I got a couple of complaints recently about an aggressive direct-mail campaign. They made up less than 1% of my total list, but they rightfully pointed out that I was wasting paper. I stopped the campaign, but here are a few things you should know.

For what it’s worth, the actual paper waste was very small. I used 100% post-consumer recycled paper bearing the Forest Stewardship Council seal. I sent the letters out to a tiny, carefully selected list of recipients. (In fact, the mailing house I wanted to use told me my list was too small for them, which is one of the reasons I did it by hand.)

This is a regular part of my “best practices.” If you want to know more, you can view my green policy.

I’m a strong believer in looking for marketing channels that your competitors aren’t using. Sending out a personal letter, printed on my own computer,  seemed like a unique idea. I should add that I always conduct these experiments in my own business first. I’ll never use a client as an unwilling guinea pig.