Letters are not only used for communication, as they are capable of conveying emotions and complex ideas. The personal element of a handwritten letter should not be understated, as it can express individuality, while also bringing people together.

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While online forms of communication such as email and text messaging have made it incredibly quick, convenient, and easy for people to connect with one another across long distances, handwritten letters still play an incredibly crucial role in modern society. Handwritten letters are capable of conveying ideas and emotions that digital forms of communication cannot replicate, so here is an explanation of the psychology of letters, and why they are still critical in modern society.

An average person who is also engaged professionally, receives around 120 emails per day. According to a Statista report, in 2024, the number of emails exchanged per day would be 361 billion and by 2026, this number is projected at 392 billion. 

Additionally, when it comes to advertisements, an average person sees 10,000 per day. The world is getting noisier and it’s getting difficult for people to keep up. The impact of these digital mediums—emails and ads—can be seen on our decreasing attention spans.

However, every now and then, some brands manage to do things with a difference; they stand out; they win hearts! One such thing that differentiates brands from run-of-the-mill experiences is handwritten notes.

What are handwritten notes/ letters?

Think about all the handwritten messages we write to our friends and family - greeting cards, letters, quick messages on post-it, etc. These are handwritten notes. While these examples are for personal use, handwritten notes for businesses are similar.

Instead of digitally printed notes, brands send handwritten notes using conventional pen and paper. Brands send handwritten notes to customers—B2B and B2C—for various reasons. For example, thank you messages, brand announcements, special invitations, etc.

Handwritten notes add a personal touch to the experience and interaction between a brand and its customers. 

How do handwritten notes connect us?

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1. Add a personal touch

While text messaging and emailing are fast and convenient, they lack the personal element that handwritten letters provide. Unlike text, handwriting is personal and is capable of conveying complex ideas, emotions, and thoughts. 

2. Uniqueness of handwriting

While you can change the font of an email, it is impossible to replicate the uniqueness of one’s handwriting, further highlighting the personal element handwritten letters provide.

3. Build a connection

It is human nature to seek out interpersonal relationships, and the individuality and emotion that can be conveyed through handwritten letters help form these connections. Even if people are not directly meeting in person, handwritten letters are the next best thing, as handwriting highlights the effort to connect with another individual. 

The personal aspect that handwriting provides cannot be replicated by digital forms of communication, as it is much easier to see personality and emotion through unique handwriting rather than through uniform text on a screen.

4. Boost customer retention

Handwritten notes send out the message to customers that you care, because you put in effort and time. Emails and SMSes do not have that kind of value. And hence, making handwritten notes a part of your marketing strategy can help boost customer retention. Sending customers handwritten notes regularly can ensure they keep coming back to you.

5. Improve open and response rates

Handwritten notes are rare and hence they get more attention and have better open and response rates. Brands looking to engage customers, especially new customers, must consider sending handwritten notes instead of emails or digital communication.

What does a handwriting or handwritten note convey?

In contrast to text, which is typically one standardized font, handwriting is incredibly personalized and unique, with each person having their own distinctive writing style. 

Due to these individualized styles of writing, handwriting is capable of conveying emotions and ideas that digital text just cannot. Through reading someone’s handwriting, you can typically tell how they felt when they wrote the letter, as emotions alter how something is written. 

For example, if someone is angry or frustrated, they are likely to press harder when writing, causing their writing to appear bold and dark. Furthermore, handwriting can also express the seriousness of a letter. For example, people are more likely to view a letter as significant if it is written in cursive rather than standard print.

How is a handwriting or handwritten note viewed? 

In addition to conveying the writer’s emotions, handwritten letters are also viewed as significant. Handwriting shows the receiver the effort and care that was put into the letter, as handwriting is much more personal than standardized fonts in a text message or email. 

Furthermore, people tend to view letters as more impactful than digital forms of communication, as it takes more time and effort to send a letter through the mail. Since handwritten letters are so good at conveying importance and sincerity, they are well suited for things such as thank you letters and building relationships.

How can businesses use handwritten notes?

Businesses can use handwritten notes in creative ways, depending on the nature of their business, industry, and customer segments. Here are some ways to use handwritten notes for your business:

1. Send welcome notes

Sending handwritten welcome notes to new customers can be a good way to establish a special relationship with new customers. This warm and positive gesture can ensure your customers come back to your store.

2. Thank you notes

Most businesses send thank you messages via email or SMS. How about making this fresh purchase experience even better with a handwritten thank you note? It will not only be something different but customers may even pin the note on their board for its uniqueness.

3. Request reviews

As we discussed earlier, handwritten notes have a higher response rate. This means, when you request reviews and ratings for your brand or products via handwritten notes, you would receive more responses.

4. Offer deals and discounts

Make your most loyal and VIP customers feel special by sending discounts, offers, and deals with handwritten notes. Instead of sending codes via SMS, customers would appreciate a more personal and unique handwritten note.

5. Promote new collections

When you have a special collection or a new product launching, you could send handwritten notes to your most loyal customers. Include the discount code and offer details in the note. 

