Four ways handwritten letters can get you more priceless referrals

Handwriting could be the ultimate lost art in the modern world. Yet it has the potential to be a really beautiful thing.

When you write by hand, with care, your note has the greatest potential to stand out and be remembered.

Write clearly

You must be able to read what has been written - this doesn’t mean doing non-joined-up writing like a young child, but each word needs to be in a straight line, with clear ascenders (d,b, t, b) above and descenders (p, g, f, j) below. If your natural handwriting doesn’t make these clear, try writing more slowly or in larger letters.

If writing in a straight line is a challenge - use a light box with lined paper behind as a template.

Use a nice pen size

Choose a pleasing width of the pen line. Some people like writing with a chunky line, others prefer a fine line. Whichever, make sure you like it and that your natural handwriting looks stylish in that format. You can try experimenting with different thicknesses of nib and different ink colours - I like turquoise and brown ink.

Choose a heavy card or paper

The default paper most of us see in offices is 90gsm. That means the weight of the paper is 90 grammes per square metre.  It’s photocopier paper and is pretty flimsy. 

By choosing a thicker paper your letter will stand out. I have two boxes of paper for my printer - the standard and a thicker cream-coloured ream just for when I want my letters to get noticed.

Buy matching envelopes

Choosing a pleasing note card or post card with a coloured border and a coloured envelope your recipient will be intrigued and want to open the envelope. I have found a postcard sized card with a moss green border, I added our business name at the top and got the back printed in the green colour. The joy of a small sized card is that you don’t have to write much either!

The effect you can create with nice stationery adds to the effect of the words you choose to write.

Lastly, try writing a few trial runs on scrap paper before you use the nice cards - then you won’t make mistakes and have to start again.