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Authentic Communication with your Donors

Posted on by EmMa Matern
INTRODUCTION

The nonprofit sector is in the business of people-helping-people. What better motivates people-helping-people than being authentic!?

This blog contains vital information about maintaining authentic communication with your donors. The 3 main takeaways are: Be true and consistent, attend to your donors, and create personal experiences. Adding personalized and specific details to your communication methods will make all the difference.

 

BE TRUE AND CONSISTENT

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All nonprofit organizations have a cause that they are passionate about. Before you communicate with your donors, you need to establish a set of values and beliefs that your organization follows. Make sure when you set up those values, you are being true to yourself and to your cause. To have authentic communication, you need to BE AUTHENTIC.

Once you identify your core principles, you must represent them in every message and any form of communication. You may not be popular with everyone, but at least you will be showing community members that you are true and consistent. The main point is to stick to your set of values and beliefs, but there are more Principles for Authentic Donor Communications that Build Relationships.

 

ATTEND TO YOUR DONORS

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Make sure to put effort into focusing on your donors. Remember, without your donors you can’t support your cause! Maintain relationships with donors by consistently communicating and creating opportunities to connect with them.

There are various ways to stay connected with your donors and maintain authentic communication. You can schedule regular meetings in person or virtually to provide the opportunity to interact with them. This is the time to have discussions about your organization’s progress and get the opinion of the members. You can ask questions like: Why are you passionate about the cause? What is your preferred method of communication? How would you like to take action?

You can also connect with your donors by sending them information via digital and physical communication methods.

 

WAYS TO CONNECT WITH YOUR DONORS

Social Media
Community Events
Newsletters
Impact Reports
Thank You Notes
Website Blog
Google Forms Questionnaire

 

The main focus should always be on your donors, so you can build authentic relationships.

 

CREATE PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

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To keep up with authentic communication, you can create personal experiences! How do you do that? Well, make sure to keep donor profiles and use their names when sending emails, newsletters, donation cards, impact reports, and postcards. It is also important to consistently send messages to donors and volunteers to let them know your organization is working hard for the cause.

A little bit of effort goes a long way, especially when you want to create personalized  experiences. Emails and text messages only go so far and are often overlooked, so it is important to seek other forms of communication. Sending handwritten note cards and direct-mail packages addressed to specific donors, tells your members that you value their support.

 

CONCLUSION

To summarize, figure out what your nonprofit is passionate about helping, stick to your values and beliefs, focus on including your donors, and organize personalized experiences that show your donors how much effort you put in.

BONUS TIP

Put the effort in and delight your donors with a handwritten note!

Want to level up your direct mail? Contact us.

6 Ways to Shake Up How You Say ‘Thank You!’

Posted on by Ilan Mann

It isn’t always what you say that matters nearly as much as how you say it. That is something businesses, charities, non-profits, and individuals need to understand when it comes to saying “thank you.” To give you some help, here are six methods that can completely transform the way you say thank you to others, setting the stage for more robust, more meaningful relationships.

1. Send Handwritten Thank-You Cards

It’s just two little words. But saying “thank you” can shape the scope of future relationships, business partnerships, and friendships. In other words, saying thank you mattress – much more than you may realize.

This is why handwritten thank-you notes carry so much weight in our almost fully digital world. Not convinced? Here are a few reasons why it’s better to send handwritten thank-you notes than their digital equivalent:

  • In a digital world, handwritten notes and messages stand out.
  • Taking the time to write the message makes it look and feel more personal and heartfelt.
  • Carries more meaning to those receiving the thank-you message.
  • A handwritten note comes across as more thoughtful on your part.

As you can see, there is a lot to love and appreciate about the beauty and benefit of sending handwritten thank-you notes to customers, donors, business associates, and those who have given you gifts or to whom you are grateful for any number of reasons. They can make a world of difference in job interviews, scholarship applications, and so much more.

2. Be Specific About Why You are Thanking Them

Brevity may be the soul of wit, at least according to Shakespeare. But it is specificity that is the soul of gratitude. Be specific about why you are sending a thank-you card if you want your card to carry more weight and meaning to those receiving it.

If you’re thanking donors, mention the specific monetary donation, donation of time, or donation of items (dog food to animal shelters, for instance).

If it is for your business, mention specific details to make the message meaningful and ensure that those receiving your thank-you message understand it was intended for them, for their particular gift, and not a blanket response sent to everyone.

