Podcast Summary: "AI Handwritten Letters for Contractors to Increase Engagement using Automation with Arian Radmand"

Podcast: Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades
Hosts: Tersh Blissett & Joshua Crouch (Skilled Trades Syndicate)
Guest: Arian Radmand, CEO of Ignite Post
Episode Date: November 5, 2025

Overview

This episode explores how AI-powered, robot-written, handwritten letters can vastly improve customer engagement and business outcomes for contractors in the skilled trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and more). Arian Radmand shares Ignite Post’s unique approach to merging tactile, personalized communication with modern automation—detailing why physical mail still outperforms digital, and how contractors can leverage these tools to optimize outreach, conversion, and retention without increasing overhead.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Handwritten Mail Outperforms Digital

• Statistics & Impact

  • Handwritten mail performs 11.2x better than traditional direct mail and 30x better than email (Arian Radmand, [00:00], [18:03]).

    “If you compare the handwritten mail to just traditional direct mail, typically handwritten mail will perform about 11.2 times better than just printed direct mail… if you compare it actually to email, typically performs about 30 times better.” – Aryan [00:00]

  • Recipients receive personal letters only once every seven weeks on average, making them stand out ([12:39]).

• Human Connection

  • People are “wired” to connect with physical objects; tactile sensations trigger engagement and trust ([05:47], [06:15]).

    “People… forget that, hey, I’m selling to another person… As humans, we’ve evolved over millennia by actually interacting with our environment and experiencing it, touching it, feeling it.” – Aryan [06:15]

• Psychology & Differentiation

  • In a world flooded by digital marketing, a physical note is profoundly personal and psychologically impactful ([11:06], [13:38]).

    “Just the fact that you send someone a really personalized, real penned letter… is already very personal.” – Aryan [13:38]

2. How Ignite Post Works

• Service Description

  • Ignite Post’s solution is both hardware (robots that write real pen-on-paper notes) and software (campaign management, integrations).
  • Offers a variety of handwriting styles, including cursive, neat, “chicken scratch,” and can even mimic a customer’s unique handwriting. Supports English and Spanish ([07:53]).

• Customization & Personalization

  • Notes can be tailored manually or filled with dynamic data from CRM systems, job types, customer info, and even unique anecdotes about the customer ([13:07]).

    “You can really go down as far down the rabbit hole as you really want.” – Aryan [13:38]

• Integration & Automation

  • Supports major platforms: Zapier, ServiceTitan, HubSpot, Klaviyo, Make, and more for automated, event-triggered mailings ([23:36], [25:24]).

    “Yes, we definitely have a Zapier app so you can trigger us from there. … A lot of different ways that you can trigger a handwritten card.” – Aryan [23:36]

3. Strategic Playbooks for Contractors

Aryan outlines four proven playbooks tailored for home service businesses:

1. Post-Quote Follow-up ([18:03])

• Send a handwritten note after providing a quote.
• Major differentiator, adds human touch, increases job-win rates by about 10%.

  “We do this with a lot of the Mr. Rooter, Mr. Electric locations… Just by adding that experience afterwards, they saw about a 10% bump in jobs won.” – Aryan [19:44]

2. Job Completed / Thank You Playbook ([22:34])

• Automatic card sent post-job—include support number prominently, a QR code for referrals, mention multiple services, and reinforce the relationship.
• Cards serve as a long-term reference on the fridge or coffee table.

  “People actually keep these on their refrigerator, on their coffee table and they actually will pick up and call like, you know, you told them to.” – Aryan [25:52]

• Example: Broadband installer saw a 3% conversion rate from QR code referrals ([25:52]).

3. Six-Month Check-In ([26:55])

• Trigger a note six months after the job—great for reminding about service contracts or maintenance plans.

4. Churn Prevention / Retention ([28:33])

• Analyze average retention time, and before a customer typically exits a maintenance plan, trigger a thank-you and an exclusive renewal offer to “jump them over” the cancelation decision.

4. Advanced Features & Data Capabilities

• Granular Targeting

  • Use property data (age, size, type, assessed value, etc.) to filter or target ideal prospects ([34:34]).

    “If you say, okay, I want… [to] reach out specifically to homes… we can get very, very granular.” – Aryan [34:34]

• Radius Mailers

  • Target homes within a specified radius of a completed job, reinforcing neighborhood presence ([36:17]).

• Attribution & ROI Tracking

  • Drop a pixel on your site to identify visitors from mail campaigns for ROI and response measurement ([37:09]).

    “Even if people don’t take the intended call to action… you can get an idea of what kind of effect this is having.” – Aryan [37:09]

5. Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On choosing handwriting styles:

  “We also have the ability to actually take your handwriting and mimic it and duplicate it.” – Aryan [07:53]

• The pain of writing many notes by hand:

  “It is not the funnest job to do… it’s often the first thing that slides off your plate when you have a thousand things going on.” – Joshua [04:54], Aryan [05:12]

• Why not to mass spray-and-pray:

  “I wouldn’t recommend this to like spray and pray over an entire neighborhood… It’s a more targeted, more personal outreach.” – Aryan [18:03]

• On pairing multiple marketing channels:

  “Full campaign works best when you hit people from all the mediums because some people answer text, some… email, some… mail…” – Joshua [23:02]

• On offline channels’ resilience:

  “…No way to say stop to a direct mail card. You cannot DND yourself from that touch point… you cannot block somebody from sending a direct mail piece.” – Joshua [31:14]

6. Practical Advice and Takeaways

• Don’t think of “direct mail” as only mass mailers. Use personalized, relevant, and well-timed outreach for the best results ([38:33]).
• Combine handwritten mail with digital touches (SMS, email) for a multi-touch, high-conversion customer journey.
• Use integrations to automate and scale, reducing manual overhead—essential for busy contractors ([24:10]).
• Test, track, and iterate your marketing—what works digitally can often be adapted for physical mail, and vice versa ([40:44]).

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00] – Aryan introduces the impact of handwritten mail (stats)
• [05:47] – Human psychology behind tactile communication
• [07:53] – Ignite Post’s features: handwriting, languages, custom styles
• [13:07] – Personalization and AI-powered customization
• [18:03] – Recommended use cases and hesitation factors
• [22:34] – Playbooks for contractors: follow-up, job completion, etc.
• [23:36] – Integrations with CRM and marketing tools
• [25:52] – Playbook deep dive: specifics that boost card retention and usage
• [26:55] – Six-month check-in and retention strategies
• [34:34] – Property data, targeting, and radius mailers
• [37:09] – Attribution tools for direct mail ROI
• [38:33] – Key takeaway: targeted vs. mass direct mail
• [40:44] – Analog still works: Yellow Pages, Email, Test/track marketing efforts
• [41:30] – Free sample offer and how to contact Ignite Post

How to Try Ignite Post

• Get a free handwritten sample note: Visit ignitepost.com/sample
• For demos, detailed info, or to begin automation: ignitepost.com

  “If anybody wants a free handwritten note sent to them so you can actually see for yourself how things work, hit our site, ignitepost.com/sample.” – Aryan [41:30]

Final Thoughts

Handwritten, AI-powered outreach isn’t about replacing digital—it's about combining the best of both worlds for maximum engagement. Smart contractors can differentiate themselves, increase response and retention, and automate the process without expanding staff, all while building stronger customer relationships.

End of Summary.