Emails, you don’t need me to tell you, are great. And there’s no fighting progress.
However, if you need to make your point clearly, don’t ignore one of the best tools in the book: a pen, paper, an envelope and a stamp.
Why?
1. Nobody has ever, knowingly, ignored a hand-written envelope. This shouts ‘this is personal and aimed at you and nobody else’. Try that with an email and the spam blocker will possibly intervene.
2. Eloquent writing is on the decline. Write well and you will be seen as rather unusual and worth reading about.
3. Because nobody writes letters any more, you will have been seen as having made a special effort. You almost certainly won’t get a written reply but it’s highly unlikely that, if your letter is good, it will be binned.
4. A letter doesn’t mean abandoning the digital age. You can refer to a URL or email address using a pen perfectly well.
Can you think of any other things a proper letter can do that ‘digital’ can’t?
Philip|Morley 