Latest / The Copywriting Podcast with Fexingo: Sales Letters, Headlines, and Persuasive Writing / How a Handwritten Pencil Beat a Formatted Typewriter in Direct Mail
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this classic direct mail test from the 1980s. Two versions of the same sales letter — identical copy, same offer, same envelope, same everything. The only difference was the tool used to write the letter. Luna: Wait — the tool? Like, which pen they used? Lucas: Exactly. Version A was typed on a typewriter. Clean, professional, perfect. Version B was handwritten in pencil. And the pencil version outperformed the typed version by 27 percent. This was a test run by John Caples, the direct marketing legend. Luna: Twenty-seven percent is huge. And it's all because of the pencil? Lucas: The pencil itself — but really what it signaled. The typed letter felt corporate, mass-produced. The handwritten pencil felt personal, like a friend jotting you a note. It was lower pressure. You could almost hear someone saying, 'Hey, I just thought of you.' Luna: That's interesting because you'd think the typed version is more legible, more professional, more credible. But the pencil won on authenticity. Lucas: Right. And it wasn't just any pencil — it was a specific, slightly messy handwriting. Not calligraphy. Not a fancy script font. Just a regular person's scrawl. That imperfection made it believable. Luna: So the lesson isn't 'use a pencil.' It's 'look human.' Lucas: Bingo. And by the way, if you're getting value from these deep dives into marketing history and copywriting tests, a small group of listeners already chips in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's literally what keeps this show ad-free and allows us to dig into these obscure tests. Luna: Yeah, it makes a real difference. We don't run ads, so listener support is the only reason we can spend time on a 1980s pencil test. Lucas: Exactly. Now, back to Caples — he actually wrote about this test in his book 'Tested Advertising Methods.' And the key insight was that the pencil version didn't just feel personal, it also felt less like a sales pitch. The roughness lowered the reader's guard. Luna: So the imperfection itself became a feature. That's counterintuitive because most marketers are obsessed with polish. Lucas: And that obsession can backfire. There's a phenomenon called the 'polish paradox' — the more polished something looks, the more the reader suspects it's a mass-produced sales tool. Handwritten, even messy, implies one-to-one communication. Luna: But you could overdo it. If the handwriting is too neat, it starts to look fake. If it's too messy, it's unreadable. There's a sweet spot. Lucas: Exactly. And Caples tested multiple handwriting styles. The one that won was moderately legible but clearly human — not a calligraphy pen, not a marker, not a ballpoint. Just a #2 pencil. The slight grayness of the pencil line also looked softer, less aggressive than black ink. Luna: So the medium itself communicates something. Pencil says 'I'm just thinking out loud.' Ballpoint says 'I'm making a permanent record.' Lucas: Right. And this principle still applies today. Think about email marketing. Brands that use handwritten font images in their emails — like the 'handwritten' style from Mailchimp — they see higher open rates and click-through rates. Especially for smaller lists. Luna: But some of those look fake. Like, you can tell it's a computer font trying to look handwritten. Lucas: Exactly. And that's where the test fails. If the recipient senses artifice, they feel manipulated. The pencil letter worked because it was genuinely handwritten. Not a font, not a printed simulation. Real pencil on real paper. Luna: So for digital, the equivalent might be a plain text email from a real person, not a fancy HTML template. Lucas: That's exactly what I do with my own newsletter. No images, no styling. Just text. And my open rates are consistently above 60 percent. Because it looks like I'm writing you personally, not blasting a template. Luna: And I bet the response rate on replies is higher too. Lucas: It is. I get replies every day. And many of those replies mention that the email 'felt like a note from a friend.' That's the pencil effect, digitized. Luna: So the lesson is: in a world of overproduced marketing, the rough and personal wins. But you have to actually be personal, not just look it. Lucas: Right. Authenticity can't be faked. If you're a large corporation sending a 'handwritten' letter to millions, people will know. The pencil test worked for a small-scale mailing list where the sender could plausibly have written each one. Luna: And Caples was testing for a financial newsletter, right? Something where trust is critical. Lucas: Yes. It was for a publication called 'The Wall Street Journal' — not the newspaper itself, but a promotional letter for a subscription. So the stakes were high. A 27 percent lift in response meant thousands of additional subscribers. Luna: And that one test probably paid for itself a thousand times over. Lucas: Absolutely. And it's still being referenced in copywriting courses today. Because the principle is timeless: the medium is part of the message. Don't just think about what you say, think about how it looks on the page. Luna: So for anyone writing a sales letter today — email, direct mail, even a landing page — what's the takeaway? Lucas: The takeaway is: test your format. Don't assume that polished, professional, perfect is best. Try a more personal format. Try a handwritten headline. Try a plain text email. Try a postcard that looks like it was scribbled on a napkin. But test it. Luna: And if you can't physically handwrite a thousand letters, what's the next best thing? Lucas: Use a handwriting font, but with a real person's handwriting — not a generic script. There are services that turn your actual handwriting into a font. Or use a photo of a handwritten note. Or, for emails, just type it in plain text and sign off with your first name. Luna: But don't overdo it. I've seen emails that use handwritten fonts for the entire body, and it's exhausting to read. Lucas: Right. Handwriting works best for short bursts — a headline, a P.S., a signature. Not for a 10-page letter. Caples's pencil letter was only one page. Luna: So the format should match the length. Short and handwritten feels like a note. Long and handwritten feels like a chore. Lucas: Exactly. And one more thing: the pencil test also worked because it was unexpected. In the 1980s, nobody sent handwritten direct mail. It was all typed. So the pencil stood out. Luna: So the principle is also about differentiation. If everyone else is doing one thing, do the opposite. Lucas: Exactly. And that's still true today. If everyone sends fancy HTML emails, send a plain text one. If everyone uses stock photos, use a real photo. If everyone writes in formal business language, write like you talk. Luna: So the pencil test is really a lesson in standing out by being more human. Lucas: Yes. And that's why this test from 40 years ago still matters. The tools change — pencil, typewriter, email, SMS — but human psychology doesn't. We still respond to personal, authentic, low-pressure communication. Luna: And we're still suspicious of anything that looks too polished. Lucas: Exactly. So next time you write a sales letter, ask yourself: does this look like it came from a human or a corporation? If the answer is corporation, you might want to pick up a pencil. Luna: Or its digital equivalent. Lucas: Right. And if you want to try it yourself, start small. Write a handwritten P.S. on your next email or a short handwritten note in a package. See if you get more replies. And if you do, let us know. Luna: We'd love to hear about your own pencil test. Lucas: That's it for this episode. Until next time, keep writing.