Which Letter Would You Open and Why IgnitePOST Will Help You Separate Yourself From the Crowd!

Executing a mail campaign, whether it be direct mail or email outreach, can be difficult to accomplish. However, direct mail has increasingly become more effective than its counterpart, email. The average click through rate for email sits at a low 2.56%, whereas direct mail outreach is proven to be 30x more effective than email outreach.

Ways to connect and make a lasting impression with people are constantly evolving and changing. Email used to be the go-to-tool due to its ease of use and effectiveness. As a result, it has been overused and abused through the past several years. Now people’s inboxes are becoming overpopulated, and they often leave hundreds, maybe even thousands, of emails sitting in their inbox left unopened, collecting “dust”. Personally, I can receive up to a hundred emails a day from online retail stores that I immediately swipe to my archives, often never being read before they make their journey to the archives.

Since direct mail is emerging as the more effective approach in today’s world, we’re going to look at a few direct mail examples and touch on aspects that makes them effective or ineffective.

According to TMR Direct, they attribute people opening their mail to five key aspects:

1. They receive mail from someone they know
2. The mail they’ve received promises to answer a burning question they have
3. They open mail that appeals to their emotions
4. They open mail that intrigues them
5. They open mail that looks important to them

Using those five baselines, among other things, we’re going to evaluate different attempts to create a connection and elicit a response from a consumer/individual.

POSTCARD

This postcard is an advertisement from Mailchimp, a company where you can create your own postcards, amongst other things. In terms of effectiveness and whether this really stands out, there isn’t much going on. This is the type of mail I’d quickly see, scan, and toss in the recycle bin. There can be beauty in simplicity, yet this postcard doesn’t capture that. The success of this postcard really lies within the very niche customer group that it’s searching for, people or companies looking to create and send their own postcards.

When it comes to an effectiveness grade, this gets a C-/C.

LETTER

Here we have a simple envelope that contains a letter. It’s a stock white envelope with script type print on it. This envelope is always going to get opened, as there aren’t any clues on the envelope that gives any insight as to what’s inside. It is very obvious that the writing on the letter came out of a printer and was done in mass. I feel like the company is trying to deceive me by making it seem like they took the effort to hand write the letter, but the lack of execution and poor print quality makes me skeptical before I even open the envelope. Out of curiosity and fear of something important being inside, anyone who receives this envelope will surely open it. Whether or not the content within elicits a response is solely dependent on whether or not it can garner a connection. In that case, this method is fairly effective as it forces the recipient to further investigate. It touches on intrigue and the appearance of importance, mentioned by TMR Direct as two of the five reasons why someone may open their mail.

For that reason, this gets a C+/B- on effectiveness.

IGNITEPOST

Again we have an envelope with a letter inside, but there’s something different about this example that stands out. It’s handwritten and it’s personalized. You hear people say it all the time, there’s something different and timeless about a handwritten letter, it goes a long way. Kyle Young, an Operations Manager at GoinsWriter, says that “Taking the time to send a thoughtful note shows you cherish a relationship and want to invest in it”. Sending a handwritten note gives someone the sense of importance. It shows that you want to build or further a connection with them. This example is simple but elegant. Yes, it is much more convenient to send an email or a text, but a handwritten note says so much more. This form of mail is extremely effective as it touches on four of the five points emphasized by TMR Direct, amongst other things. It being handwritten gives the appearance that it may be from someone they know, it appeals to their emotions by giving them a sense of importance, it’s intriguing, and it looks important.

The handwritten note by IgnitePOST gets a B+/A- in effectiveness.

In the end, all types of mail can be effective if you target the right people. It’s proven that really any type of mail stands out over the clutter of email, and it’s more likely to get opened. Yet when comparing the three examples we examined today, the handwritten note by IgnitePOST takes the cake. There is just something different and personal about a handwritten note that will always help it stand out against its counterparts. The art of human connection is an art that will never cease to fail!

Have you sent any handwritten notes to prospects or customers in the past? What tips or experiences have you had? Share your stories and let us know in the comments below!

Interested in seeing how we can enable you to send personalized, handwritten notes that will deepen your connection with prospective customers? Reach out to us here at IgnitePOST and we’ll show you how, as well as send you a FREE sample!

CONTACT US

ABOUT IGNITEPOST

IgnitePOST helps brands create magic moments for their customers. Our real pen and ink handwritten notes cut through the digital noise to surprise and delight customers exactly where they are in their shopping journeys.

Our intelligent software integrates with existing systems for easy set up and our robotics work at massive scale using ballpoint pens to give warmth to each note. This software-hardware combination generates perfectly timed and crafted moments that drive customers to action as our above industry average conversion rates show.

Interested in learning more or seeing how we can help you hit your goals? Contact us today:  support@ignitepost.com

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