Service
Handwritten direct mail
Direct mail has one structural problem: it looks like direct mail from three metres away, and the recipient has decided what to do with it before they touch it. Writing it by hand removes that problem, and leaves your offer to succeed or fail on its own merits.
Handwritten direct mail is an addressed mail campaign in which the letter, the envelope or both are written with a real pen rather than printed. It is used where the value of a single response is high enough to justify a per-piece cost several times that of printed mail.
The four campaigns that work
Reactivation
People who bought once and stopped. They already know you, the list is finite, and the letter can reference something real. This is nearly always the highest return of the four, and it is the one to test first.
Retention and defence
Written to people you are at risk of losing — a renewal coming up, a fixed rate expiring, a competitor circling. Cheap relative to the value of the account being defended.
High-value acquisition
Cold, but tightly targeted, and only where one conversion is worth hundreds or thousands. Works in property, finance and professional services. Does not work for low-margin retail, and we will say so before you spend the money.
Gratitude and relationship
No offer, no call to action. Sent because the relationship is worth more than the postage. Hardest to measure, and frequently the one clients keep running after the others stop.
Be straight about what it is
A reasonable objection to this channel is that it borrows the appearance of a personal letter for a commercial purpose. That objection deserves a real answer rather than a dismissal.
Our position is simple: the handwriting should be honest about being a business communication as soon as the reader begins reading. Your name goes on it. Your company goes on it. The reason you are writing is in the first line. What handwriting buys you is the chance to be read at all — not permission to pretend you are someone’s friend.
Campaigns that try to pass as personal correspondence all the way through do worse, not better. Readers work it out, and the goodwill runs backwards. How to describe it to your own customers.
Campaign costs
A 130-word letter in a handwritten envelope, before postage.
| Quantity | Per piece | Campaign total | Volume tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $3.64 | $2,005 | 500+ pieces |
| 2,000 | $3.28 | $7,223 | 1,500+ pieces |
| 10,000 | $3.02 | $33,255 | 10,000+ pieces |
| 50,000 | $2.95 | $162,096 | 25,000+ pieces |
Indicative only, including GST, 130 words per piece, with a handwritten envelope, excluding postage. Full pricing and calculator.
Postage is quoted separately because it genuinely varies — weight, format and whether your volume qualifies for a bulk lodgement option all move it. How Australian postage pricing works.
Questions about handwritten direct mail
What makes handwritten direct mail different from ordinary direct mail?
Ordinary direct mail announces itself as direct mail before it is opened — window face, printed address, indicia, matched artwork. Handwritten direct mail does not, so it is assessed as personal correspondence during the two seconds when the recipient decides whether to open it.
Is this suitable for cold acquisition, or only existing customers?
Both, but the arithmetic differs. Warm lists respond far better and justify the cost more easily. Cold acquisition works when the value of one new customer is high — property, finance, health, professional services — and fails when you are selling something with a small margin.
Do you handle the whole campaign or just the writing?
Either. We can write the pieces and send them to you, or handle the campaign through to lodgement with Australia Post. What we do not do is write your strategy for you — though we will tell you if we think the plan will not work.
How far ahead do we need to book?
It depends on volume and on what else is in the schedule at the time. We will give you a firm production window with your quote rather than a general promise on a web page.
Can we test handwritten against our current printed pack?
Yes, and it is the right way to buy this. Split the list, hold everything else constant, and change only the production method. A 500-piece test against a 500-piece control will tell you more than any case study we could show you.
Keep reading
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Handwritten letters
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Handwritten vs printed
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Financial services
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Pricing
Work out an indicative per-piece and total cost for a handwritten campaign. Change quantity, …
Start with a split test
Take an existing campaign, split the list, and change only the production method. It is the cheapest way to find out whether this channel is worth your budget — and we would rather you knew than guessed.