The goal of handwritten notes when email and form letters are so predominant is to make those receiving the notes feel special and appreciated. Make sure the content of your letter or message serves that purpose. Specificity helps.

3. Include Something Extra

This is your opportunity to really stand out and be memorable when sending thank-you notes to your target audience. It doesn’t have to cost you much at all, other than a bit of time and creativity to send a little something extra, but it can carry a world of meaning to the person receiving your thank-you message.

For instance, businesses might send a gift for a specific discount, free shipping, or some other perk concerning future orders. Or, you could send a particular item you offer or a promotional product you reserve for VIP clients, trade shows, expos, and other similar events. The nicer the item, the more weight it will carry when it comes to being memorable. However, you do not have to spend loads of money to make your message feel heartfelt.

For non-profits and charities, that little something extra can include photographs of their donation dollars in action. Whether it is photos of wells being dug for clean drinking water, children being educated around the world, gift bags for cancer patients, or something else entirely, people love to see their good deeds in action. Use this as an opportunity to show them the results of their donations.

4. Address Recipient by Name and Include Personal Details (If Possible)

Relationship-building is vital in the world today. Relationship marketing is undoubtedly a valuable tool for marketing goods and services. It is an essential tool when working with donors for charitable organizations or non-profits.

It is a two-way street, though: you have to get to know the people who support your business or cause – and you must allow them to get to know you.

Make your thank-you notes personal by addressing them by name and revealing personalized details about why their gifts, time, talent, donations, help, etc. are so meaningful to you on a personal level. It may be business for you, but it is often personal for them. Giving them a little bit of yourself in return helps them feel engaged in the process and better inclined to participate again, whether through donations, purchases, or some other method.

5. Communicate Your Gratitude

This one is a little more difficult for the average person. However, it is something that will transform the way you say “Thank you!” It will also kick the impact of your thank you message up a notch or two to those who receive the message.
Saying “thank you” is important. However, when you make them understand how truly grateful you are and the other person’s impact on your life, business, cause, etc., the message becomes more meaningful. They feel your gratitude because they understand better what their gift, time, attention, purchase, or donation meant to you.

When people feel appreciated for their efforts, no matter how large or small, they are more likely to go out of their way to make an effort again. In many cases, they will even double their efforts in the feature because they felt your gratitude and appreciation.

6. Showcase Your Personality

Another great thing about a “Thank you!” note is that it is a more informal means of communication. That allows you to showcase your personality a little. Whether you (and by extension, your business or organization) have a fantastic sense of humour, are a little bit of a geek, or are a total nerd at heart, let your personality shine when sending thank-you notes. This helps your audience feel a greater kinship with you and aids in the relationship-building process. The more of your personality they see, the better it is for your future interactions.

Now all you have to do is get started. Our writing services help will take your “thank you” notes to the next level. We can help you write authentic handwritten thank-you notes at scale that stand out from the crowd and make an impression with your audience. Contact us today to learn more.

Want to level up your direct mail? Contact us.

Fanmail Friday: Getting Attention With Custom Letters

Posted on by Ilan Mann

Every day at Postalgia, we help clients engage their target audience by creating handwritten, personalized letters at scale. We have a fundamental belief that to stand out from the steady stream of impersonal digital correspondence, nothing beats a handwritten letter mailed in an envelope.

But we also like to have fun. So when our rockstar social media manager EmMa came up with a brilliant idea to do both, we knew it was worth doing.

Enter Fan Mail Fridays.

The concept was fairly simple: one of our Postalgia team members would choose a celebrity they admire, then write a letter to them telling them why. After the team member dictated the letter, we would then use our proprietary technology to write out a handwritten letter to that celebrity.

As the name suggests, every Friday EmMa creates a short video about the letter, including an interview with the team member. We would then post the video to our social media channels, tagging the celebrity in the process.

The results were amazing. Not only did our followers enjoy the videos, the the famous recipients took notice of our team’s fanmail.

The former captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Darcy Tucker, responded to Leor’s letter about how he loved watching Tucker play by sharing the letter on his Instagram story feed:

 

A letter from one of our amazing software developers, Chris, was liked by GRAMMY-nominated electronic music producer Haywyre:

 

Motivational speaker Spencer West responded with a comment to our teammate Stuti’s letter of appreciation to Mr. West:

 

And Kim’s Convenience star (and X-Wing pilot) Paul Sun-Hyung Lee liked Abbie’s letter thanking him for being an inspiration and a role model. Mr. Lee also took the time to comment back:

 

Despite being constantly tagged by fans every day, many of the celebrities that received these letters took the time to respond.

