Robbin and team rock. In Virginia - and now nationally - PostCards4VA is the hub of action for writers, activists, candidates, and campaigns. It is a movement that at first was criticized and not understood. Thankfully, we did not listen to the detractors. Now we know that postcards kept us alive through COVID - kept us together in community where we could continue to be active and connect to voters. Phonebanking and door knocking just don't have the relational component that postcard groups create - however, they could and there may be some groups that do meet regularly. Maybe that is a lesson for any method we use to connect voters. I believe the act of writing, being creative, and sending that love note to the voter transcends the typical campaign idea of voter outreach which can be transactional. The Friday Power Lunch's first couple of shows were focused on writing postcards - they were our first loyal audience! Let's keep following our instincts and hearts.
I'm proud to be involved in "craftivism". I've upped my efforts since the Supreme Court's recent decision. It just put a fire 🔥 under me. My pens/markers are smokin'!!!
I wish we could have each recipient of a postcard take a pic and post it on their fav Social Media for all their peeps to see. Wouldn't that be a good idea? Any suggestions?
I like the outcome (photos of postcard recipients with their cards), but personally I would bristle at that kind of suggestion. I resist taking photos, preferring my imagination. I don't have social media apps connected on my phone, so it's multi-step for me to post. I generally try to shrink my online presence, not expand it. And isn't it enough we are asking recipients to vote. We don't want to distract them with a different request not related to voting.
If people handing out info at the polls see people carrying a postcard, they could ask for a photo. If we framed it somehow as a contest, maybe some people would be motivated to take a photo and share it. It's an interesting conundrum.
I wasn't suggesting the recipients post a pic online WITH the postcard. I just meant a pic of the postcard itself added to Facebook, Twitter /X, Threads, or Substack would reach that many more people. I, definitely, wouldn't want my face distracting from a cute postcard. 🫤 😉
It was just a thought about how to maximize our outreach. I'll keep studying on it. 🤔 Thanks for your thoughts.
DBJean, sorry I got confused when you mentioned recipients of postcards. I think Markers for Democracy or Network NOVA might have instagram accounts with lots of photos. I need to look into how Substack would support this kind of thing.
This is a beautiful article. I am going to up my postcard craft!
Great endorsement of postcarding from James Carville on yesterday's podcast- Politics War Room.
Is there one or should we start an online gallery of postcards and other craft-ivist art for this election cycle?
Love the ideas, especially this set of phrases from one of the postcards with a bumblebee:
Bee the change you want to see!
Democracy needs you!
Your vote is your voice.
Robbin and team rock. In Virginia - and now nationally - PostCards4VA is the hub of action for writers, activists, candidates, and campaigns. It is a movement that at first was criticized and not understood. Thankfully, we did not listen to the detractors. Now we know that postcards kept us alive through COVID - kept us together in community where we could continue to be active and connect to voters. Phonebanking and door knocking just don't have the relational component that postcard groups create - however, they could and there may be some groups that do meet regularly. Maybe that is a lesson for any method we use to connect voters. I believe the act of writing, being creative, and sending that love note to the voter transcends the typical campaign idea of voter outreach which can be transactional. The Friday Power Lunch's first couple of shows were focused on writing postcards - they were our first loyal audience! Let's keep following our instincts and hearts.
I'm proud to be involved in "craftivism". I've upped my efforts since the Supreme Court's recent decision. It just put a fire 🔥 under me. My pens/markers are smokin'!!!
I wish we could have each recipient of a postcard take a pic and post it on their fav Social Media for all their peeps to see. Wouldn't that be a good idea? Any suggestions?
I like the outcome (photos of postcard recipients with their cards), but personally I would bristle at that kind of suggestion. I resist taking photos, preferring my imagination. I don't have social media apps connected on my phone, so it's multi-step for me to post. I generally try to shrink my online presence, not expand it. And isn't it enough we are asking recipients to vote. We don't want to distract them with a different request not related to voting.
If people handing out info at the polls see people carrying a postcard, they could ask for a photo. If we framed it somehow as a contest, maybe some people would be motivated to take a photo and share it. It's an interesting conundrum.
I wasn't suggesting the recipients post a pic online WITH the postcard. I just meant a pic of the postcard itself added to Facebook, Twitter /X, Threads, or Substack would reach that many more people. I, definitely, wouldn't want my face distracting from a cute postcard. 🫤 😉
It was just a thought about how to maximize our outreach. I'll keep studying on it. 🤔 Thanks for your thoughts.
DBJean, sorry I got confused when you mentioned recipients of postcards. I think Markers for Democracy or Network NOVA might have instagram accounts with lots of photos. I need to look into how Substack would support this kind of thing.
Thanks for including my cards, Robbin! Annie (not Anne☺️) Hensley
I changed Anne to Annie.
Thanks for letting us know.
Sorry about that!
Join us on the Friday Power Lunch, where Robbin’s creative powers can also be spotted. Www.tinyurl.com/2024fpl
Thank you both! I’m flattered to be included. This is important work.