I signed up for most of the political parties newletters about a week ago. Here's a quick look at what I've had back. The good, the bad and the ugly.

Note: Other digital marketing used by the parties is also looked at: The Lib Dems, The Green Party, the Conservatives and Labour.

Conservative Party

To: Me
From: George Osborne
Subject: SPAM-HIGH: Here's my take on the campaign so far

Best Bits: George personally signed my email.
Worst Bits: A less than inspiring layout. We're busy people you know, we don't have time to read emails this long. A few subheadings wouldn't have been too hard to add in there would they?

The Green Party

Best Bits: I like it. It's laid out well, it's colourful, it's easy to read, there are short intros with links to longer articles, there are interesting pictures, there are links to various Green party sites and profiles, there's a really big link to their RSS feed and there's a website-like footer with links to more Green Party information.
Worst Bits: Nothing. I think this is a pretty effective email to send out.

To: Me
From: The Green Party
Subject: Green Bulletin [09 April 2010]

Liberal Democrats

To: Me
From: Liberal Democrats - LD2010
Subject: SPAM-LOW: LD2010 #8 - Highlights from the first week of the campaign

Best Bits: Eeer, the huge pictures they use that mean you'll be able to see the email from a good 10 yards away?
Worst Bits: The huge pictures they use that mean... The dodgy, inconsistently coloured links that give me a head ache, the really basic layout they've used. There's probably more, but I'm don't really feel like looking at this any longer.

Also, for some reason, Thunderbird put this message across the top of the email. From a purely marketing point of view, that looks pretty bad.

Labour Party

I signed up a week ago. The only email I've had is the 'thanks for signing up' one. They do know there's an election in a few weeks, right?