When is the last time you took the time to...

1. Find a card,
2. Think about what you wanted to say to a person,
3. Wrote that note down,
4. Sealed that note in an envelope,
5. Addressed it,
6. Put a stamp on it, and
7. Dropped it in the mailbox?

That is a lot of steps compared to the way we usually communicate with people via texts or email. This age-old way of communication has lost much of its appeal due to it being extremely slow and costly to the person that is sending it.

While handwritten notes are making their way out of this world for things like email and texting, there is still room in this world for their existence. Notes sent by mail are a great way of saying thank you: thanks for the interview, thank you for your business, or thank you for the gift and is sure to break through the day to day clutter of technological communications. Before we get into why it is so important, let’s dig a little deeper into why it is a dying trend.

Why Don’t We Write Handwritten Notes Anymore?

The short answer: time. All of us do not have the time to sit down and write a note to someone. It’s not only that but then they have to write an address on it and a return address. Then putting a $.49 sticker on it to have the information get there in 3-5 business days. Years ago, that was quite the feat to be able to communicate with someone far away in 3-5 days. Now (thanks to email and text messages), that is the pace of a snail hence the slang term snail mail.

Nowadays, we can just get on our computers or smartphones and in no time, no money, and no energy, we can send a note to whoever to say thank you for your business. Sure it gives the same message physically and theoretically but below the surface, a handwritten note says so much more and that is where its place is in today’s world.

What Does A Handwritten Note ACTUALLY Say?

To a person receiving a handwritten note, it means so much more to them than an email or text message. A note says to the person that you thought so much of them that you went through the steps to send this note. Also, one thing that should be obvious but clearly isn’t is that, NO ONE GETS HANDWRITTEN NOTES ANYMORE.

That speaks volumes to the person receiving the note. Remember when email was new and getting an email was a big deal because you got almost zero emails a day. Because no one sends or receives mail anymore, this gives you the opportunity to bring back some of that same excitement but in the opposite way.

In addition, the thank you note says a lot about how the future will be with the person sending the note. It tells you that he or she cares about this relationship and in the future you will be a real person with a pulse and feelings rather than an automated email setting.

When Should You Write A Note?

Obviously, if something is timely and important, you should certainly send an email but a note is a great and easy way to say thank you to the individual. If there is a new client to the firm, send them a quick note that says, “we appreciate your business and we are excited to be working with you.” It is really as simple as that and when they get it, you will stand out as someone who really cares about the relationship (because you absolutely do).

So while writing a note may be a pain in the moment, your clients and business partners will appreciate this unexpected and unique gesture of saying thank you for your business and will be sure to break through the clutter of email and texting. This could lead to a better working relationship, better outcomes, and hopefully continued business.