Jesse Stein

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did you receive a fake handwritten note

Handwritten notes are exceptional for reaching new leads, nurturing existing customers, and identifying new target audiences. A few years ago, handwritten marketing was a tactic long retired, but suddenly that changed. The pandemic so alienated people that the desire for human contact, rather than digital interactions, started to rise. 

Thanks to this change, handwritten note companies started popping up all over the place and the ones that’d been there all along saw a steady increase in attention. Here’s where the divide started. Some companies choose to offer the best of the best in handwritten marketing and others choose to take the cheaper road with a subpar product. These low-cost companies took shortcuts and now they often charge more than the top-of-the-line options. 

The question is – how can you tell the difference?

What are AI-Driven Handwritten Notes?

what are ai-driven handwritten notes

AI-Driven handwritten notes; the phrase almost sounds like something from the future. Rest assured, there’s no warehouse full of human-sized robots sitting at tables writing notes. Authentic handwritten notes use what’s called a pen plotter.

The pen plotter holds a real pen with a “hand” attached to an “arm.” Advanced software instructs the AI to write the note on high-quality card stock. Human writing characteristics are programmed into the software including things like slant, character differences, and variable spacing. It’s these details that make the difference when sending an AI-handwritten note and a printed note. 

Let’s take a look at six features that differentiate a handwritten note from a printed note.

6 Features to Look For in Handwritten Notes

6 things to look for in handwritten notes

Grab one of your handwritten notes. We’re going to take a closer look at the piece to determine if it’s fake or the real thing. All it takes is a few moments to tell the difference between the two, so expect your customers to find out just as fast.

Ink doesn’t smudge.

Authentic handwritten notes are written with an ink pen. They aren’t printed by a computer. To find out if your note was printed or written, wet the pad of your thumb and rub across the writing. Does the writing smudge? Real ink will smudge across the paper.

No tell-tale signs of pen on paper.

Speaking of ink, when a human hand writes a note, there will be visible indentations on the paper or card stock. The pressure used when writing creates these small divots and dents. Printing a “handwritten” note using inkjet or laserjet technology applies ink to the surface only. If you have a fake handwritten note there will be no tell-tale signs of pen on paper.

Characters are identical.

Human writing has tons of variations. No two letters look the same because the human hand and arm tend to move, shake, and jump ever so slightly along the way. Look at your handwritten note. Compare uppercase and lowercase letters. If every letter is identical, you have a fake handwritten note.

No variation in character, word, or paragraph spacing.

Along those same lines, character, word, and paragraph spacing varies throughout a note. Movement happens when writing and that shows in the final product. For an AI-based handwritten note to pass the authenticity test, there need to be natural space nuances.

All sentences are parallel.

Take another look at the handwritten note. Is every sentence perfectly parallel with the one above and below it? Humans don’t naturally write in parallel lines, especially on unlined card stock. Chances are, if your lines are parallel, you have a fake handwritten note.

Postage is printed not stamped.

Finally, look at the envelope. First off, is it handwritten like the note or printed? Fake handwritten notes tend to come with printed envelopes. Then, check the actual postage. Is it printed on the envelope or was it sent with a Forever stamp from the USPS? The majority of people use stamps to send handwritten notes. They don’t have postage printers just sitting around.

Fake Handwritten Notes are Not as Effective

Is it cheaper to sell printed “handwritten” notes? Yep. Is it easier to offer printed “handwritten” notes? Yes, it is. But, remember not all companies are out to make money as their primary goal. Companies that offer authentic handwritten notes at scale using AI-driven pen plotters are the only option if you want your direct mail campaign to pay off.

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