Personalized Stationery

How long has it been since you have written or received a real note, the kind that comes on personalized stationery with a real signature? These days, almost everyone has access to e-mail and cell phones, so very few people are keeping alive the art of correspondence. To some it may seem stuffy and old-fashioned or too time-consuming, and certainly few of us have the time to sit down and write a long, personal letter.

There are, however, other ways to keep this art alive. Personalized stationery doesn’t have to be formal any more, either in its design or its intent. If your neighbors invite you over to share a pizza, it would take less than five minutes to write a short message on a casual card. "Thanks, it was delicious, and great fun to spend some time with you." Drop it on their doorstep on your way to work the next day. Such a gesture is not only warmer than an e-mail, it’s probably also less time-consuming than a phone call.

Personal Stationery for Business Uses

The personal touch is even rarer in business environments than it is in social correspondence. That means that a handwritten note is a truly excellent way to be noticed and remembered. If you send a handwritten follow-up note after an interview, using good paper with a dignified monogram or your name embossed in a stately font, that’s going to set you apart from everyone else, who will probably have e-mailed.

Personal notes to good customers or valued suppliers are a smart investment. Writing a note takes very little time or money. Yet by doing so, you have cemented a positive relationship. You have also let that person know that you consider him or her to be an individual, not just part of the machine. Making the effort to go the extra mile, that’s just plain good business.