When communicating with congressional offices, the most pressing question used to be: are email or postal messages more effective? While each has its advantages, congressional staff view them equally. The more important question is: are the messages personalized?

In our recent survey of staff we asked, "If your Member/Senator has not already arrived at a firm decision on an issue, how much influence might the following advocacy strategies directed to the Washington office have on his/her decision?" Among the possible answers were advocacy tactics like faxes, visits from lobbyists, social media site comments, phone calls, as well as "Individualized Postal Letters," Individualized Email Messages," "Form Postal Letters," and "Form Email Messages."

Not surprisingly, "In-Person Visits from Constituents" ranked the highest. However, we all know how impractical it is for every citizen or advocacy organization to arrange face-to-face meetings with their corresponding Representatives and Senators. That being the case, written communication (emails and postal letters) are a much more practical form of communication.

So which of the two is going to have the greatest impact?

The congressional staff we surveyed revealed that there is virtually no distinction between email and postal mail. Ninety percent said individualized postal mail, and 88% said individualized email would have, "a lot of positive influence" on an undecided Member of Congress. The numbers for form postal mail and form email were comparable to each other, as well. They view the delivery methods of email and postal mail as equally influential to an undecided Member.

What matters more than method is the content of the message. Whether they are delivered via email or postal mail, messages that are customized in some way by constituents are much more influential than identical form messages. Some helpful ways for constituents to personalize their messages should include discussing the impact of a bill on the state or district, providing the reasons they support or oppose the bill or issue, and providing a relevant personal story. The personal touch from a constituent goes a long way toward differentiating a message and ultimately influencing a Member's views.

The cover of "Perceptions of Citizen Advocacy on Capitol Hill"If you want to know more about what happens behind the curtain in congressional offices, you can view the full report, Communicating with Congress: Perceptions of Citizen Advocacy on Capitol Hill.