What is your mailing address?

At this year’s Radio Show, thousands connected and shared their contact information. As I was sorting through collected business cards in preparation for sending follow-up cards and notes, a disturbing trend revealed itself: About 40% of them did not include a mailing address. You know, that “snail mail” stuff that nobody uses anymore? Worse, I went to the websites of these folks to locate addresses in the “Contact Us” section and had no luck there, either!

The fact that “nobody” uses snail mail anymore is exactly why you should love it. It will help you stand out from everyone else who is face-planted in an electronic device.

Every year the US Postal Service publishes a report: The Household Diary Study; Mail Use & Attitudes. If you’d like a copy of the 2015 report, EMAIL me and I’ll be happy to send you one. The 2015 report shows a 6% decline in personal mail and an 11.3% decline in “Non-Holiday” cards. The average person receives a handwritten note every 12 weeks!

Think of the difference you would make for your top 5 advertisers or prospects if you stopped right now and wrote them a handwritten thank-you note.

If you’re like me, you have a file folder called ”Thank-You Notes.” I’ve added 3 new notes to the file from people I met at the Radio Show. It feels good to get a piece of mail in someone’s handwriting. It shows they took the extra time to think about you and write a simple note. It sure stood out in today’s “snail mail;” more so than being one of the more than 120 emails in my in-box.

Be different. What’s old is new again. Write a handwritten note today and see what kind of reaction you get.

Think Big, Make Big Things Happen!

Jeff Schmidt is SVP of Professional Development for the Radio Advertising Bureau. You can reach him at jschmidt@rab.com or 972-753-6765. Other ways to connect: Twitter: @JeffreyASchmidt or LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/schmidtjeffrey.