We hear it in the news all the time: We’re addicted to our computers. We sleep with our cell phones. The average American worker spends half the day on e-mail. You are, in fact, reading e-mail right now!

Now putting aside whether or not all this screen time spells doom for civilization, it’s clear that e-mail can be a great way to reach customers. But the opposite is also true: The handwritten note has never had more power to connect with clients. It’s one way to stand out in the field.

Let’s Cut to the Chase

Get a stack of notecards with your company logo printed on them. Find a decent pen. Spend ten minutes in the morning before your day gets in full gear or after it’s wound down and dash off a few short notes to your clients.

See a magazine article that might interest them? Clip it and let them know. Are they celebrating a major milestone? Congratulate them. Sending them an instruction manual for taking care of their plants? Attach a quick note of thanks.

Write neatly. Be concise. Read it back over for mistakes. Then send them off. You’ll be amazed by the returns.