How do businesses use handwritten mail?

Opting for handwritten mail over printed mailers supercharges campaigns - whether you're prospecting or acquiring customers, promoting retention and loyalty, or just reaching out.
October 17, 2024
handwritten mail use cases

Handwritten mail is effective for multiple use cases across the customer journey - consider how businesses grew in the pre-internet era! Let’s take a look at how businesses today use handwritten mail to grow.

What is handwritten direct mail?

Direct mail refers to physical letters, postcards, or inserts, delivered through a mail carrier (often the USPS in the United States).

Handwritten direct mail uses humans or robots to write out messages in ballpoint pen & ink. Done well, this can dramatically increase the likelihood your mail gets opened & read - and therefore that you drive the results you’re looking for.

So with that out of the way, how do businesses use handwritten mail today?

#1: Acquisition & prospecting with handwritten mail

Mail is a fantastic channel to explore when growing your customer base. The mailbox offers a way to target new customers by geography when you don’t know as much about them (e.g., no email address or prior purchase history).

Handwritten mail gives you a leg up in prospecting or farming for new customers - most consumers are inundated with email and digital ads, but rarely receive a handwritten card in the mail. Further, while mass-printed mailers can scream junk mail, a properly designed & personalized handwritten mail campaign sets you apart and engages your recipients.

PenPals offers a white-glove approach to handwritten prospecting campaigns: we help businesses effectively target prospects, produce premium handwritten postcards, and track impact using integrated landing pages. The product combines the personal touch of handwritten outreach with the analytics capabilities of digital campaigns, all while keeping costs in check.

#2: Unearthing referrals & repeat business with handwritten mail

Most businesses shift to email & online communication once a customer is in the door. This makes sense - after all, why pay to contact a customer you already have?

The problem is every one of your competitors is also sending that email, making it harder than ever to reach your customers.

We recommend an omnichannel approach. Email (or phone or text - whatever you prefer) works great for transactional messages, for example. But when you really want to supercharge a campaign (think: a Black Friday / Cyber Monday sale for an ecommerce brand), or surprise & delight a customer (e.g., a follow up note to a first time client), lean on handwritten mail.

If you're not sure where to start or how to incorporate into your broader marketing strategy, contact us. We're happy to help you brainstorm an approach that works for your business.

#3: Prevent churn or run winback campaigns with handwritten mail

It’s always been puzzling to see businesses send offers thru email in an effort to retain at-risk clients. You’ve got a disengaged customer, and you’re looking to throw a hail mary via one of the lowest effort, poorest engagement channels out there?

Businesses actually serious about retaining those customers need to do something different. Handwritten direct mail is an excellent choice. Handwriting your outreach shows customers you care enough to send a personal note. Layering on a personalized offer or message can then entice them back into the fold.

For greater impact, PenPals can help you proactively identify which customer cohorts are at risk and design a retention campaign to target those customers at the right time. We work with brands to build personalized journeys with and without new discounts.

#4: Reward loyalty or run personal outreach with handwritten mail

Handwriting your mail signals you’ve put in the time & effort to reach out - a rarity in the age of email. So when you think about rewarding loyal customers or ensuring long time clients feel the love - set aside the ecard.

You’re likely already sending holiday cards to your most engaged or recurring customers, for example. Take that a step further by handwriting personal notes & addressing the envelopes. The simple extra gesture will ensure your outreach stands out at the mailbox and comes to mind the next time your contact makes a purchase decision.

The tradeoff, of course, is your time - PenPals takes that effort off your plate with easy to send handwritten cards. Just upload your contacts & type out a personal messages, and we’ll write it out in real pen & ink on the stationery of your choice.

How can PenPals help me craft & automate my handwritten mail?

PenPals helps businesses run personalized handwritten outreach. We handle strategy, production, and mailing - complete with genuine ballpoint pen & ink, branded stationery, and first-class postage - and tracking / insights. Get in touch to see how we can help you include handwritten mail in your marketing strategy.

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