Handwritten Thank-Yous

Edit: Read a related post from Fleck.com blog here]

When was the last time you sent a handwritten thank-you note? To your grandma, maybe, when your mom made you?

Check out this article from LifeHack.org about the value of standing out by writing hand-written thank you notes. Chris Brogan makes an excellent point--if you want an easy way to stand out to contacts and clients, why not send handwritten notes? They're unique simply because no one does this any more!

Whenever I have the chance to hear the estimable Bob Burg speak on networking and endless referrals, I always am reminded that my favorite bit of his talk is when he walks through exactly how to create a cardstock card that will serve as thank-you note stationery as well as, well, shameless self-promotion. And invariably someone in the audience will raise a hand and say, "Or you could just send an email; that's what I do."

Right. That's what everyone does. It's fast, free, lazy, less personal and requires a minimum of effort. Nothing wrong with email, of course; I use it for follow-up all the time. But the whole point of having thank-you notes reflect your brand is that they're not easy. They take work to write, stamp and seal. They show a small level of extra attention you're willing to give your contacts/clients that, most likely, no one else is bothering to do.

And Chris has some wonderful extension/branding ideas in the above article--like maybe cutting out pages of an old comic book and using card stock to fashion them into a creative thank-you note. I'm thinking of other cute ideas--a realtor might cut up maps of her town, attach them to cardstock and send the message, "I'll go all over town to sell for you!" Or someone who sells cell phone could decorate a card with used, cut-up calling cards.

Me, I just have my photo, logo and contact info printed in the upper right-hand corner of the card. Not as wildly creative, to be sure, but it's amazing how many contacts have been blown away by my simple, black-and-white cards--they're always delighted to have received something personal in their office mail.

So how can you make an impression on your contacts and clients? What can you to stand out from everyone else?