Hand Written Notes Service

[1manshow]

Agree and disagree.. we addressed these envelopes with handwritten fonts and had a huge open rate and great success..however...if we eliminated the teaser copy the response rate drops to half. I don't think the font made much difference at all.

Our life agent recently sent out prospecting letters(approx 100) and included a handwritten note on half....guess which half had over 70% response rate?

Personally, I think your business idea is solid. I hope you're marketing it to more than just insurance agents. FYI Every employee in my office sends a hand written note to every client they had a face to face meeting with that day. I know what kind of results it generates and I personally hope that not one insurance agent within 100 miles of me takes you up on the service

 

[scagnt83]

Thats fantasy.

If your mailpiece is done right, it'll get opened, hand-written or not.

People aren't compelled by hand-written notes, though we like to think they are. When they open it and realize its a solicitation, the image they then have of you is that you work by flashlight in an unlit closet.

I have to disagree to an extent.

Hand addressed envelopes get opened almost every time if they are stamped and not metered.

Whats on the inside doesnt matter as much as to if its handwritten or not. But the envelope most certainly does!

And this is a tested fact. Not by opening rate, but by response rate.

My response rates went up dramatically using hand addressed envelopes. (using the same marketing piece and demographics)

I put an ad on craigslist to pay $0.30 per envelope. Applicants had to send me a sample of their handwriting.
I found a girl who is a stay at home mom and a calligraphist, she can do all kind of different styles... she is like a human MS Word font selector! lol


Its all about getting the envelope opened and having a brief and effective marketing piece inside it.

 

[Mark]

I for one have the worse handwriting in the world.

I started using the handwriting font because no one could read my writing.


Very few things I ever get in the mail are handwritten anymore. It does stand out more when I see it.

 

[1manshow]

I put an ad on craigslist to pay $0.30 per envelope. Applicants had to send me a sample of their handwriting.
I found a girl who is a stay at home mom and a calligraphist, she can do all kind of different styles... she is like a human MS Word font selector! lol

Love that idea!

 

[Mark]

I get cards from SOC all the time from agents and love that someone took the time to send me a thank you card. The handwritten font makes it seem a little bit more personal.

I mean, it would be more special if he had really took the time to hand write it, but this too was also good and was thoughtful.

 

[jasmeetc]

Thanks for the all the comments.
Here are my thoughts and plans.
scagnt83:
Handwritten envelopes get opened more as scagnt83 mentioned. But if you are writing a thank you note or sending a card, it will have much more impact if the note itself was handwritten.
Also, as you probably know $0.30 is just a fraction of the total cost if you count your time, putting stamp, stuffing, mailing etc. So, this service will be very cost effective and give you better final product.

1manshow:
I will be marketing to more than insurance agents, but I have to start somewhere. I have limited marketing budget and my thought was to focus on one market first. The reason I chose insurance market is because my agent sends me thank you notes and birthday cards and I like them. Frankly, most of your friends end up either calling you, wishing on facebook or by email/ecard and getting a card by mail from my agent stands out.

Markingriffin, It will be easy to use


As always, PM/email me if you want to at least know or want to try out when I launch next month. I don't think I can put the link here without breaking forum rules.