There’s no shortage of ways to get someone’s attention today.
Emails. Ads. Sliding into DMs. Automation stacked on automation.
And yet, despite all of that, gifts with handwritten cards continue to outperform almost everything else when the goal is simple: be remembered.
At Ghosthandwriter, this isn’t something we believe in theoretically. It’s something we’ve tested repeatedly using our own client and prospect lists.
And it works.
The Problem With “Just Sending a Card” OR “Just Sending Swag”
Handwritten cards are powerful, but I’ve realized that on their own, they’re often still competing with a stack of mail that gets opened quickly…and forgotten just as fast.
So I started testing with human psychology, primarily around more sensory engagement that includes smell, touch, and taste. (This is why we love sending food items!)
I’ve found that:
The card gets their attention.
The gift reinforces their memory.
That’s why we’re moving towards gifts with handwritten cards, not cards in isolation. (Although we still do those, too!)
Either one is a force to be reckoned with on its own, but when the two work together, the impact is greater than the sum of its parts.
What Makes a “Good” Gift for Handwritten Campaigns?
Not all gifts belong in the mail and not all gifts enhance the message.
The best gifts with handwritten cards or letters tend to be:
- Useful
- Easy to ship
- Brand-aligned (but not necessarily branded items)
- Modest, not flashy
- Weather appropriate (ie we wouldn’t send someone chocolate in the Summer)
- Supported by a handwritten message that actually makes sense
We’ve found that a thoughtful, well-paired gift in the $4–$10 range routinely outperforms expensive branded swag, especially when the goal is brand recognition, not promotion.
Why We’re Moving Ghosthandwriter Further Into Gifting
Ghosthandwriter started with robotic handwritten cards.
But once we began pairing them with small, intentional gifts (and using that approach ourselves) we became more convinced that this was the way to go.
We weren’t just retaining clients more consistently. They were sending us referrals.
And we were starting conversations (and conversions) with prospects who would have otherwise ignored us.
That’s when it clicked:
Gifts with handwritten cards or letters aren’t three strategies. They’re one.
Retention.
Referrals.
Prospecting.
Bada bang, Bada boom!
Consistency is the Name of the Game
But I’ll be honest when I present this idea to clients, they’re really hesitant because of the increased cost of shipping and sourcing gifts.
I can understand that.
What usually happens, however, is they’ve been on the receiving end of this strategy, and I’m convincing them of it’s effectiveness because they’re the guinea pig. Respectfully.
Eventually, the consistency (or lunacy) becomes too hard to ignore and they concede…I mean, they turn from prospects to client.
(This is especially true when the reciprocity principle is in play: the natural human tendency to want to return a favor when someone does something kind, thoughtful, or generous for us.)
Final Thought
We recently had a client sign up for this strategy and here’s what he said: This has been a unique and fun way to stand out, and even though it’s built for the long game, we saw meaningful results almost immediately after the first mailing.
If you’re sending mail and hoping for results, don’t ask:
“How can we send more?”
Ask instead:
“How can we send better?”
That’s why we believe gifts with handwritten notes aren’t a trend, they’re a return to something that’s always worked. And it’s exactly where Ghosthandwriter is headed.
Share the same beliefs? Let’s jump on a call to discuss your campaign.