Why? Because handwritten letters get noticed. We see it time and again with our non-profit, small business and charitable clients. In a crowded field of impersonal electronic messages, a handwritten letter stands out.

Handwritten letters may take a little more planning and effort (less so when you have robots helping you), but the upside is huge.
Our FanMail Friday is just one example. Imagine what impact you can have on your audience.

Want to level up your direct mail? Contact us.

Four Handwritten Letters From History That Had A Big Impact

Posted on by Ilan Mann

Around these parts, we are big believers in the power of the written word. In fact, our whole business model centres on the belief that handwritten letters can change your business, non-profit or charity. Now, in the age of email, text messages and 140-character tweets, the idea of letters having a significant impact on issues of the day might seem quaint. But throughout history, correspondence has been a powerful means for shifting public opinion and influencing world events.

From the Declaration of Independence to Guy Fawkes being ratted out via a letter sent by Lord Monteagle, there is no shortage of notable examples from the last few centuries. Here are four examples where letters had a surprising impact on history.

Alexander Hamilton Delivers America’s First Sex Scandal

If you’ve seen the award-winning play Hamilton, you know that the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton wasn’t without scandal. But Hamilton might have eventually become the President of the United States if it wasn’t for a blackmail plot that went public.

According to Written in History: Letters that Changed the World, the ongoing love affair between Hamilton and his married lover Maria Reynolds was discovered by Reynolds’ husband, James. Rather than challenging Hamilton to a duel – which was a common way to settle scores in those days – Reynolds sent a series of letters blackmailing Hamilton, saying he would implicate Hamilton in a forgery scheme Reynolds was embroiled in.

As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton had to maintain a high level of integrity if he were to remain in his role. So he has no choice but to privately share the letters as proof that he has no involvement in the forgery. Sadly for Hamilton, the letters were leaked to the public by political rival Thomas Jefferson, who used the letters to destroy Hamilton’s reputation – ending Hamilton’s plans for higher office.

Abraham Lincoln Gets Some Life-Saving Advice On His Beard

As one letter sinks the ambitions of one Presidential hopeful, another brought those ambitions to life. The 16th US President Abraham Lincoln has one of the more memorable faces in US history, thanks mainly to his signature beard. But it was an 11-year old girl that prompted Lincoln to grow the beard in the first place – which had a major impact on his political career.

According to reports from that time, Lincoln had a bit of an image problem. In 1860, the Houston Telegraph wrote that the Lincoln was “the leanest, lankiest, most ungainly mass of legs, arms, and hatchet face ever strung upon a single frame.” The Charleston Mercury deemed him a “horrid-looking wretch.”

Enter little Grace Bedell, who wrote to Lincoln with some style advice: “…if you let your whiskers grow…you would look a great deal better for your face is so thin. All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President.” He won the presidency without the beard, but Lincoln decided to grow one anyway, possibly to differentiate himself from his predecessors.

On his journey to Washington, D.C. for his inauguration on March 4, 1861, Lincoln got word that secessionists in Baltimore were preparing his assassination. He’d been clean-shaven until the previous November, so most of the public hadn’t seen him with his now full beard. His new beard likely served to shield his identity, allowing him to make it safely to the Capitol, where he was sworn in as President.

Four Polish Girl Guides Inform The World About The Holocaust

The horrors of life in Nazi concentration camps during World War II are well known now, but at the time, getting news out of the camps was not only difficult but also potentially fatal. Letters did come in and out, but they were, predictably, filtered by guards. However, four women were able to get some letters out of Ravensbruck and to their relatives.

Wanda Wojtasik, Janina Iwanska, Krystyna Iwanska, and Krystyna Czyz, four Polish Girl Guides who had landed in the camps for their involvement with the Polish Underground, devised the scheme. They were permitted one letter each month, and knowing that SS guards would read everything they wrote, they penned two letters: one in ordinary ink and the other in urine, which dried and became visible only when heated.

One letter alerted her brother to a secret code hidden in the letters. Then they used the invisible “ink” to provide specifics on the medical experiments performed on them, the mass executions, and the women sent to work in the concentration camps’ brothels.
The letters were sent to the Polish resistance first, then to the Vatican, the Red Cross, and the Polish government-in-exile, according to The First News. All four women survived, and their letters were presented as evidence in the Nuremberg trials where 11 Ravensbruck SS guards were sentenced to death.

