The ROI of Handwritten Mail in 2025
Why physical notes are outperforming digital ads in the age of AI.
In a world flooded with AI-generated emails and spam, the human touch has become a luxury good. For marketing teams and sales professionals, this scarcity creates a massive opportunity.
The Open Rate Gap
- Email Marketing: Average open rate is ~20%.
- Direct Mail (Printed): Average open rate is ~40-50%.
- Handwritten Mail: Open rates can exceed 99%.
Why? Because curiosity is powerful. When someone sees a real stamp and a handwritten address on a high-quality envelope, they have to know who sent it. It bypasses the "junk mail" filter in our brains.
Trust and Retention
It's not just about opening the envelope; it's about how the recipient feels.
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." — Maya Angelou
Receiving a handwritten note signals that the sender invested time and effort. In client relationships (Real Estate, Wealth Management, SaaS Retention), this signal is worth more than any discount code.
Measuring Success
don't just send cards blindly. Track your campaigns:
- QR Codes: Include a personalized QR code in the card.
- PURLs: Use personal URLs (e.g., handwrite.de/john-doe).
- Follow-up: Send an email 3 days after the estimated delivery date: "Did you get my note?"
Handwrite's dashboard helps you track delivery so you can time your follow-ups perfectly.