In an age where your clients are inundated with spam it’s important to think of new and innovative ways of grabbing your clients attention to form long lasting and profitable relationships.
It’s a no -brainer that taking the time to write handwritten letters is a powerful way to build lasting relationships with customers, however who has the time to sit down and write them? With advances in technology we’ve developed our own robotics to craft handwritten letters for astonishingly low prices.
When the average person gets somewhere between 100-140 emails per day it’s no wonder that digital mediums are no longer as effective as they once were.
So how do you make sure your message reaches your customers and more importantly how do you get them to consider your message?
One of the best ways you can stand out and promote your business is through robotically handwritten letters or handwritten direct mail.
In this article we’ll cover the benefits of handwritten letters, different applications, as well as how to deploy them profitably. Ready to learn more about how sending handwritten letters could help your business thrive? Keep reading for all the insider info!
Handwritten Letters Have the Highest Open Rate of Any Marketing Method (Email, Paid Ads, Social, Text, Printed Mail)
When you send an email, odds are the recipient actually opens your email are depressingly low and even worse for response rates. In fact, the open rate on average is about 17%. That means if you have a customer base of 100 people, only 17 people are opening the emails you send.
So why does that matter?
If you have something you want to say in marketing and you are trying to get the word across, using a platform that people respond to will help you generate more leads grabbing their attention and gain more customers.
With handwritten direct mail, almost every single person who gets handwritten letters will open them and actually read your message without distraction. There is power in handwritten letters for business. Paired with hyper target lead lists you can target specific clients at the right time, pushing your conversions and client lifetime value to the next level.
That's why using handwritten cards from LetterLabs as a solution for your marketing needs will make a huge difference in your leads.
They Leave a Lasting Impression
How many times have you opened an email from a business and not been able to stop thinking about it? Probably not often. You open it, skim it, and then delete it to never think about it again.
That's not the case with handwritten letters or cards. When a customer reads a handwritten letter, it creates a lasting impression because the act of receiving a personal note is so unique. The fact that someone took the time and good intention to reach out to you in such a personal way resonates with your clients. Some people might wonder if having a robot do the legwork takes away from these good intentions. However, when you really consider it, you took the time to set up a thoughtful system, so that every one of your customers gets the same high value treatment, which will help you succeed and make sure every client feels appreciated.
For instance, if you received a thank-you card that was handwritten from a company you love, you may even think about putting it on the fridge for a while! You certainly wouldn't skim it or throw it away without reading it!
With the average person only receiving about 10 pieces of personal mail per year, you will definitely leave a mark on that person's mind and heart.
They Can Promote Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Another key benefit of leveraging handwritten direct mail is Improving word-of-mouth marketing of your clients. Studies show that $6 trillion of annual consumer spending or 13% of all consumer spending is linked with word of mouth marketing? It’s no wonder that when someone receives a handwritten letter, it is much more common to tell those they care about it. As a customer receiving a handwritten letter in the mail, it is likely that you will tell other people as well since you feel so appreciated and cared for. This word-of-mouth marketing will invest potential customers in what you have to offer solely due to your business ethic and customer relationships.
Increase Sales by Targeting Prospects with Handwritten Direct Mail
Finding new clients can be a daunting task in today’s economy and with iOS 14 significantly impacting digital marketing’s effectiveness. When you have a strong list of current clients, but struggle to find new ones it’s hard to know where to turn.
Handwritten direct mail boasts the highest conversion rates across all marketing channels. Coupled with high quality custom lists or lookalike audiences we can drive profitable cold campaigns without you having to lift a finder or identify your prospects.
The reason behind the high conversion rates is that handwritten letters and cards are so unique that your prospects will eagerly open them up and read the full offer. When the majority of your prospects will never see your email offer or paid google ad it's no wonder the conversion rates are so low!
With handwritten mail you can grasp your contacts' attention and specifically target consumers based on their interests, spending habits, or demographic data. Further, with advanced QR code technology we can see exactly who engages with your card, so that we can re-target them with email or handwritten mail to follow up to further boost our conversion rates.
By standing apart from the competition you can ensure your message grasps the attention of your prospects!
Handwritten Letters Can Separate You From the Competition
It is not often that a ton of companies are sending handwritten letters to their customers. That's why if you do, you'll be setting yourself apart from your competition who most likely doesn't send handwritten letters to their customers.
While getting mail is different from emails in the first place, getting personalized, handwritten mail will be even better coming from a business perspective. While most mail goes in a junk pile that is quickly opened and discarded or saved for later, a handwritten letter is the first to be opened by the recipient.
And when the recipient opens it, you have the opportunity to enclose an important message about your business, sales, products, or services!
They Show You Care
There's nothing short of special when it comes to receiving handwritten mail and to receive handwritten mail from a company that you love is even more special.
That's why using this route as part of your marketing strategy stands out - it shows you care about those you are writing the cards to.
Build Profitable Lasting Relationships With Your Customers
Taking the time to connect with your customers will pay dividends in the future. People don’t forget the little gestures companies make to show their appreciation. A recent case study has shown that clients who received a thank you note were 150% more likely to convert to future campaigns and spent 1.8x for future transactions.
