pay for names when you are just taking money away from the campaign or some other project!

All GOP candidates got a list of voters for FREE from the National GOP. In our state it costs ten cents per name and you must buy all voters, they will not break down the lists for you. It costs a fortune.

I am now a PC in a district. I have been given a list of names for free from the local GOP. They want more voters.

Yes, the lists include Inds and party not declareds (some states have both).

[NewEnd]

use a printer to print the home address using a handwriting font in blue color.

There you go, no cramped hands.

.......

I trust tests done on a mass scale rather than one person's experience.

I got the idea of handwriting, from a techpresident blog that had the headline "Clinton sending out handwritten letters!" So I opened it, thinking, damn, she is good.


"Oh", said the next sentence, "its just handwriting font."

Handwriting font is the disengenuous Clinton way of doing things. Ron Paul is the real deal. What better way to give this first impression to a stranger, than giving them a real-deal, handwritten letter?

This isn't a mass marketing camapign, its an attempt to appeal to the individual voter of New Hampshire.

[AFTFNJ]

So how many people are we aiming for? Hand writing a lot of letters is going to be an issue. I think to make an impact in a state populated by about 1.2 million people, we should mail out @lest 120K letters...what does everybody think?? 1000 Paulo-sapiens writing 120
letters each?


This would target 10% of the pop.

[paulitics]

I'd rather it be handwriting font, not actually handwritten. I would be weirded out if someone handwrote me a letter I didn't know. The font will still get people to open it up and skim over it.

[fcofer]

I'd rather it be handwriting font, not actually handwritten. I would be weirded out if someone handwrote me a letter I didn't know. The font will still get people to open it up and skim over it.

Really? No way to argue this point with you, since it's totally a matter of personal opinion :), but that seems strange. I despise handwriting fonts; it strikes me as totally disingenuous. Probably the only mail that I get that I will *definitely* read would be handwritten letters.

I mean, if you got a nice pre-printed slim jim about Giuliani, you'd probably throw it away. But if someone hand-wrote you a letter about the Ghoul, you'd at least read it, right? (Before shaking your head in disbelief and throwing it away!)

Certainly some people cannot be reached. Pro-war neocons who already know about Ron Paul are _not_ going to vote for him, and nothing we mail them can change that. But many voters haven't heard a word about him, and many would probably throw away a pre-printed political letter without reading it - I'm sure New Hampshire residents get flooded with those.

Do you think that you would really decide _not_ to vote for Paul solely or chiefly because getting a handwritten letter is kooky? (This is not a rhetorical question; I am really curious.)

[jgmaynard]

Hey, the way I see it, let the free market decide!

The meetup groups (and other groups I assume) will be doing this - the ones that like letters can send letters, the ones who like postcards can send postcards, the ones who like handwriting can get writer's cramp and those who like handwriting font can use that.

We all have our ideas, and there ain't a-one of us here who's going to convince the others otherwise.

You like your idea best? Just do.

JM

P.S. - the voter lists are available at any town hall, all at reasonable prices in NH.

[jgmaynard]

But if someone hand-wrote you a letter about the Ghoul, you'd at least read it, right? (Before shaking your head in disbelief and throwing it away!)


OMG that is funny! :)



many would probably throw away a pre-printed political letter without reading it - I'm sure New Hampshire residents get flooded with those.


A-Yup! Ya gotta start the Fi-Ya with sumthin'!

JM

[work2win]

So who can get the names from the campaign???

[jake]

In my opinion:

Hand Written > Typed > "Fake" Written Font

[jgmaynard]

Even if we did get the names from the campaign (and you are more than welcome too!), it would only include R names. I's make up the much larger group in NH - those we'd probably have to get from Town Halls. I live in Pissassnowhere, NH (1,400 people and the Post Office refuses to come this far up the mountain) but we MUST have people on this board in Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Portsmouth, Keene, yada yada yada.....

JM

[work2win]

Even if we did get the names from the campaign (and you are more than welcome too!), it would only include R names. I's make up the much larger group in NH - those we'd probably have to get from Town Halls. I live in Pissassnowhere, NH (1,400 people and the Post Office refuses to come this far up the mountain) but we MUST have people on this board in Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Portsmouth, Keene, yada yada yada.....

JM

Ok, so we'll probably have to buy the Independants then. Let's get this thing rolling! Once we have the names comming, we can hash out the finer details of strategy specifics.

[jgmaynard]

Yeah, but they'll be dirt cheap. When I ran for City Council in Keene a few years back, I got the entire city voter list on CD with more info than I could possibly use for $25.

JM

[NH4RonPaul]

Yeah, but they'll be dirt cheap. When I ran for City Council in Keene a few years back, I got the entire city voter list on CD with more info than I could possibly use for $25.

JM


Yes we do have people from NH on this board and here is what I have to say.

Any phone calls or mailings coming from outside NH are a WASTE and should be discouraged. Send your money directly to the campaign instead.

The campaign is set to mail a beautiful mailer, going out this coming week.

So please once again, send your money directly to the campaign.

[work2win]

Any phone calls or mailings coming from outside NH are a WASTE and should be discouraged. Send your money directly to the campaign instead.


I've seen your other posts and you seem to be of the opinion that NH should be left to the campaign with regards to TV ads, newspaper inserts, and now the mailing idea.

I believe this runs against the opinion of even the most cautious here, even the NH folks. After all, SMART grassroots efforts have been what's propelled this campaign to the front.

For this reason, I think we should keep this topic alive.

