By Eniko DeLisle, Social Media Director, Sales-Link, Inc.
I was raised in a family of prolific letter writers. My family immigrated to the United States at a time when letter writing was still in vogue, and my mother hand-wrote a dozen multi-page letters a month to keep relatives abreast of our progress in our new home. My father even wrote bi-weekly to his mom, and everyone wrote back with the same frequency. Christmas cards went out to forty friends and relatives annually; Easter cards, Valentines, and birthday greetings flew out of the house non-stop.
As an adult, I initially kept up with the tradition of cards, though long letters were few, but no one in my family would ever take a vacation without honoring every member with a postcard. It’s just what we did. So what happened?
Why is it that these days, when I do sit down to write a birthday card to a friend, my hand cramps up by the second sentence? Typewriters replaced pens, word processors replaced typewriters, computers became faster, and texts are now accepted as the most welcomed form of communications.
Today, anything written must be utterly entertaining to get people to read it. For many, the written word as a form of communication has all but dwindled to a series of emojis. “In this era of instantaneous communication, a handwritten letter is a rare and wondrous item,” writes The Letter Writers Alliance, an optimistic group, dedicated to preserving letter writing as an art form.
In the business world, we take a stand to keep on writing, and preserve this form of communications. We write messages in note cards to our customers, and to those we are in the process of solidifying a business relationship with. We write blogs to explain our customers’ services, and to inspire others, but it is not easy to capture the attention of our readers. -All the more the reason to persevere.
One way we embellish our articles is through visuals. We honor and embrace the written word, but we add vibrant graphics to our narrative. We do this weekly in our articles, as well our social tweets and postings. These messages may be short and sweet, but we think about how to create a powerful message in a few words, and sometimes that is not a bad thing.
Fellow salespeople - pick up a pen and handwrite a few thank-you letters to colleagues, or potential buyers of your products or services. Don’t think that those in the biotech and pharma industries are too serious to appreciate nice stationary and thoughtful words. Statisticians, programmers, clinical technicians, and managers alike, all welcome the personal touch of a handwritten note. I think you will be surprised at the responses you will receive, if not today, in the very near future.
If you need more inspiration, check out these snail-mail lovers’ blogs:
Some great tips on pairing limited words with eye-catching visuals on our blog:
Make Your Social Media Posts Pop!
And don’t forget about content! Read quick tips here:
Write Letters Like You’re Talking to Your Prospects
Finally, if you want to do something really nice, drop a note to one of our troops or military caregiver:
