Legible Handwriting Avoids Confusion

What happens if the fulfillment house who handles your orders misread your handwriting? What happens if they can't read your correct street address or zip code?

One problem is that some people fail to put their return address on the envelope. There is no excuse for this! The Walter Drake Company will sell you 1,000 address labels for $1.00. They are inexpensive, handy and a great antidote to your address being misread by other people.

Another problem is people trying to abbreviate their city and state in one line, where there is absolutely no reason to. For example, some people will abbreviate Minneapolis, Minnesota to MN, MN.

A common problem with many people who have just started a mail order business is that they have never been in business before. They have no idea how to fold a business-size letter to fit in a business-size envelope. Many have never worked in an office environment before and have no clue about running an office effectively. They are taught by some to hand-address envelopes so that people will open them. In fact, I just read something the other day that came through the mail that said: "Using mailing labels on your envelopes will get 88% of your letters tossed in the trashcan!"

The fact is _ ANY legitimate mail order dealer will open an envelope regardless of what is on the outside. They are only concerned with the contents INSIDE the envelope. Ask yourself: Do you go through your mail each day and throw away anything with a label on the outside? If you do, you are definitely part of the minority. EVERYONE uses labels these days. It is the 1990's folks! The age of the computer! No one has the time to hand-address envelopes anymore. Hand-addressing them only shows that you are a newcomer to business.

But back to the problem at hand. If you have been mentally programmed to believe that hand-addressing envelopes and hand-writing your return address on your materials is okay, make sure people can READ your writing plainly. PRINT rather than write. Make sure people can easily see your "a" is not an "e." And by all means _ if you have an uncommon name, print it plainly. You wouldn't believe how many people scribble their name for me to typeset.

So, before you get upset and wonder "why" you never received an order; ask yourself if you originally sent it with a handwritten note and/or abbreviated address. Chances are, the company may not have been able to read your handwriting! And to combat this problem in the future _ please invest $80 in a typewriter or $300 in a starter computer. If you can't make this investment right now, then work your regular job until you can. And last but not least _ if you have no exposure to office procedures, go get a book at the library and learn the bare minimum basics, please!