I mean, how about handwriting a note, and including it as a automated shipping option in your fulfillment house?

I guess you could automate it... but the point is that it's personal and handwritten. 4 a day isn't that hard...

I am just not able to digest the thought that I have to send a note myself..sorry if you didn't intend to say that.

Deep

In your reply 20 you wrote: "That's why you sort it by the highest paying customers first. If you have tons of customers, you're still only mailing out to the top 20 or top 50."

Consider this: who pays the bills? The top 20 or top 50 -- or the hundreds of people who DO buy although they might not need all your products.... Worth considering.

Thanks for the fantastic tip! Thing is, and what leaves me feeling significantly less confident in the solution you suggested, is that the sign-up form on the front page of your "Big Marketing Online" website is powered by Aweber.

I'm confused... That's the type of ESP that I'm looking to MOVE AWAY from, not embrace further.

@Robert:

In a lot of ways my comment, while relevant to list building, might seem off-topic as it relates to thank you notes. Anyway, maybe this is a FANTASTIC idea for a future blog post regarding list building. Talk about what people should know about using server based scripts like List Mail Pro, PHP List, heck, maybe even Auto Response Plus.

This is a VERY critical topic that I think you, as someone who works "outside" the ESP system, could probably address in some detail.

You da man! Thanks!!

I think it is good if you could write personal thank you notes to your customers, but as the number get bigger and bigger I don't think you can really do it, can you ?

That's why you sort it by the highest paying customers first. If you have tons of customers, you're still only mailing out to the top 20 or top 50.

Great Post Plank

Thanks for sharing your experience. I think it is good if you could write personal thank you notes to your customers, but as the number get bigger and bigger I don't think you can really do it, can you ?

Ab Majid

Coming from a position of sending out over a million enclosures a year by mail (with the directly employed staff to match) I can tell you that online marketing is WAAYYY easier and cheaper but... getting in direct contact with your live customers every so often, as Robert writes here, is incredibly powerful.

A good half way house I found was to hand write notes onto already printed pieces. That then got their attention enough to actually read the letter or advertising material. Either way, yes, it absolutely does work and is well worth doing.

On the PayPal thing, you do have the option to select an alternative address at the checkout and I always select one that doesn't accept mail if it's a digital only product and they're asking for my physical address. I just take the view that there's enough of my details floating around in cyberspace without adding to it (having had two unauthorized payments taken from my card already this year - one for over 3000 bucks - I'm getting a bit twitchy OK).