Leveraging these relationship building techniques can help you increase the lifetime value of your clients, in addition to improving the length that they’ll be your client.
The extra effort, time, cost, and energy put into sending a letter by direct mail is what makes the person receiving it so much happier. The same goes for handwritten mail for business as well. You'll be building the relationships with customers that matter.
You Can Send a Variety of Letters
There are numerous ways to connect with your clients with handwritten letters. Some methods accell in various applications such as relationship building, cold prospect acquisition, and client win back which we’ll cover in more detail below.
Handwritten Postcards
Handwritten postcards are the perfect way to affordably get a quick message across to your clients. Your clients can’t help but read your message because they don’t have to take it out of an envelope. This helps build awareness and be great sales tools. With a printed offer and handwritten appeal our handwritten postcards are some of our most effective and cost effective options to acquire new clients. Our handwritten postcards include full page printing and a handwritten address and message, which will stand out among the piles of junk mail your prospects receive on a daily basis.
Handwritten Cards
Handwritten cards differ from post cards as they’re placed in a handwritten envelope just like you’d see for a wedding invite! The unique package builds anticipation as your clients open the envelope to read the message inside. Because we’re contacting clients in such a unique and personal manner they’re 99% likely to open and read the message without distraction. This formfactor accels in relationship building, thank you’s, and winning back lapsed clients. Unlike the post card there is much more room to write a personalized message catered to your client. With our technology you can create template letters and automatically send them to clients in a campaign or automatically based on information from your CRM, Shopify, Klaviyo, and other integrations.
At LetterLabs, we know this method works exponentially better than typical digital marketing strategies.
Handwritten Envelopes
Handwritten envelopes with a printed card or letter are another fantastic way to connect with prospects. Your prospects receive a handwritten envelope, which stands out from the junk mail they receive and inside is a professionally crafted message. This method is our most affordable option for getting ahold of your clients and one of the most effective.
Include whatever printed artwork and messaging inside of the card for a direct mail approach that none of our competitors can match.
Handwritten Inserts
Handwritten inserts are perfect to add a personal touch for ecommerce, subscription boxes, or simply to add a personal touch to an ongoing direct mail campaign.
Handwritten product inserts are a great way to show loyal customers your appreciation.
Sending Handwritten Letters Is Easy
It's not hard to send a handwritten letter, especially when you leverage the robotic automation of LettrLabs!
You don't have to worry about any surprise fees or contracts. When you want ten letters or ten thousand you can pay as you go!
For instance, to send postcards, here are the details:
- First class postage is included in your price
- You get 300 characters for a message
- The message is robotically written in pen
- The cost is cheaper the more you get
Postcards start as low as $1.30 including first class postage! The more you order, the cheaper your price becomes.
LettrLabs makes it easy for you to convert sales, increase open rates, and get more customers!
You Can Do a Combo of Handwritten Letters and Digital Advertisements
The best part about sending handwritten letters is that you don't have to rely on handwritten cards as your only marketing strategy. There are so many other platforms you can use as well!
For instance, you can go more with digital marketing for your advertising strategy, but stick with postcards to send to clients for promotional items or sales that you have for existing customers specifically. Instead of having a deleted email, you'll have a conversion.
With a combination of different marketing strategies, you are getting the most out of each route.
Send a Handwritten Card as a Holiday Card
When the holidays come around, many companies send their existing customers an email telling them "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Black Friday!" But if you want to set yourself apart, you can send a handwritten card or postcard for the holidays.
If you're lucky, your handwritten card may just end up in the fridge! Not only does that remind your current customer how great of a company you are, but it also will be around for anyone who comes in and out of the house to see your card on the fridge. It is double the advertisement!
Automation of Handwritten Cards Makes It Simple
When thinking about handwritten cards, it may be daunting to think about writing every single one of your customers a card to say thank you, offer a promotion, or send a holiday greeting. However, automation has changed how the face of handwritten cards looks.
While the look is as real as it ever gets, the process behind it is much faster and easier.
A robotic pen writes out the letter that you have customized for your customers. Because of automation, customizing the customer's name is also possible! This ultimately makes it even more personable for each client that receives a letter.
A Handwritten Note Asks For Nothing in Return
Unlike an email asking for you to check out a new item or go look at the product sale, a handwritten note doesn't ask for anything in return. In reality, you can't add a link somewhere, so it would be much harder anyway.
But instead, a handwritten card or note is simply there to show your appreciation, talk to your customers, and build relationships with them.
This creates a break from what customers expect and creates an extra appreciation for your company.
You Can Skip Over the Disadvantages of Email Marketing
While sending handwritten direct mail may not be as popular as sending emails, you'll get to avoid the disadvantages of email marketing when sending handwritten letters. Here are a few things you'll benefit from avoiding as a business.
Spam
Since there are so many spam emails sent every day, it is second nature for people to go through their email inboxes deleting emails that seem spammy or not important. That means these emails stand no chance to be opened let alone seen in the first place.