Nelson Mandela Gives South African PM A Choice

In 1960, under siege by most of the world after 69 Africans were killed during an anti-apartheid demonstration, the government of South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth to become a Republic. Nelson Mandela organized a conference to discuss the anti-apartheid response. Simon Sebag Montefiore shares that before being imprisoned on Robben Island for 27 years after being charged and convicted of conspiring to overthrow the state, Mandela wrote to South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd and offered Verwoerd an ultimatum:

“By…abandoning the repressive and dangerous policies of your Government you may still save our country from economic dislocation and ruin and from civil strife and bitterness.” Mandela laid out the African National Congress’s plans if Verwoerd refused: “Failure by your government to call the Convention makes it imperative for us to launch a full-scale and country-wide campaign for non-co-operation with your Government.”

Verwoerd refused, instead deciding to have Mandela and his ANC allies jailed, tried and imprisoned. This choice made Mandela an even more potent symbol for the anti-apartheid movement across the globe.

Bonus: JFK Sends For Help Via Coconut

John F. Kennedy wasn’t president for long before his assassination, but his legacy is undeniable. His time in office might not have occurred at all if it hadn’t been for a very tiny message carved into the shell of a coconut. On August 2, 1943, Kennedy was at the helm of a patrol boat in the South Pacific. A Japanese destroyer attacked that boat. JFK swam three kilometres to the relative safety of an island, carrying an injured crewmate with him.

When Kennedy and the other survivors recovered and regrouped, they headed off for a larger island, which was mostly deserted. They came across two men from the Solomon Islands. According to the Smithsonian, JFK carved the following message into a coconut shell: “NAURO ISL… COMMANDER… NATIVE KNOWS POS’IT… HE CAN PILOT… 11 ALIVE… NEED SMALL BOAT… KENNEDY.”

Kennedy handed it to the men who swam across Japanese-occupied seas to bring it to the Allies. Kennedy and his crew were saved, and the coconut was the sole memento of his service that he preserved after WWII.

Write A Historical Letter Today

It’s not a simple thing to write a letter that will make its way into the annals of history, but you never know until you try. As we’ve shared on this blog, handwritten letters can have a big impact on your target audience. But who knows? Maybe the next letter you write will be ready 100 years from now.

Want to level up your direct mail? Contact us.

7 Most Common Business Thank You Note Mistakes

Posted on by Ilan Mann

It’s common knowledge that a thank-you note is an essential part of business etiquette, but believe it or not, there are many ways to do it wrong. As we have written about here and here, there is nothing more effective than a handwritten thank you card when it comes to winning new clients and increasing sales in your business. And in today’s digital age, sending a printed note is even more important.

However, many business owners don’t take advantage of this key business practice to the degree that they should. There are many reasons for this that we will discuss in this article, but today I want to focus on the most common business thank-you note mistakes.

While we are big fans of thank-you notes as a general rule, misunderstandings over proper etiquette and even when to send a card can weaken or even harm customer relationships. To avoid the seven most common thank-you note mistakes, read on.

Not sending the note soon enough

The sooner your company sends a note after any transaction or touchpoint, the more likely it will be read and remembered by the person who received it. It might seem like a small thing, but in today’s busy world where people get hundreds or thousands of emails every day (and forget most of them), this simple step can make all the difference.

If your company is in the habit of sending thank you notes more than 72 hours after every job or transaction, chances are that many recipients will forget who sent it and why. The sooner a personalized note arrives, the higher its impact – especially if they received hundreds of other generic emails, text messages and memes in between.

Sending a generic note without any personalization or connection
We get it. A form letter is easy to replicate and send out. Just print and mail. If that’s all the company is doing with a thank-you note, it may not cut it. Sure, a form letter might work for the first few customers who receive it, but after that, recipients will see it for what it is: an automated gesture to boost your business’s sales without any genuine care or connection behind it.

Instead, make sure your thank-you note is tailored to the individual. Personalization will inspire a response and have recipients seeing your business as an interested party in their lives, not a faceless vendor sending out blank cards for marketing purposes. Include as many details as you can, including the customer’s name, a mention of the product or service and the date of the transaction.

Making The Thank-You Note All About You

The intended purpose of a thank-you note is to make customers feel appreciated, especially if you already provided an exceptional product or level of service. However, what you want to avoid is making them feel like they are getting an advertisement from your business.

