How often do you send a note in the mail? I’m not talking about email. I’m talking about using the good old fashioned United States Postal Service.
During my travels over the last few weeks, I’ve made it a point to buy some postcards along the way and mail them to friends and family. It has become a fun game to pick up the cards and find a mailbox or Post Office in the cities I pass through.
My friends and family enjoy the little notes we send. My daughter, Megan, said it’s so nice to get something fun and personal like that. Her normal mail consists of mostly bills, or nothing at all. She said she felt special when she opened up her mailbox to see a surprise note inside.
Mailing cards seems like a thing in the past. In our digital age, our mailboxes are collecting cobwebs. Even your bills have the option of coming to you electronically. When you receive a piece of mail, it’s tangible. You have the pleasure of opening the package. Sometimes you have the anticipation of wondering what’s inside, just like the feeling you get when you open a present.
The digital age has made snail mail special. There isn’t as much traffic there. With the potential power of greater impact with direct mail, why don’t more of us use it? Perhaps it’s the cost, but my guess is that it takes more effort, therefore more time.
Whether it’s a thank you, congratulations, sympathy, thinking of you, or a newsletter, I encourage you to make someone feel special by getting your message through the mail.
I’ve always been a fan of sending messages through the mail, but it seems that my busy schedule gets in the way. Does this happen to you? You hear about an event in someone’s life, you are thinking of them, your intentions are good of sending them a note, but the note doesn’t get done. When you think of it again, the opportunity has passed.
You know what? There’s nothing wrong with implementing a process and delegating the task to stay current.
My postcard mailing during my travels has reminded me the importance of mail and how special it makes the recipient feel. I’ve realized that it’s time to improve on the processes I’ve established in my personal and business life and to make sending personal messages through direct mail a priority.
I’d like to hear from you. How often do you get something special in the mail and what feelings come over you? How often do you send something special?
Really…good old fashioned snail mail means that much!