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“Telemarketing is the most popular, dynamic, and effective marketing technique available.”

“A recent study of the telemarketing efforts of the FORTUNE 1000 indicates that companies with telemarketing plans continuously outperform companies that do not reach out to their customers by telephone,” communications firm CMS Connects reports.

It works for political campaigns, too.

And for just pennies a call.

The advantage of automated calling is it allows you to reach thousands of voters in just hours, and for just a few cents each.

When you contact a telephone vendor to set up a phone campaign, they will ask you to provide them with a list of telephone numbers.  You should already have this, usually off the voter registration list.  They will either ask you to provide them with the recorded call, or they will provide you with a phone number to call in to to record.

The most important thing to remember with automated calling is to A) Keep it short, less than 60 seconds, B) Stick to one important point and C) Include a call to action.

Example: “Hello neighbor, this is Larry Libertarian and I’m running for town council on November 8th.  Married for 10 years with two kids, I’m the only candidate who opposes raising property taxes.  So please get out and vote November 8th. Paid for by Larry Libertarian for Council.”

Automated calls are also a great way to get out information voters should now about your opponent.  The same rules apply.

Example: “Call Councilman Stan Statist at 111-111-1111 right now.  Councilman Statist voted to raise your property taxes by 11%.  Working families can’t afford Councilman Statist’s massive tax hike.  Call Councilman Statist BEFORE the November 8th election and ask him to reverse his vote to raise your property taxes 11%.  Paid for by Larry Libertarian for Council.”

Remember, political advocacy calls are exempt from the Do Not Call list.  Some vendors, however, will still delete those numbers to avoid complaints.

And while you will get phone calls from complainers, keep in mind that for every complaint dozens of others are taking the action you requested.  People use automated calling in political campaigns for one reason.  It works.

Generally speaking, I like to order twice as many phone calls if I begin to get complaints from people on the voter list who appear to be supporting the opponent.  You have them rattled, so keep shaking.

A professional telephone vendor can lead you through how to set up an automated calling campaign that produces votes or results.  You can contact the American Association of Political Consultants to find reputable, professional Republican, Democrat or non-partisan firms.

If you have more money to work with, you can even employ live operators who can patch voters through to your opponent’s office to complain, or to be sent an absentee ballot.  There are even voice-response systems that can “speak with” voters in a variety of local accents.

Automated phone calling is highly effective, very affordable and moves poll numbers in your direction quickly.  Libertarian campaigns should take advantage of this constantly evolving technology.