[klamath]

If it is determined that it is a good idea to make these mailings. I personally would read a letter that was hand addressed computer printed but personally signed. I am less likely to read a letter that has fake hand written print. I know it is a mass mailing and it only irritates me they made the print harder to read and they thought I to stupid to know the difference. If some one took the time to write, sign and personally address the letter I would read every word of it unless it was a raving rant 15 pages long. I would respect them for caring enough to put the effort in, even if it was for Hillary.

[work2win]

Hand-addressed and hand-signed is key, handwritten note if you want to REALLY make an impression. Start off with a sentence of tactful ass-kissing, and all is good.

We're looking for a way to set our campaign apart from the rest of the pandering pack, and I think this would be a good way to do it

[paulitics]

Im strongly in favor of sending these to independents. I think it can make a huge difference.

[work2win]

bump

[fcofer]

I believe this runs against the opinion of even the most cautious here, even the NH folks. After all, SMART grassroots efforts have been what's propelled this campaign to the front. After all, SMART grassroots efforts have been what's propelled this campaign to the front.

Definitely. And we have an untapped resource exploiting this sort of thing, at least in the meetup groups around here: High school students. They count among our most enthusiastic supporters, but they have almost no money to give to the official campaign. Let's give them something to do while they sit bored in school all day -- they can handwrite letters. :)


The campaign is set to mail a beautiful mailer, going out this coming week.

Well, good for the holy campaign for finally doing something to get the numbers up in NH. However, no matter how good their mailers are, they can't compete with handwritten letters for getting guaranteed impressions. I don't think that the official campaign could possibly send handwritten letters even if they really, really wanted to do so. This is something that can only be done by the grassroots.


...the ones that like letters can send letters, the ones who like postcards can send postcards, the ones who like handwriting can get writer's cramp and those who like handwriting font can use that.

Sure, but I hope that we can agree on a way to track how many of which have been sent. I really like the website idea. At the minimum, we could give everyone who wants to participate a random donor code, and then have a counter on the website that tallies number of letters sent by type per zip code. You just log in, enter the zipcode destination and the number of letters of each type that you sent, and now the data is stored and can be made into pretty charts and graphs later when someone has time to code it. I don't think we need to worry overly much about security; people are basically honest and and wild claims by a single donor can be discounted with some basic statistical checking.

Ideally, we could have a website with a database of voter names and addresses, where you log in and queue up some names by geographical location, or whatever (the site marks them as 'reserved' for a time to give you time to generate the letters). Once this is designed, we no longer need a human to divvy out names. This way we can each choose just what part of NH we want to affect, whether we want to target Republicans or Independents, or we can co-ordinate and saturate certain areas. This would also give us access to some powerful statistical information... I'm certain we'd be up on ronpaulgraphs.com in short time.

Regarding


Hand Written > Typed > "Fake" Written Font

and


Hand-addressed and hand-signed is key, handwritten note if you want to REALLY make an impression. Start off with a sentence of tactful ass-kissing, and all is good... We're looking for a way to set our campaign apart from the rest of the pandering pack, and I think this would be a good way to do it

I totally agree. :) I'm sure Rudy and Romney would love to send handwritten letters, too, but nobody's going to do it for them! Now, let's start figuring out what the letters should say! I bet that I can get some highschool students started on letters tomorrow if we have a good model set up. (I'll even write a few myself. ;) ) We can address them and mail them out later once someone obtains the addresses and organizes (to the extent necessary) the mailout.

Let's do it!

[work2win]

This will be pretty easy. All we need are the names and addresses along with a way to disburse them. That will be all the coordination necessary.

We will want to deter sabotage from people "taking" names and then never mailing or putting a flyer for the Ghoul in there. I don't know, maybe this isn't even worth worrying about.

[fcofer]

This will be pretty easy. All we need are the names and addresses along with a way to disburse them. That will be all the coordination necessary.

That is all that would be necessary, so I agree that we should just get right on it. However, I think that having a website that tracks the amount of letters mailed would be key to really organizing this and getting LOTS of people involved. You know the rush you get after you donate? It'll be the same thing for updating the letter counter! And if you get frustrated that it's not going up fast enough, then you can just grab yourself a pen and write a few more yourself!


We will want to deter sabotage from people "taking" names and then never mailing or putting a flyer for the Ghoul in there.

*shudder* Well, we won't have to worry about that in the beginning, since it will only be trustworthy forum members who are involved. (If you can't tell, I want this to get going fast!) However, if the names are disbursed from the website, one way to at least limit the potential damage would be to restrict the number of addresses that an individual can reserve at once, as well as the frequency with which they can request new addresses. People who are known to be trusted (meetup group organizers, etc.) will not be subject to the restriction. Just an idea.

[fcofer]

*bump*

[mrd]

I'm down. Does anyone here have webserver space available for a site to centralize this operation? I can write up a perl script to parse out an address database and disburse addresses to people in an organized fashion.. if need be. I have a few spare hours when I'm not doing schoolwork. ;)

IMO a handwritten, addressed envelope WILL be opened and the contents examined. People don't read letters that are obviously junk mail, but hand-addressed letters are different. Plus, it gives more of a personal touch than a postcard. We are, after all, personally endorsing Ron Paul to these people!

[fcofer]

I'm down. Does anyone here have webserver space available for a site to centralize this operation?

I've got some space that I can get gratis (Gentoo / LAMP server) as long as the bandwidth consumption isn't too much.

[american.swan]

I support this thread.