Cover Story: Political Direct Marketing 2004

Dean blasted out e-mail communications on a near-daily basis asking members to sign time-sensitive petitions and forward messages to friends and family members. Dean continually challenged supporters to participate in specific drives by setting up online initiatives with firm deadlines and goals.

In all, Dean engaged roughly 650,000 supporters online, drawing an average of 430,000 unique daily Web site visits. The entire cost of his Internet campaign totaled about $1 million, which means it raised about a dollar for every nickel spent on fundraising. For Kerry’s efforts, the cost of Internet fundraising amounts to only three cents of every dollar raised.