That means the focus of the thank-you note should remain squarely on the customer, not on your company. Sure, you should acknowledge the importance of your products and services – indirectly. But a thank-you note is not an opportunity to brag about what makes your company great.

Instead, think of this: if someone did something nice for you (e.g., bought a product or service from you), would you want that person to talk about him or herself the whole time? Probably not. The same is true for thank-you notes: make sure they focus on the customer and their needs, not you.

Going On Too Long

When it comes to thank-you notes, less is more. You want to keep your thank-you note short and sweet – preferably less than 200 words. Long paragraphs and multiple pages are too much, even for a wonderful customer. If you feel that you want to say more than you have room for in your note, that’s okay. Just send a shorter thank-you note and explain that there will be more follow up in the future.

Remember that every touchpoint creates an opportunity to strengthen (or weaken) the impression your customer has of your company – and you. So make sure that every word of your thank-you note is carefully chosen and adds value in some way.

Not Saying Anything Of Value

This is related to the last point. When you are sending a thank-you note, you should still be doing it for a reason. A good thank-you note can communicate a lot in few words. Use this as an opportunity to communicate what is important to you: trust, quality, originality, customer experience or meaning – to name a few areas.

This is an opportunity to express the values you hold dear and the beliefs you stand behind. If you’re not saying anything of value, then your customers probably aren’t getting anything out of reading your notes.

Writing An Email Instead Of A Handwritten Note

I doubt you are surprised that the team behind Postalgia would recommend handwritten notes. But admitted bias aside, there is value to sending your customers a physical, handwritten piece of mail.

There is a sense of appreciation and care that can just come through in the touch, feel and use of an actual thank-you note. It’s tactile. It feels good to receive it. It takes effort to send it. It’s memorable.

While email is generic and unremarkable, handwritten notes are the opposite. So if you have the time and ability to send a thank-you note in person, then your customers will appreciate it. Not only does this show that you care – which is what a thank-you note is all about – but also that you took the time to put effort into their appreciation of your business.

Forgetting to send out thank-you notes altogether

Lastly, one of the big mistakes is not sending out customer thank-you notes at all. This is a big no-no. Your customers deserve to know that their business means something to you.

If it just slips your mind, then make sure you get on top of things as soon as possible, preferably within 72 hours of the customer interaction, as per tip number one. And don’t tell yourself that they “won’t care”. They will.

Instead, think of the thank-you note as an opportunity. With just a few words, you can express gratitude for their business and all the ways it truly matters to you. Be genuine, be brief, and be grateful. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just focus on what’s important: your customers’ happiness.

Wrapping Up

Sending thank-you notes is a powerful tool for deepening your relationship with your customers. But it is important to do it right. By avoiding these seven mistakes, you can help ensure that you get the most out of this important activity.

Of course, the most important step is resolving to include thank-you notes as a key part of your sales process. Are there any other examples of common mistakes that you see small businesses make when writing their thank-you notes? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Want to level up your direct mail? Contact us.

Are Handwritten Notes Dead?

Posted on by Ilan Mann

In an age where we have lost the art of human interaction and replaced it with a keyboard, few things are as important as sending a handwritten note or letter.

Technology has made sending a “thank-you” easy as pie: all it takes is one click or swipe on our phone screens to send that message…but what does this say about human interaction?

In today’s fast-paced world where technology provides us with everything we need at just the push of a button, have humans become dehumanized by electronic devices?

The lackadaisical act of tapping out something short for someone leaves little room for creativity.

We’ve all received a post-purchase email or marketing message from some company you bought from or interacted with, and the message has been sent to dozens before you. Nothing is surprising or exciting about it at all – not even a notable typo!

This electronic correspondence may be easy and automatic but makes almost no impact on customers’ lives – which is exactly why everyone does it without thinking twice about it.

There was a time when handwritten thank you notes were the norm. Nowadays, it is much easier just to press “send” and be done with it.

I may be old school, but I prefer to send handwritten thank you cards than send an email. A potential client has spent 30-plus minutes of their valuable time with you, or they dropped their hard-earned money on your product. You should be thanking them appropriately.

And it’s not just because I’m biased. The numbers back me up.

Independent research shows that 87% of people trust traditional mail and consider it more believable than a computer-generated letter.

