If your letter is part of a letter-writing campaign, a handwritten letter gives the appearance of a grassroots "ordinary citizen" communication, rather than a communication from a "special interest group."
Creating political will requires citizens and constituents to speak out and let their voice be heard. In the absence of a face-to-face meeting, the best way to communicate your message is with letters to editors or Congress itself.
Congressional aides and staffers tell us, that, when possible, you should always send personal handwritten letters to Congress, not a form letter or petition.
Most Americans now use e-mail or other quick ways of getting in touch with businesses and friends. Urging members of Congress to end hunger is one of the few occasions all year when Bread for the World members and other people of faith actually write and mail a letter.
Are handwritten letters still one of the best ways to reach your representative and senators? Bread activists and congressional staff who speak from experience confirm that next to face-to-face meetings, letters from constituents of the member of Congress are incredibly effective.
Why? The answer is largely “quality versus quantity.” It’s easy to send thousands of copies of a single e-mail or letter to a congressional office. When it comes to gauging constituent opinion, staff members simply give less weight to communications that are or could be mass-produced.
Writing letters in your own words is probably the most efficient and effective way to influence members of Congress.
They need to hear from you! They depend on you to educate them about what is happening in their district and what legislation is most important to their constituents. Writing a letter and making a follow-up phone call only takes a few minutes of your time, but it ensures that your representatives know how you want to be represented. A staff person reads every letter and many are also read by the Member. Since congressional offices receive only a handful of letters on most issues, each letter carries real power.
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Those are just from a simple web search. Petitions and emails are not effective. Personal communication is.
Re: They give me the Internet, but then I can't use it to do anything right...
If your letter is part of a letter-writing campaign, a handwritten letter gives the appearance of a grassroots "ordinary citizen" communication, rather than a communication from a "special interest group."
From: http://citizensclimatelobby.org/writing-letters-to-editors-and-congress/
Creating political will requires citizens and constituents to speak out and let their voice be heard. In the absence of a face-to-face meeting, the best way to communicate your message is with letters to editors or Congress itself.
Congressional aides and staffers tell us, that, when possible, you should always send personal handwritten letters to Congress, not a form letter or petition.
From: https://www.ncronline.org/news/politics/handwritten-letters-still-most-effective-persuasion
Most Americans now use e-mail or other quick ways of getting in touch with businesses and friends. Urging members of Congress to end hunger is one of the few occasions all year when Bread for the World members and other people of faith actually write and mail a letter.
Are handwritten letters still one of the best ways to reach your representative and senators? Bread activists and congressional staff who speak from experience confirm that next to face-to-face meetings, letters from constituents of the member of Congress are incredibly effective.
Why? The answer is largely “quality versus quantity.” It’s easy to send thousands of copies of a single e-mail or letter to a congressional office. When it comes to gauging constituent opinion, staff members simply give less weight to communications that are or could be mass-produced.
From: http://www.uua.org/action/advocacytips/26888.shtml
Writing letters in your own words is probably the most efficient and effective way to influence members of Congress.
They need to hear from you! They depend on you to educate them about what is happening in their district and what legislation is most important to their constituents. Writing a letter and making a follow-up phone call only takes a few minutes of your time, but it ensures that your representatives know how you want to be represented. A staff person reads every letter and many are also read by the Member. Since congressional offices receive only a handful of letters on most issues, each letter carries real power.
***
Those are just from a simple web search. Petitions and emails are not effective. Personal communication is.