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I have been looking at all example letters that are being emailed to Congress members and I just want to offer some information I gained will working in Washington during the summer of 2010.

The debt ceiling battle was going down during the 10 weeks I was working on the hill. I wasn't in an Congress members office but my job was to work with interns who were and so I basically talked to them all day. There were a ton of people contacting their representatives all summer, especially after Obama did a press conference asking people to do so. There are just too many letters, emails, and phone calls coming in all day every day for them to even begin to read them all.

The interns job was to fill out a form that looked like a big sticky pad. On it were a bunch of boxes they would check which was meant to make organization and counting later much easier. They read the email or letter very quickly to get where the person stands on the issue. They mark it down for or against and put it into a pile. All forms of contact were counted equally and they were all recorded the same way.

So when contacting your representatives, multiple contacts matter. Make the intern reading the email understand where you stand on the issue very concisely so they can move onto the next one.

I usually do this:

Subject: Protect the 2nd Amendment

Body: I am a Republican. Do not support any new gun laws. I will donate money to your primary opponent if you do.

You can add in filler to make it flow better but that is all they need to know. Quantity over length is best. Call multiple times. Email multiple times. Contact members who do not represent you if you like.