Tis the season for thank you notes

It's that time of year again. Gifts and well wishes from family and friends. Often from people we too infrequently. Others may get a simple email or text message from us. But why don't you go retro on people this year? Why not send a personal note?

I have found in both my professional and personal dealings that a note can often do more for business than any other form of marketing. As for your family, who wouldn't want a nice hand written note from you? Chris Brogan has written about thank you notes, and a recent article in the Wall Street Journal described the basics of thank you note writing. Jeffery Fox, author of How To Become CEO even devoted a chapter to sending hand written notes. Face it, if you want to stand out you need to start writing again.

I have two versions of personalized stationary. One for work and the other for more personal messages. There are all sorts of vendors for personalized stationary but the best I have found is Classic Communications. Barbara runs the place from her apartment in California. Her stationary is top notch, the card stock is thick, and the lettering is all raised. In other words, this is quality stuff. Her prices are also quite reasonable, customer service is a breeze and shipping is fast. What more could you ask for?

Does sending personal notes really work? Well I have sent several notes with some thank you gifts and they always stand out. Why let yourself succumb to the electronic world? Be retro and start sending hand written notes.

Do you write notes and letters? How do people respond to them?

Photo credit: Jonathan_W