In this episode of Talk Commerce recorded live at Ecomm Forum in Minneapolis, host Brent Peterson sits down with James Schutrop, founder of Scribe. The conversation centers on how businesses can cut through digital noise using robotically handwritten letters that integrate directly into existing CRM systems. James explains how his company’s technology uses real pens and robots to create authentic-looking handwritten correspondence, complete with local postmarks that maintain the personal touch customers crave in an increasingly automated world.
Key Takeaways
- Consumers receive over 120 emails daily, creating significant digital fatigue that handwritten letters can help overcome
- Scribe’s robots use real ballpoint pens to create intentional imperfections that make letters appear genuinely handwritten
- The system integrates directly into existing CRM platforms, allowing businesses to automate handwritten letter campaigns
- Postmark location matters significantly—letters mailed from out-of-state locations raise red flags and reduce effectiveness
- Scribe is the only company capable of removing postmarks on individual letters by batching orders to meet USPS requirements
- An algorithm varies each character so no two letters look identical, passing authenticity tests
- The technology works best for thank you notes, customer appreciation, and other personal business communications
About James Schutrop
James Schutrop is the founder of Scribe, a company specializing in robotically handwritten letters for business communications. He’s recognized the growing disconnect between businesses and their customers caused by digital saturation and has developed a scalable solution that combines automation with authentic personal touch. James brings expertise in marketing automation, customer relationship management, and understanding how traditional marketing methods can effectively complement modern digital strategies. Through his work at Scribe, James Schutrop has helped businesses reconnect with their customers by bringing back the lost art of handwritten correspondence.
Episode Summary
The conversation begins with James explaining the core problem his company solves. People are drowning in digital communications, receiving more than 120 emails each day. A standard thank you email doesn’t make recipients feel genuinely appreciated anymore. However, a handwritten letter accomplishes what digital communication can’t—it makes people feel valued and loved. The challenge has always been implementation. While most companies understand they should send handwritten notes to customers, the practice typically stops at the sales manager level and maybe a few top-performing salespeople.
“Almost every company knows that they should be treating their customers better. They should be writing them handwritten thank you letters. But the actual implementation of that usually stops at the sales manager and a couple of the top salespeople,” James notes during the discussion.
Scribe’s solution automates the entire process. The system plugs directly into existing CRM platforms, allowing businesses to upgrade any email flow or automation to include handwritten letter campaigns. Companies can set up the automation and forget about it, knowing their customers will receive personal touches without requiring constant management.
Brent observes the actual machine in operation during the interview, noting that it’s not a printer creating a handwritten effect. James confirms that robots hold real ballpoint pens and write on actual paper, creating authentic indentations and ink variations. The choice of ballpoint pens is intentional. Higher-quality pens could be used, but research shows that the imperfections created by ballpoint pens—including gaps in ink caused by pressure variations—actually increase response rates.
The technology includes an algorithm that varies every individual character. No two O’s look the same. No two E’s look identical. The result passes what James calls “sniff tests,” appearing as though the letter came from a friend or family member rather than a marketing department.
One of the most significant technical achievements James discusses is postmark removal. The postmark is the marking next to the stamp that indicates where a letter was mailed from. Most handwritten letter services mail from a single location, often Arizona or Phoenix. When an insurance agent in Ohio sends a supposedly personal letter to a customer in Ohio, but the postmark shows it came from Arizona, it raises immediate red flags.
“The only reason why handwritten letters work is because it’s the thought that counts and they think you spent the time on it,” James explains. “So if you have that out of state postmark on there, even if everything looks great, if that sets off the red flag for them and do that ad filter in their brain that, okay, maybe this was actually mass produced, they didn’t actually write this, you’re soiling the pond that you’re fishing out of basically.”
Brent shares his personal experience with this exact issue. He’d used a Phoenix-based service to send a letter to his 86-year-old father, who immediately noticed the out-of-state postmark and called him out on it. If an elderly recipient catches it, marketing-savvy customers certainly will.
Scribe solves this problem through a sophisticated batching system. The USPS allows postmark removal for batches exceeding 500 pieces. However, CRM-triggered letters are typically one-off communications sent when specific actions occur. Scribe’s system backpacks hundreds and thousands of individual orders onto each other, producing them in the proper order required by the USPS. Even though each letter is technically a one-off piece triggered by individual customer actions, the system batches and pre-sorts them as bulk mail. This allows Scribe to offer postmark removal on individual pieces, maintaining authenticity where it matters most.
The entire process is automated beyond just the writing. Inserters open envelopes, fold cards, place them inside, apply liquid to seal the envelopes, and prepare them for mailing. The assembly line approach eliminates the manual labor that prevents most businesses from implementing handwritten letter campaigns at scale.
James draws an interesting comparison between marketing trends and fashion. When everyone moves in one direction, the innovative approach often involves returning to what worked 20 or 30 years ago. With artificial intelligence increasing digital noise through more texts, emails, and advertisements, people are craving human interaction more than ever. Handwritten letters provide a breath from the bombardment while still leveraging automation.
For businesses interested in implementing robotically handwritten letters, James directs them to scribehandwritten.com where they can fill out forms or book consultations. He’s also available on LinkedIn under James Schutrop.
Regarding his experience at Ecomm Forum, James notes it’s his first year attending the event in Minneapolis. He’s impressed by the event’s focus on actionable content rather than motivational speaking. He particularly enjoyed the bagpipes signaling everyone to go into the event. “If you’re at an event you’re probably already motivated so try and find events like this where they’re actually giving you something to implement when you walk away,” he observes. James mentions he hasn’t had a chance to check out all the speakers yet but overall thinks it’s a really great event that provides practical implementation strategies rather than just inspiration.
Final Thoughts
The conversation with James Schutrop reveals how businesses can leverage technology to bring back personal touches that digital communications have eliminated. By automating handwritten letters while maintaining authenticity through real pens, character variation algorithms, and local postmarks, companies can scale personalization without sacrificing the human element. As digital noise continues to increase with AI-generated content, the value of tangible, personal communications will only grow. The question isn’t whether your business should explore handwritten automation—it’s whether you can afford not to write off this opportunity to stand out.
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