4 Ways Handwritten Notes Can Drive Revenue in Q4

Handwritten notes offer businesses a unique opportunity to drive revenue in Q4 and year-round. The magic is found in their open rate — a staggering 99%. There’s no other marketing option on the planet that offers such stellar performance.

For every hundred handwritten notes you mail, you can expect only one of them to wind up unopened and unread. Nearly everyone you target will see your marketing messages, something you can’t say for email, PPC, or any other digital strategy.

Handwritten notes are exceptionally effective because they’re rare. They seldom appear in people’s mailboxes, so when consumers find a hand-addressed envelope, they open it immediately. More importantly, they read what’s inside.

Emails are routinely ignored. So are standard print mailers, those that lack the personalization that defines handwritten notes. Consider that in a pile of mail, most advertising mailers will land in the trash unread, while a handwritten note rises straight to the top of the stack.

Below you’ll find four ways handwritten notes can drive revenue in Q4 and beyond. You’ll also learn how Simply Noted dramatically increases the ease and effectiveness of handwritten direct mail campaigns.

Close up of a lovely gold and wood pen on a black background.

WHY HANDWRITTEN NOTES?

Handwritten notes are more effective than other marketing tactics — both digital and analog — because they make a true emotional connection with your targets. Not only are they opened far more readily, they feel exclusive to the recipient.

Imagine if you received a standard printed mailer that started, “Dear sir or madam,” or “To whom it may concern” and then launched into a generic sales pitch. Would you feel as if the advertiser were speaking directly to you? Probably not.

On the other hand, imagine if you found a hand-addressed envelope with your name on it. Opening it, you find a handwritten note that starts, “Dear [your name]” and referenced items specific to you, your area, or your account. You’d probably feel far more connected to this handwritten card than the generic printed mailer. You’d feel as if the company had you in mind when they penned the message.

Handwritten notes start a personalized conversation with your recipients that you can continue later. Your targets will enjoy a sense of connection with your brand before they even speak with you. You’ll have a significantly easier time converting these customers.

Thank you cards with hand-drawn floral illustrations.

FOUR WAYS HANDWRITTEN NOTES CAN DRIVE REVENUE IN Q4

Try these four methods for breaking into the handwritten direct mail market. We think you’ll agree that they have few peers when it comes to driving revenue.

Send to All Current Clients

Focus a mailing on all of your current clients. This accomplishes a number of useful things:

It brings your brand back to mind. If your customers have been considering an order, this quick “touch base” might be the kick in the pants they need to put together a purchase order.
It helps strengthen the emotional bond between you and your customers. Clients who feel connected with your brand are significantly less likely to churn away to your competition.
It creates referral opportunities — just make sure to ask!

Send to All Clients

If you have the budget, consider expanding your mailing to include all of your clients, whether you’re working with them currently or not. This can be an excellent way to generate business from clients you haven’t heard from in some time.

Thank them for their past business and then remind them of what you can do for them. Personalize the content so that it’s clear you’re writing specifically with them in mind and there’s a good chance that some of them will transition from past to current clients.

Send Handwritten Holiday Cards to Your Total Available Market

Holiday cards aren’t just for well wishes. They can also be an effective outreach method, and handwritten notes are the most effective medium. A handwritten holiday card’s warmth and prestige make an excellent introduction to businesses and individuals in your market with whom you haven’t yet established a relationship.

Because you’re approaching potential clients that don’t know much about you yet, be sure to include language that makes your services and approach apparent; a link to your website is a good idea as well.

Send End-of-Year Offers

No matter who you contact with your handwritten notes, the cards are a good excuse to spread news about your end-of-year offers. In the waning months of the year, many clients are drawing up budgets for the next, and a well-timed offer can help get your offerings included as a line item.

If you have a single offer, make it enticing enough to draw a broad audience. Even better, create a few offers you can tailor to each client. That way, you make it easier for each client to say, “yes.” How you tier your offers depends on your business, but options are always a strong draw, and personalization can seal the deal.

SIMPLY NOTED UNLOCKS THE TRUE POWER OF HANDWRITTEN NOTES

It should be clear now just how effective handwritten notes are for driving new and repeat business. But the tactic suffers one fatal flaw — handwritten notes must be written by hand, requiring a huge investment of time and labor. Simply Noted solves this problem by automating the entire process.

We’ve built a fleet of powerful handwriting machines that write text into cards using real ballpoint pens to recreate the look of a true pen-written card perfectly. Even better, we’ve developed smart fonts driven by a powerful AI to recreate the subtle variations of size, spacing, and letter shape you normally find in handwritten text. You can send thousands of handwritten cards at once, each personalized to your recipients, each flawless in their recreation of true handwriting.

With Simply Noted, you can send massive handwritten direct mail campaigns as easily as you would an email or standard printed mailers. Our technology brings the emotional appeal of real handwriting into the 21st century. If you want to blow the ceiling off of your Q4 numbers, give Simply Noted a call.