With handwritten cards, there is less spam and fewer pieces of mail to go through so each one stands a chance of being looked at and opened.
Design Problems
There have probably been a few times as a business owner that you've sent an email only to realize that a code was messed up or a design was not what you actually intended for it to be. Maybe there is extra spacing between one paragraph and not the other, or the overall visual was put in the wrong place.
With handwritten cards, that wouldn't happen. You see exactly what is being sent before it is sent off to the recipient. This guarantees the design is sent how you want it!
Size Issues
With handwritten mail, you also don't have to worry about size issues! With emails that are too big, the mail may bounce back or not even send properly. It may not allow the recipient to even open the email or the link if it is not properly sized or condensed in the process.
However, with handwritten cards and letters, there is no issue of sending an oversized file. You are sticking to an old-time, simple message that has no attachments and no links to it.
You know when you send it, you won't have to worry about any technical issues.
How to Start Using Handwritten Letters for Business
If you choose to start using handwritten letters for business, how do you even start? You may be so used to digital marketing strategies that this seems foreign. Well, that's okay!
Here are a few tips.
Think About the Purpose
Before you send a handwritten letter, you need to know the purpose behind it. Sending one just because may not be the smartest business move to go with.
Think About the Content
Once you know the purpose of the letter you are sending, you can then think about the content. Here are a few things to think about:
- What do you want to say to the customer?
- How much space do you have for words?
- Do you want to personalize it to each individual customer with their name?
- Are you going to be able to use this content in the future?
With handwritten mail automation, when you purchase letters, you have to buy them in bulk. Because of this, you need to make sure you are including content that is going to either be beneficial for many months or can be used again, or content that is specific (but not ordering as much of it).
Think About the Design
When you are sending handwritten mail, you can design it a bit more than a typical email.
Do you want to include your logo? Then you should think about where to put it on the letter!
Remember, the letters and cards are short. That means you have to make an impression right away.
Hire a Company That Will Do It All
Once you know what you want to include on your cards or postcards, you need to hire a company that can automate it all for you (considering this would take hours and days to do yourself).
That means you need to hire a company that can send the direct mail, design it, and listen to your needs as a paying customer as well!
When to Use Handwritten Letters for Your Business
When it comes to using handwritten letters for your business, there are so many ways to go about your marketing strategy. From thank you cards to just adding a personalized touch to your strategy, you can't go wrong.
If you need a few ideas for when to use them in your strategy, here are a few below.
Thank You Cards
If you want to thank your customers every once in a while, sending a personalized note is a great way to do so. You'll be showing your appreciation for having them as a customer, which will make them want to come back to continue using your products or services.
You can request a sample from LettrLabs.
Promote a Product
If you have loyal customers, sending postcards is a great way to promote a new product. It can be a quick and easy way to say, "hey! We have this new product you may like."
Loyal customers may hop on the Internet to purchase the new product!
Holiday Greetings
Sending a personalized note for the holidays is one way to set yourself apart from other businesses. You're not only thinking about the holiday spirit, but you're also thinking about your customers and how much they've given to you as a business.
Telling them that in a card or note that is sent directly to them will show your appreciation as well as how much you care for them as a customer.
Personalized Touch in a Gift Box
If you have a company that uses subscription boxes, writing handwritten notes to new subscribers is a great way to draw them into the subscription!
The more they feel that it is personally just for them, the more they are likely to feel special. And no one can have enough of that feeling!
Yearly Loyal Customer Promotion
If you have loyal customers, what better way to thank them than to give them a special promotion each year? To announce it, you can send them a postcard!
How to Determine What Is Working and What Is Not Working
When it comes to sending letters, you want to know what is working and what is not working. You need to know from a business standpoint if you are generating more money by using these handwritten letters as a marketing strategy or if you are losing money.
To do this, you should keep track of your different campaigns and the various types of letters or postcards you send.
For instance, if you have two campaigns in one month, you will want to track each one. You may send thank you cards as well as an appreciation card with a promotion to your loyal customers. You can track the leads that come from both.
For the promotions, they would have a code. You can track how many times the specific code has been used (which should be different from the email code). You can also track the customers you send thank you notes to in order to see if they come back for more down the line.
This way, you can either keep what you are doing or change it up if it is not working.
Send Handwritten Letters Today With LettrLabs
Using handwritten letters for your marketing and business strategy is one that you should get behind as soon as possible.
There are so many benefits of handwritten letters when you send them to customers. Your customers will feel appreciated, you'll stand out as a company, you'll build a relationship with them, and you'll get your message across since your letter will most likely be opened.
And the best part about sending handwritten letters is that it is easy to do it - and it won't break the bank either!
At LettrLabs, we pride ourselves on our handwritten notes, the options we give you to choose from, and our pricing. If you want to schedule a demo, to learn more about our options for direct mail, you can get 15% off of your first order when you mention this offer (which you're bound to be thinking about at this point).
With a new marketing strategy, your business will be booming in no time.
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