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Episodes
Monday Aug 26, 2019
Monday Aug 26, 2019
It seems like we’ve forgotten why we use mail merge.
Nearly 40 years ago word processing software introduced the idea to us (I say ‘us’ but I was just an eye-twinkle). It would, quite cleverly, allow us to print off a bunch of letters all saying the same thing, but with a word or two – like a name – changed between each copy.
It became commonplace for businesses. They could now print off hundreds of thousands of letters or bills or invoices quite quickly without poor Sandra having to manually update each one between printing
For a customer (or donor) it felt like they were the only ones that were getting that letter.
That’s hard to imagine now, isn’t it? Getting a printed letter with your details on and just assuming someone had sat down and thought of you while they were typing it.
But that was the point of mail merge: To allow a sender to send pretty much the same thing to a bunch of people. While the recipient felt like it was just for them.
Everyone was happy.
Nowadays, we use mail merge because we can.
In today's Quick Tip, Simon talks through how to use mail merge in the most effective ways in your direct mail and emails.