In the campaigns space, the most common digital tactic is ‘email to target’ (ETT), or asking supporters to email their representatives. In this blog, Stefan Blakiston Moore, who worked as a Senior Parliamentary Assistant before moving into the charity sector leading campaigns at Cats Protection and now Alzheimer’s Society, answers the question, “What is the impact of the ETT tactic and who is really getting the messages?”
What does Email To Target (ETT) mean?
An Email To Target action (ETT) is a digital campaigning tactic in which a campaign asks everyday people to email a group or individual who can enact the change the campaign wants to see. Often, this is asking your campaign supporters to email their representatives with either a pre-written draft or a personalised one on the given issue. According to the More Onion report “The Future of Digital Advocacy,” “Two-thirds of the digital campaign actions we reviewed were email to target actions, and 70% of those targeted MPs.”
How does the email reach the campaign target?
Be it council leaders, MPs, or businesses, campaign technology lets us use ‘Email to Target’ (ETT) to deliver messages from the public to our targets.
For less high-profile targets, the messages will likely be read directly. But when you get to the point of targeting Members of Parliament or other high-profile individuals, the route an ‘email to target’ takes will not be as simple.
Politicians deal with genuinely urgent casework, so they need strategies to prioritise. Often this means the message will end up being processed by staff, filtered into a system and receive a standard reply.
Should we be using the ETT tactic in digital campaigning?
I do still believe that ‘email to target’ can be a useful tactic. But it is being overused and not always applied to the best effect. If we want to have impact with ‘Email to Target’, then we should be crystal clear in what we want to achieve. It must be part of your campaign strategy, not simply an engagement tactic – and we should be questioning our use.
If we believe an Email to Target will help us achieve our goals, we should then be:
- thinking about how it will do so.
- mapping out the process.
- considering the thinking of your recipient (i.e. staff) and how they may communicate the message to your intended target.
What if we let campaign supporters write their own email to the campaign target?
Letting someone write their own email surely gets around the whole issue of copy-paste emails being ignored by politicians. Doesn’t a unique email deserve a considered response?
Email personalisation can undoubtedly help a campaign. A local grassroots campaign will be much more likely to see a genuine response.
But when we get to the point of national campaigning issues, the ‘personalised’ email will still go into a system and potentially be grouped with other messages that make very similar points for a mass response.
So yes, personalise – but it isn’t a silver bullet.
‘Email to Target’ still has a valuable role to play, but only as part of a well-considered strategy. And we must still question ourselves whether it’s the appropriate tactic and consider other ways to influence.
Questions to Ask Yourself When Considering Email to Target (ETT) Actions:
Jess Day’s excellent research for More Onion on ‘The Future of Digital Advocacy’ explores how charities are using Email to Target, and what ‘targets’ think.
With the findings of this research in mind, I’ve pulled together five basic questions I believe are worth considering when planning an Email to Target action in your digital campaigning.
- Is email really the best way to deliver your campaigner’s message? While we shouldn’t chase novelty for the sake of it – are there other ways your supporters could make contact that would stand out more?
- Why are we running an Email to Target campaign now? What makes your message relevant now? The answer shouldn’t be that it fits your schedule; is there a specific date, event or debate that makes it timely?
- Do we have a clear call to action for the target, and can we clearly communicate the message? Feedback from ‘targets’ found that there was a desire to clearly see what you are asking of them (put your CTA high up!) & remember this is an email from a campaigner, not a briefing – avoid the policy jargon.
- How should we tailor the message to different targets – can we make it more relevant? If one of your targets is a Minister, make sure they can do what you’re asking of them – i.e. don’t ask them to sign Early Day Motions. If there are examples of how the issue you’re highlighting will impact locally, include it in relevant messages to increase salience!
- Should we write the message, let campaigners customise it, or ask them to write it entirely? It’s a trade-off, you risk your message being diluted but gain legitimacy through increased effort and the inclusion of personal stories.
Want to find out more about Digital Campaigning tactics? Sign up for SMK’s Digital Campaigning workshop on Thursday 16 October 2025 or Monday 12 February 2026, facilitated by Jess Day of More Onion.