How to influence local decision-makers and corporations with a Custom Email Target ActionButton

Written by Taylor Green | Apr 8, 2026 3:44:59 PM

The Contact Your Lawmaker button in ActionButton is a powerful tool, able to leverage your community to exert pressure on elected officials at the regional and national levels. But what if the change you want to make is at a corporation, school board, or mayor’s office?

Enter: the Custom Email Target.

Custom Email Target is a button type that allows you to select up to 20 decision-makers and input their email addresses and photos. It works a lot like Contact Your Lawmaker, but with more versatility when it comes to who you want your community to influence. Any publicly available email addresses are fair game, broadening the reach of your community.

Plus, it’s fast. If a new dean is elected to a university or your PTA elects a new board, you can have a Custom Email Target button ready to deploy in less than 5 minutes.

How best to use Custom Email Target

After you input the email addresses and image for your button, you’re ready to craft the default email. Your email should be clear and to the point. Use smart fields to customize the email based on the supporter it's coming from, or to lock certain sections so they stay the same across all correspondence. I’ve included an example of the email targets will receive below.

Getting your supporters to use the Custom Email Target is about meeting them where they are. For supporters who visit your website often, create a blog post with a call to action at the beginning and the end, inviting them to let their voices be heard. If they are more active on email or social media, share a link to the button there.

When to use Contact Your Lawmaker vs Custom Email Target:

Feature	Contact Your Lawmaker (CYL)	Custom Email Target
Target audience	Federal or regional elected officials in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and US	Mayors and city councils CEOs and corporate boards Clergy Committee members Homeowners’ associations School boards Global leaders Other elected officials in countries not covered by Contact Your Lawmaker
Data sourcing	Pre-populated by us	Provided by you
Visuals	Standardized	Custom (Upload your own)
Best use case	Mass legislative pushes	Local, municipal, educational institutions, or corporate targets

See it in action

Here's an example of a Custom Email Target focusing on a city council.

And this is what the final email to the city council member would look like:

Here are a few more example targets:

Save the local park: Target the Parks & Rec Commissioner.
School safety: Target the District Superintendent.
Campus policy: Target a University Dean.
Environmental demands: Target the Board of Directors of a major energy company.
Animal rights: Target retailers who carry products tested on animals.
Improve local roads: Target the chair of the transportation safety committee

A versatile tool in your toolkit

The Custom Email Target button in ActionButton can be used in many different ways, but the most important is the opportunity it gives you to turn your supporters’ passion into action. Public outcry is one of the most effective levers for influencing decision-makers today. So, when your community wants change, give them an avenue that increases trust and confidence in your shared mission.

Try the Custom Email Target out in your ActionButton paid account, or sign up for ActionButton now.

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