At the same time, online and email marketing scams have become increasingly prevalent during the past few years, so people are less like to open emails, let alone believe what they are saying.
Speaking of deliverability, the clever bots of email providers are getting more and more sophisticated in their spam filtering methods, making it difficult for your digital marketing collateral to reach its target.

Another reason is that few even bother to send a note at all. This is an excellent way to make your company stand out. People will open your letter, and it makes you more memorable in people’s minds.

Again, don’t take my word for it: 90% of mail is opened and read according to research conducted by the Data & Marketing Association. 70% percent of people who received a piece of mail from businesses gave the recipients better impressions about those companies compared with other forms of communication like email which only had 45%.

Handwritten, delivered mail is a wonderfully tangible experience. This is why people love to receive handwritten mail – it reminds recipients of their real-world relationships and gives them something real to hold on to.

Beyond that, when we talk to our clients – across every industry – the story is the same: people who use handwritten notes are almost always at the top of their industry. They have more clients and have deeper bonds with their customers compared to competitors who do not send letters.

Finally, I’m going to climb on my soapbox for a minute. It is always worthwhile if you can do anything to make the business world more friendly and pleasant. And I think we could all use a more human touch these days.

So if you’re looking for a way to get more out of your business, consider using handwritten notes. It’s an easy and affordable strategy that will help grow sales with less effort on your part.
And the next time someone says “handwritten is dead,” their business is probably on life support.

Want to level up your direct mail? Contact us.

Bring back pen pals!

Posted on by Ilan Mann

Imagine meeting your best friend for the first time, after sixty years.

That’s the story of Canadian Dolores Baily and Australian Lyn Carpenter. They started corresponding at age ten through a school pen pals program. They haven’t stopped writing since. They bonded over their mad love for the Beatles. They sent photos and little gifts to each other. They got through the teen years together. They celebrated marriage, had kids—writing letters to each other all the time. And in 2019, Dolores finally hopped on a flight to Sydney, Australia, to meet Lyn for the first time.

“She’s the friend I’ve had the longest,” as Carpenter put it. All made possible by the simple joy of writing a message and mailing a letter.

Reading this story got us thinking: Whatever happened to pen pals? We recently shared how writing letters fights depression. And the reason is: When you can’t have a conversation in person, a letter feels like a conversation apart. Letters are authentic – the deepest form of human connection, next to physical interaction. A reader will feel the investment of time, energy, and emotional output that went into a letter. Letters are intimate. Letters are personal—especially in an era of impersonal, easy methods of communication. Notes feel special and make the reader feel special.

Which brings us to our question: Whatever happened to pen pal programs? We’re happy to tell you—they never went away. Pen pal programs are in schools all over the world. Some pen pals never stopped writing to each other, like Dorothy or Lyn. Or Britain’s Nona Avery and Ohio’s Alice Powers, who have written more than 1,000 letters to each other over 72 years. Their letters followed every moment of their lives—including the sad passing of their husbands. “Obviously, we were both on hand to write letters of condolence and share our grief,” says Nona.

“I know Alice’s letters will comfort me. Our correspondence shares the sadness, ¬the happiness and everything in between.”

PBS Kids makes a strong case for the benefits of pen pal programs for young people.

  • Writing letters grow literacy skills. Communicating via letter is a great way for kids to practice writing skills. Not just the technicalities of writing, like grammar and structure, but also communicating effectively and compellingly with a real person.
  • Writing letters teaches kids patience. We live in the era of instantaneous gratification—the funny YouTube video, the video game, or the text message to your best friend, are always a click away. Part of the joy of letters is their infrequency. Once a kid sends a letter, they have to wait to receive a reply. The reply won’t come five minutes later, with a notification on their phone. In a time when good things happen faster, learning patience young is critical.
  • A pen pal is a great way to teach kids about other cultures. Many kids were and are fortunate to have pen pals in different countries. What an incomparable opportunity to explore other languages, other cultures—all the insights gathered from genuine friendship with those different from us. That’s a special experience for any young person, made possible by having a pen pal.

And pen pals aren’t something only kids enjoy. Adults like Dorothy, Lyn, None, and Alice want them too. The pen pals subreddit has 134,000 members as of this writing. We’re happy to say there are many websites, apps, and platforms where prospective pen pals pair up.

So, what happened to pen pals? That’s up to you. This is a time where we could all use a little more connection in our lives. Try doing it the old-fashioned way, made new again. Sit down and write a letter to a stranger. Watch how quickly a stranger can become a lifelong friend.

Want to level up your direct mail? Contact us.