A major fundraising deadline this week has campaigns flooding supporters’ inboxes with frantic appeals for cash and some candidates trying a new tactic to stand out — transparency.
(Bloomberg) — A major fundraising deadline this week has campaigns flooding supporters’ inboxes with frantic appeals for cash and some candidates trying a new tactic to stand out — transparency.
The heavy use of email fundraising, which helped campaigns such as former President Donald Trump’s reach grassroots supporters, has become a less effective approach for raising money as weary donors ignore repeated email blasts warning of dire consequences if they don’t give.
Now with a Federal Election Commission end-of-quarter fundraising deadline on June 30, some campaigns are sending appeals with a markedly different tone to break through crowded inboxes, using more candor.
For example, US Senator Tim Scott, a Republican running for president, told supporters in an email on Monday that he’s concerned about a weak showing when second-quarter donation numbers go public on July 15.
“This means every other candidate will know how much I raised and how many supporters I have,” the email said. “This could make or break my campaign, and I’m starting to get nervous.”
Separately, Representative Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat running for an open Michigan Senate seat, sent a lengthy email to potential donors explaining why campaigns need supporters to give ahead of the FEC deadline. Slotkin’s email said many candidates often ramp up exaggerated claims about the need to give to boost contributions, and hype phony deadlines to get donors to give more often.
“Our goal is to give you the full context of why these actual deadlines are important,” the email said. “The sky will NOT fall if you don’t contribute, the country will NOT descend into chaos – but you WILL help us compete.”
‘Turned Off’ Donors
The use of alarming messages and catastrophic language to spur donations was perfected by both parties following Trump’s unexpected victory in the 2016 election. Candidates found they could raise millions of dollars by stoking donors’ fears.
Those tactics, though, are wearing thin with grassroots contributors, according to Eric Wilson, a GOP digital strategist whose Center for Campaign Innovation conducted a study of digital fundraising after the 2022 elections.
“Donors are really turned off by the bombardment and tone of fundraising solicitations,” Wilson said. “Campaigns have to figure out how to do more with less.”
Democratic US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign acknowledged donors are fatigued in an email last week.
“We understand that a constant stream of emails asking for a contribution can sometimes get on your nerves.” It assured recipients the New York Democrat did not expect them to give every time but asked supporters to give when they could.
Creating engagement with supporters over email is becoming more critical for campaigns, particularly as advertising on Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook has become less lucrative because of changes to privacy policies.
But getting people’s attention through their inboxes is challenging. On average, political emails are opened less than 20% of the time, and only about 2.8% of people click through to read more or donate, according to a 2022 study from software company Campaign Monitor.
Read more: Trump’s Faltering Cash Machine Can’t Rely on Facebook for a Fix
This week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign sent an appeal touting the upcoming June 30 deadline, urging supporters to donate because the fundraising total could be a “tipping point” for his bid.
In the run-up to Friday’s FEC deadline, many campaigns are continuing to hype internal deadlines or warn of dramatic consequences. Those emails include requests for cash in amounts as little as $1, and subject lines suggesting an immediate need for funds like “last call” and “one more chance,” according to Pundit Analytics.
With a real FEC deadline approaching, the emails are flying. There have been more than 250 emails mentioning the term “deadline” in the past week.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.