How Should We Contact Congress

The Dean campaign has the people-power to lean on our congressional representatives.  The blog world gives us the information we need to make timely, informed input. It appears that many of this blog have worked in political offices & I'd like some advice from them about contacting elected officials.

Question: What's the best/most time effective method for such communications?  What happens in a congressional office when I send an email vs. a letter; phone call vs. FAX?

What happens when I sign on to petition (Move On, Dean, Sierra Club, etc.) vs. a private email?

How much good does it do for a non-constituent to contact a congressperson?

It's easy enough to print my email & have my wife stick a stamp on it--is it worth the extra effort?  Phone calls/FAXs on hot issues usually have resulted in busy phone lines--I don't have the time to wait on hold endlessly.

Help.

We weren't sleeping, we were waiting. (author?)