What makes you open a piece of mail?
Anecdotelly I can tell you that I am much more inclined to open a piece of mail if :
1) my address is handwritten.
2) it has a real stamp on it (compared to a stamp made en masse with a postal machine).
3) the envelope is interesting or brightly coloured.
4) and if some doodle or sticker is on the back, it doesn’t hurt either.
An interesting discussion these days is the effectiveness of direct mail—the type of mail we all receive from businesses and organizations that incite us to give or act; mail that ‘asks’ us to do something. Most of the chatter is around whether or not direct mail is still a viable form of marketing. I am not an expert in this field, but there are several out there that maintain direct mail isn’t dead.
A handwritten piece of direct mail is about as P2P* as you can get
In fact, it would seem that successful organizations are working on finding just the right blend of digital and other channels of communicating with their audience. It is all about that *person-to-person conversation you want to have with your audience. Enter letterfriend.com.
Eldar Ganiev is the Chief Executive Philosopher (love that title) of the letter writing service company. It all came about through having a dear friend move far away and wanting to stay in touch, but not through your average email.
Email just doesn’t cut it any more
Eldar knew he was on to something when he started receiving requests from local businesses to write letters/cards on their behalf. They had realized that they wanted and needed a form of communication that would make them stand out from the masses; something that wouldn’t end up in email spam or the literal trash can.
Letterfriend.com offers everything from handwritten letters/envelopes (stamps and mailing included) to your client base, to postcards, or thank you cards. I asked Eldar to send me a sample and it lived up to my expectations; very similar to the photos shown here.
So, as you look ahead to your Fall and Holiday campaigns, you may want to consider going the handwritten route. You can request a quote from letterfriend.com and crunch the numbers yourself.
I think this is a step in a good direction BUT I can’t tell you how disappointed I am when I receive something in the mail that “looks” hand-addressed and I open it to find it’s more marketing or mass-produced. It actually (to me) is worse than receiving something that is “obviously” marketing/mass-produced. I feel duped or taken for a fool. Like “Aha!! We got you to open the envelope.” Now if it’s something that is being driven from a “personal” origin and the send just wants it to be handwritten, I can accept that. At least it’s not the same message sent to multiples (or even thousands) of people. And who’s to know who actually did the writing? Does that make sense? PS I just found your blog via Bob (mypenneedsink) and can’t wait to go back to the beginning and read all the posts! 🙂
Hello there Melanie, tickled pink that you discovered my corner of the blogging world. I do hope you will enjoy and should you have ideas for topics/features please drop me a note. As it relates to the handwritten yet corporate mail that appears in the mailbox, I sure do relate to what you are saying. My guess is you aren’t alone in feeling perhaps a bit ‘urked’ at being lured in by the personal handwriting. Good thought provoking discussion for sure and I’m glad you brought it up. Perhaps others will weigh in on it too. In the meantime, I wish for you many ‘authentic’ pieces of snail mail this week. 🙂
Hello Barb – I’ll send YOU an authentic piece of snail mail. 🙂 Loving your posts.
You just made my day Melanie! You can be sure I will write back 🙂
I’m not feeling the love for this service. I get it and applaud the company for tapping a market that has a revenue stream but for me personally it takes out the “ME”. It’s akin to paying someone to shop for a gift for your significant other, my heart just wouldn’t be in it. I wish them all the success but I think it takes something away from the time and effort ones puts in a card / letter to tell the recipient they their thoughts. Love the batman stamps though.
Hello there Bob, you’ve made some excellent points here. I was torn about it too, but I guess what it illustrates for me is that the appeal, the power and the meaning of something handwritten can’t be matched. You’re right on about the batman stamps. Thanks for weighing in.
🙂 I sticker everything!!!! 🙂
Love it Sydney!