compare mail to snail mail
Answers
Snail Mail
Using traditional mail to contact your representative provides them with a hard copy of your letter that they can hold in their hand and read. While emails are easily scanned and deleted, going through physical documents requires more time, thus increasing the chances that the representative will read your letter. Furthermore, older representatives (or staff members) who didn't learn to use the Internet until later in life may be more comfortable reading a hard copy of your letter than they would be reading an email. On the other hand, former staffers tell us that snail mail is space consuming, time consuming to respond to and more likely to get lost in the shuffle.
Although sending an email to your representative may not provide them with a hard copy of your letter, it is a much faster method of communication. It is also less expensive, since it does not require you to purchase a stamp, envelope or paper. While you must wait several days for a letter to make it through the postal system to your representative's mailbox, an email arrives in a matter of seconds. In addition, emails are easier to scan, which means that the representative is likely to make their way to your message more quickly and with less frustration. Snail mail, on the other hand, requires more time to peruse, and representatives or their staff members are more likely to put off the task and let the mail pile up.