Writing letters can be very effective especially when you are doing a coordinated mail surge.

While emails may go ignored or be hastily “scrolled through”
letters are tangible, physical signs that can not be ignored.

The debate is still ongoing as to which is the most effective.

While deciding which approach to use, here are some good things to keep in mind:

When doing online petitions, emails can be quite effective. The chance of each email being read are slim. However with an online petition, there is only one email to read. The power of the numbers still speaks, even if only one is actually read.

But what if you are new to the craft of online petitions? Or what if you barely have time to get the word out about a last minute issue, let alone set up a petition?

If time is of the essence and last minute emails must be sent, your campaign can still be successful. Just encourage each of your participants to put an identifying headline on their email. Even if the recipient doesn’t open each email, he or she will still be able to see a rash of urgent requests assailing his inbox when he scans through the headlines.