Start Your Own Personalized Letter Business

Author: Kimberly Solis

Imagine a child’s delight when she opens a letter written especially for her. In the age of emails and instant messages, a snail mail letter is a rare occurrence. Most children would love to receive personalized letters and gifts through the mail, and you can help them.

If you are a creative writer and enjoy writing stories for children, you can turn letter writing into a money-making opportunity by starting a personalized letter company for children. And the best part is that it is relatively simple to accomplish, fun to do, and encourages a love of reading in young children.

Before beginning a letter writing business, you need to gather the supplies necessary to run your business. If you do not have the supplies on hand, consider purchasing them from a secondhand shop before you buy all new supplies and equipment.

By shopping around, you can find moderately priced computers, printers, and letter writing supplies that are sure to fit your specific budget. And by shopping around, you keep costs low enough to have money left over for advertising your business.

Supplies List

You'll need:

A knack for creative letter writing,
A sparkling imagination,
A computer equipped with word processing software,
A quality color laser printer,
Colorful stationery,
10” X 13” Envelopes,
Stamps,
Stickers, and
Trinkets.

Festive Papers

You don't need to purchase expensive, decorative papers but your papers should at least be bright and colorful. Colorful paper is more festive than plain white printer paper and makes opening the letter more exciting.

Once your business picks up, consider purchasing decorative papers. Decorative paper doesn't have to be expensive, shop clearance sales, 2-for-1 specials, and garage sales. When looking for decorative paper, stick to kid-friendly borders (i.e. animals, nursery rhyme characters or other whimsical designs) with a wide open space for writing. Children who are still learning to read don't need background images getting in the way of the text.

Include Trinkets

Children love to receive trinkets in the mail. They enjoy gifts and little surprises, so shop around for fun items you can include in your letters. Not only will these trinkets make your letters more exciting to open, but the parents will notice that excitement—and that word-of-mouth advertising is worth every penny spent on those trinkets.

Trinkets can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose to make them. They can be:

Bookmarks,
Stickers,
Fun bands,
Trading cards, or
Simple craft instructions; craft kids can make without the parent’s help.

You can purchase trinkets from local arts and supplies stores, department stores, or catalogs. A great place to find discount trinkets is the Oriental Trading Company (http://www.orientaltrading.com/). The key is to make sure the items you purchase can fit inside your envelope.

Create Sample Letters

Once you have gathered your supplies and equipment it is time to create your very first personalized letter. This will be the sample letter you show potential parents. It will also be the letter you place on your website. If you're going to write for more than one age group, you may wish to include a sample letter for each age group.

Before you write your sample letter, think about the character you want to portray through your letters. While you can definitely be yourself, your readers will have more fun if you get into character.

By creating a character, you create a world that is uniquely yours. A world that is both imaginative and entertaining. A world that feeds the imagination of children and encourages them to read more.

You may wish to write a letter from the perspective of Mother Goose or some other well-known fairytale or nursery rhyme character or you may want to design your own character. Just remember not to infringe upon someone else's trademark or copyrights.

When writing your sample letter, spend some time thinking about the overall structure of your business. If, for instance, you've decided to create a whimsical fantasy creature named Drake the Dragon, then your letter should be representative of Drake's life. In this case, you'd write a simple story introducing Drake to the young child—as though they've just met for the very first time.

If, on the other hand, you plan to write your letters based upon the fact that you are simply a pen pal living in today's world, you can write a letter incorporating the child’s personal information. If the child loves basketball, for instance, write about his or her love for the sport. If the child enjoys playing with dolls, write about dolls and ask the child the name of his or her favorite doll.

Design A Website With A Shopping Cart

Once your sample letters are written, it's time to create a website for your letter writing business. Your website needs to showcase your talents as a storyteller and pen pal, but it also needs to make it easy for your customers to order.

Parents like instant gratification. Once you sell them on your service, give them a reason to buy now! Include a form for customers to fill out. The form should ask questions so the parents can provides all the details necessary to write a personalized, customized letter.

Your form should include things like the child’s:

name,
mailing address,
birth date,
hobbies,
favorite toys,
date letter should arrive, and
other important information.

Your website should also include a:

home page with a brief description of your services
testimony page with letters from both parents and children (photos optional),
sales page with a way to make payments online and a form for letter writing specifics,
a samples page for sample personalized letter for each age group you plan to write for, and
FAQS page to cover frequently asked questions.

In your FAQS page, explain the difference between your one-time letter writing service and your pen pal writing service. Explain your fees, your return policy, your cancellation policy, your terms of use, and your liability policy in regards to children playing with trinkets or creating crafts from your tutorials. Then as more and more questions appear to repeat themselves, address them in your FAQS page.

Legalize Your Business

If you have not already done so, it's time to legalize your business. Visit your local Chamber of Commerce and ask about obtaining a license for your business. Then stop by your local insurance agency to see about liability insurance.

Promote Your Personalized Letter Writing Business

Now that everything is in order, it's time to promote your business. Start locally because the ads are cheaper. Then as your business grows, branch out to regional parenting magazines, then national parenting magazines.

Aside from advertising, promote your business with business cards. Include your website address, your company name, and a brief description of what you offer. You may even want to include a one-time trial offer, for a limited time. Then pass them out to everyone you know. If your friends and relatives have no need of your services, ask them to pass your business cards on to people who may need your services.

Daycares are excellent places to promote your business as well. Create a simple flyer, then pass out copies to the local daycares. If your local daycare objects to this idea, offer them a 10% referral fee for anyone who mentions them when signing up for your services.

If you love writing and children, you can create a profitable children's letter writing business that brings joy to children and fosters a natural love of reading.