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Handwriting - Why? How?
Handwriting - Why? How?

Learn why handwritten mailers are more effective than digital outreach and how Scribeless replicates the look of real handwriting.

Updated over a week ago

Why?

Handwriting works because it grabs attention. It stands out. It's competition is overcrowded digital mediums like email, or loud flyers in the mail.

If you are trying to reach a high-level executive, a founder, a headteacher, or a donor, how would you go about it? How do you reach decision makers?

Let's say you send an email, a LinkedIn message, or target a cohort with an ad. They may glance over it, but subconsciously, your message has already been discounted. They don't know you, they don't trust you, they don't have the time in the sea of other emails and messages they have received.

How about calling? You might get through, but start off with the front desk. What percentage of calls get through to the decision-maker? If you do get through to them, they approach the situation cautiously and, most likely, with hostility.

Perhaps you've tried direct mail before. You've got your full color graphics loaded, your offer in bold, and your QR code emblazoned on one side. How many people read that? When that lands in postboxes, what do people think?

It's seen as spam, and alongside the five other mailers that day, it ends up in the trash.

So how about a handwritten mailer?

It lands in the postbox, and your ICP collects their mail for the day. They flick through, and they immediately notice a handwritten envelope with a real stamp.

It looks and feels personal. They only get sends like this twice a year, on their birthday and over the holidays. Who could it be from? Who has taken the time to send them a handwritten card?

They open the card. It's a message from you, clearly explaining your value prop and why it's relevant to them. You've also left your contact details.

At this point, you've already won. You've moved your brand and messaging away from spam. You've captured their attention. No longer can they subconsciously disregard your offer.

They take the time to read through your message. They don't take you up on your offer straight away, but keep a hold of the letter.

A week later, they notice an email in their inbox from you. They normally ignore outbound emails, but they remember your brand name from the handwritten letter.

They reply and take you up on your offer. They comment that they don't normally respond to outreach but thought your efforts were unique and deserved a response.

Summary

  • Digital channels are becoming less and less effective, and people are overloaded with offers and adverts.

  • Handwritten mailers stand out in the mailbox and aren't seen as spam. They capture attention and get your message and offer read.

  • They get past the front desk and into decision makers hands.


How?

We replicate the look of handwriting using AI algorithms, clever print techniques, and rough, textured paper stocks.

AI algorithms

Our algorithms introduce variability into each send, in the same way handwriting does. The easiest way to demonstrate this in action is by typing the letter "A" 10 times within our campaign editor.

You can see that each character varies ever so slightly. This results in no letter, word, or sentence being the exact same. Meaning, if you send two sends with the exact same copy, they will look very slightly different. You'll also notice variability in the coloring of each letter. This imitates the pressure of a pen on paper.

Clever print techniques

We use very high resolution printers that utilize a specific type of printing technology. These printers keep the handwriting looking sharp and provide some physical indentation.

Rough textured stocks

We use rough, textured stock on all of our sends. We do this because once printed, it provides some natural variance in coloring and the handwriting doesn't look too perfect or shiny in any way.

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