6. Request referrals

Asking your loyal customers to share referrals is a special request that you can make via handwritten notes. Think creatively, you could also combine a referral request with a thank you or welcome note.

7. Promote loyalty programs

Improve loyalty program engagement rates by sending handwritten notes to members. For instance, you could send welcome messages, points reminders, special events announcements, etc. through handwritten notes.

8. Reconnect messages

When customers fall out, don’t visit your store for a long time, or abandon carts and not return, it’s time to do something to win them back! Send them handwritten notes saying you miss them and send special offers to them.

9. Cross-sell via handwritten notes

It’s possible to use handwritten notes to cross-sell products and services. For instance, send notes soon after or wait for a specific period and recommend products and services to customers. You could also combine a cross-selling message in a thank you note.

10. Upsell products and services

Similar to cross-selling you can also use handwritten notes to introduce upsell options. For instance, if a customer has bought a bottle of vitamins, you could upsell a subscription for the same product as they would need to replenish the item regularly.

11. For subscriptions

Handwritten notes can be an excellent way to reduce churn and encourage customers to extend subscriptions. Because of their personal and warm nature, these notes can help you generate a higher rate of subscription extensions. 

12. For repeat sales

You might have repeat-sales strategies in your marketing plan. Why not use handwritten notes for those strategies? For instance, send store credits or points, or discount offers via handwritten notes.

13. Encourage pre-orders

Handwritten notes are an excellent way to reach out to high-value customers and promote new or limited edition products for pre-orders. The personal touch, the uniqueness, and the exclusivity of getting first-access brings higher results

Examples of brands succeeding with handwritten notes

Let’s take a quick look at how handwritten notes have helped businesses unlock success: 

1. Legion Athletics

The eCommerce brand Legion Athletics offers sports supplements, protein bars, and vitamins, among other products. One of the biggest challenges of the brand was to reduce the churn rate of its subscription model.

Upon calculating estimates of how much subscriber churn could cost their business in the long run, Legion Athletics decided to incorporate a handwritten notes outreach strategy for their subscribers. 

Their goals were to make customers feel special, surprise and delight them, and make them stay loyal to their brand. To meet these goals, the brand set up a personalized handwritten notes strategy with the help of IgnitePOST. 

The brand started sending a handwritten note from their director of customer experience a month before the churn point that they collected from past data.

The front of the handwritten card had a QR code that took customers to Legion’s website to make it easy for customers to extend their subscription.

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The result: The brand was able to recover 6% of members. This made the brand’s subscriber base 52% larger at the end of the year.

2. Blue Men Moving

A moving, packing, and storage business, Blue Men Moving faced a challenge when it came to generating cold leads. They wanted to stand out by sending handwritten notes to potential customers.

Blue Men Moving launched a handwritten notes strategy with the help of IgnitePOST. While the first set of notes generated only 1 to 2 % open rates, it took two more iterations and optimizations for the campaign to take off and bring results. 

First, they added a QR code on the note, and second they ensured the handwritten notes were sent out in a timely manner with the help of automated processes. 

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The result: A 24% conversion rate!

3. Point Broadband

The internet and cable services company, Point Broadband wanted to win back their old customers who had canceled their cable subscriptions. For this, the brand, along with IgnitePOST planned a handwritten notes strategy.

To begin with, the brand sent out handwritten notes to past customers requesting to share their experience of Point Broadband services and why they had canceled. 

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After collecting the cancellation reasons, the brand segmented customers based on the reasons. Following this, a second handwritten note was sent out listing out all the cancellation reasons that had been addressed by the company.

The result: The company saw a 19% response rate and was able to double their win back rate to 4%.

4. Smart Choice

Smart Choice, an insurance company, wanted to grow its network of insurance agents. The brand collaborated with IgnitePOST for its pilot campaign to reach prospective agents with automated handwritten cards. The aim was to get responses via call, text, and email.

IgnitePOST first understood the unique value propositions of Smart Choice so they could craft different versions of messages to reach different prospective segments. The strategy was to test different cohorts with different message versions. 

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The result: The campaign generated more than a thousand leads, surpassing industry average. 

5. Pure Plates

Pure Plates, a food delivery company, wanted to boost their VIP customer engagement. The brand’s challenge was to generate repeat sales. The brand had set up digital communication strategies that were not generating desired results. Hence, Pure Plates reached out to IgnitePOST.

The handwritten notes strategy was to send out personalized handwritten notes from the CEO to VIP customers. The message also had a discount code.

The result: 68% response rate and more than 11x ROI.

Conclusion

While the internet has made creating connections incredibly simple and quick, handwritten letters still play a significant role in modern society. Not only are they capable of conveying complex ideas and emotions, but they also connect individuals and help build positive relationships between both individuals and businesses. 

Even as technology advances and people continue to adopt more online forms of communication, handwritten letters will always be crucial, as they are capable of things that technology will never be able to replicate.

Want to know more about the business benefits of handwritten notes? Speak to our experts today.