Tips for Contacting Your Elected Officials: IU Advocacy: Hoosiers for Higher Education: Office of Government Relations: Indiana University

Follow these tips to communicate more effectively with your elected officials and increase the odds of getting a reply.

Be sure to date mail. Also include your name, address, and telephone number on the letter and envelope.
Be brief and to the point. Write one page with a short opening and two to three paragraphs on the subject.
Be friendly. Being rude, sarcastic, or threatening accomplishes nothing.
Be issue-focused. Discuss only one issue per letter.
Be candid and personal. Use your own words, avoiding form letters. Be sure to include your own thoughts on the issue.
Be certain about documentation. Include details pertinent to the issue.
Be appreciative. Out of more than 5 million Hoosiers, only 150 become elected officials to the House and Senate.
Solicit a reply. Ask, “Will you support higher education?” To ensure a reply, you might enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Inform the HHE staff. Call us at (800) 937-3448 or e-mail us at hhe [at] indiana [dot] edu. We track the communication network to monitor the efforts of our members.
Be proactive. Put a date on your calendar for an anticipated reply. You may need to write the legislator again.

Office of Government Relations