Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1235IR // #c1235Synthesis

"Whenever a new way to reach someone unsolicitedly and cheaply pops into existence—mail, texts, Facebook messages—it has a brief twinkling moment of effectiveness as a form of direct voter contact. And then it gets so totally overused that voters largely tune it out."

— In our words · Source: This Is the Plan (Ben Wikler)

[Use when]

Your team is excited about a new cheap outreach channel because early numbers look great.

[Why it matters]

Low cost invites everyone in, and saturation kills the effect. Wikler ranks channels: face-to-face beats calls, calls beat postcards, and texts to strangers mostly annoy. Human connection is the one channel that doesn't fade.

Filed under situations:When you need a yes and they’re not there yetWhen a rival’s move changes your game

More from This Is the Plan

#c1233"Here’s the operating principle: All other things being equal, you’ll be most persuasive to the people with whom you have the closest…You want to change minds and are about to start with the widest, least personal channel available. #c1234"Keep a CONSTANT WATCH on the DOUBTFUL VOTERS, and from time to time have them TALKED TO by those IN WHOM THEY HAVE THE MOST CONFIDENCE."You need to win over a wavering group and are deciding who should deliver the message. #c1236"The most recent review of the available evidence found that a conversation with someone at their doorstep in a “high-salience” election…You're asking people to do slow, low-yield outreach and need them to understand what success looks like.

Same situation, different book

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