How do real estate agents & teams use handwritten mail to convert listing leads?

Farming or working a specific neighborhood or development is a fantastic strategy. Mail is a must-have channel to help promote your services. That said, brokerage and other printed postcards come off as cheap & generic. Top agents & teams are increasingly turning to handwritten mail to stand out at the mailbox, and deliver a personal touch.

Real estate transactions are built on trust. Top producers leverage handwritten mail to continue investing in & strengthening their sphere - think past clients or high volume vendors. Those little touch points help stay top of mind and pay dividends through referrals and recommendations down the line.

Follow up is critical, especially for (competitive) luxury or high value prospects. Whether a listing appointment or open house, top agents follow up with a memorable handwritten note. Don't lean too heavily on email, which can come as impersonal or otherwise get lost in the ether.

There are certainly tradeoffs to handwriting your mail. The two most significant are cost and ease of scaling.

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Cost can show up in a few ways. If you’re handwriting your own mail, the most meaningful cost is your time. There’s also the cost of materials - stationery, envelopes, stamps and so on. If you instead choose to lean on a partner, you’ll find that handwritten mail costs more per piece than mass-printed mailers due to greater cost of production. It's worth weighing the extra investment - though we've found that the improved performance from handwritten campaigns dramatically outstrips those extra dollars.

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Scaling your handwritten efforts can also be a challenge. At some point, it becomes infeasible to write thousands of personal messages, stuff & stamp envelopes, and send cards as your business grows. A good partner, like PenPals, takes on this burden for you - it’s as easy as uploading a contact list through our platform.

We’re biased, but we think the right handwritten mail provider offers a few key things:

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1. Real handwriting: put simply, the handwriting should be real (with actual pen put to paper). Consumers can sniff out the inkjet printed stuff, which then erodes trust of you - don’t risk it.
2. Real service: ensure the partner you choose is ready to work directly with you as needed. That could be as simple as providing real-time support when launching a campaign. You may benefit from a provider that can get in the weeds on campaign or targeting strategy, or otherwise fully manage the process end-to-end.
3. Actual impact: it’s always worth evaluating whether the provider is a mercenary (with you in the moment, but ready to wipe their hands clean as soon as the check arrives) or aligned with you in driving results. That can be evident from whether they offer campaign tracking & results, or features in addition to handwriting, like trackable QR codes & landing pages, that improve performance.

PenPals helps top agents & teams run personalized handwritten outreach. We handle strategy, production, and mailing - complete with genuine ballpoint pen & ink, branded stationery, and first-class postage. Our integrated campaigns include landing pages, tracking, and AI-generated insights. Get in touch to see how we can help you include handwritten mail in your marketing strategy.