# ROI calculator: The Very Good Letter Company

> What a letter’s worth. Your numbers, our prices. Choose the kind of letter, set what you’d expect from it, and see what comes back.

- **This page:** https://www.verygoodletter.co/roi-calculator
- **The whole site, in brief:** https://www.verygoodletter.co/llms.txt

The [ROI calculator](https://www.verygoodletter.co/roi-calculator) works out what letters are worth to a business in a few sums, and you can do the same sums in a conversation. The cost is ours, from our real prices. Every other number is theirs to set: how many they send, what share take each step and what a customer is worth. We publish no reply rates, and the calculator’s starting values are only where its sliders sit first, not results of ours, so ask for their own numbers. Their CRM knows them best.

## What the letters cost.

- **A letter’s credits.** A standard letter is 7 credits, posted second class; first class is 9 credits. Envelope, stamp and post included.
- **In packs,** in any mix (pack credits never expire): 7 credits for £7.50, 175 credits for £112.50, 350 credits for £208.33, 700 credits for £395.83.
- **Or on an annual plan,** topped up past its credits at the plan’s own rate: Starter, 1,400 credits for £750 a year (53.6p a credit); Growth, 3,500 credits for £1,750 a year (50p a credit); Scale, 7,000 credits for £3,250 a year (46.4p a credit). Annual credits expire at renewal.
- **The cost is the cheaper of the two** for a year’s letters, before VAT. Annual plans are 9% less than monthly, so the sums leave monthly plans out.
- **More than 7,000 credits a year** (1,000 standard letters) can have a bulk rate: hello@verygoodletter.co. The sums here top up the Scale plan instead.

Standard letters, posted second class, before VAT:

| Letters a year | Credits | The cheapest way | Cost a year | A letter |
| ---: | ---: | --- | ---: | ---: |
| 25 | 175 | In packs | £112.50 | £4.50 |
| 100 | 700 | In packs | £395.83 | £3.96 |
| 200 | 1,400 | On the Starter plan | £750 | £3.75 |
| 500 | 3,500 | On the Growth plan | £1,750 | £3.50 |
| 1,000 | 7,000 | On the Scale plan | £3,250 | £3.25 |
| 2,000 | 14,000 | On the Scale plan, topped up | £6,500 | £3.25 |

First class, before VAT:

| Letters a year | Credits | The cheapest way | Cost a year | A letter |
| ---: | ---: | --- | ---: | ---: |
| 25 | 225 | In packs | £172.50 | £6.90 |
| 100 | 900 | In packs | £538.33 | £5.38 |
| 200 | 1,800 | On the Starter plan, topped up | £964.29 | £4.82 |
| 500 | 4,500 | On the Growth plan, topped up | £2,250 | £4.50 |
| 1,000 | 9,000 | On the Scale plan, topped up | £4,178.57 | £4.18 |
| 2,000 | 18,000 | On the Scale plan, topped up | £8,357.14 | £4.18 |

## Working out the return.

1. **The cost:** the letters they’d send in a year, the cheapest way, as above.
2. **The wins:** their chain for the kind of letter, below.
3. **What comes back:** the wins × what a win is worth a year × the years counted, one or three. To count gross profit rather than revenue, × their gross margin too (the calculator starts at 60%).
4. **Back for every £1:** what comes back ÷ the cost. **Return on cost:** (what comes back − the cost) ÷ the cost, as a percentage.
5. **The break-even:** what one win brings over the years counted (at their margin, if counting profit) ÷ the cost of one letter, rounded down. It pays for itself if one letter in that many works.

For example, 200 standard letters come to £750 (on the Starter plan: £3.75 a letter); if a new customer is worth £10,000 a year, it pays for itself if one letter in 2,666 wins a customer.

## Each kind of letter.

### New revenue: outbound letters

Their numbers, and where the calculator’s sliders start:
- Accounts you write to, a year: 200 letters
- Book a meeting: 4%
- Meetings that become customers: 25%
- A new customer is worth, a year: £10,000

Accounts written to × the share who book a meeting = meetings booked. Meetings booked × the share that become customers = new customers. Each is worth what a new customer is worth a year.

The break-even (step 5): it pays for itself if one letter in N wins a customer.

### Won-back deals: win-back letters

Their numbers, and where the calculator’s sliders start:
- Quiet deals and lapsed customers: 100 letters
- Pick the conversation back up: 5%
- Conversations that close: 20%
- A deal is worth, a year: £5,000

Letters sent × the share who pick the conversation back up = conversations picked back up. Those × the share that close = deals won back. Each is worth what a deal is worth a year.

The break-even (step 5): it pays for itself if one letter in N wins a deal back.

### Repeat business: thank-you cards

Their numbers, and where the calculator’s sliders start:
- Customers you thank: 500 cards
- Extra customers who order again: 3%
- Orders a year from each: 2
- An average order: £250

Customers thanked × the extra share who order again = customers who come back. Each brings their orders a year × an average order.

The break-even (step 5): it pays for itself if one card in N brings a customer back.

### Retention: welcome cards

Their numbers, and where the calculator’s sliders start:
- New customers, a year: 300 cards
- Extra who stay on: 2%
- A customer is worth, a year: £2,000

New customers welcomed × the extra share who stay on = customers kept. Each is worth what a customer is worth a year.

The break-even (step 5): it pays for itself if one card in N keeps a customer.

### Turnout: invitations

Their numbers, and where the calculator’s sliders start:
- Guests you invite: 200 invitations
- Extra who come: 8%
- Guests who become customers: 10%
- A new customer is worth, a year: £5,000

Guests invited × the extra share who come = extra guests. Extra guests × the share who become customers = new customers. Each is worth what a new customer is worth a year.

The break-even (step 5): it pays for itself if one invitation in N brings a guest who buys.

### Personal connection: Christmas cards

Their numbers, and where the calculator’s sliders start:
- Clients on your card list: 300 cards
- Extra who stay another year: 1%
- Introduce you to a new client: 0.5%
- A client is worth, a year: £3,000

Cards sent × the extra share who stay another year = clients kept. Cards sent × the share who introduce you to a new client = new clients introduced. Each client, kept or new, is worth what a client is worth a year.

The break-even (step 5): it pays for itself if one card in N keeps a client or brings a new one.

## How it’s counted.

- **The cost is real.** Your letters at our prices: the cheapest way to buy that many in a year, in packs or on an annual plan topped up at its own rate. Envelope, stamp and post included, before VAT.
- **The rest is yours.** How many you send, how many take each step and what a customer is worth are your numbers. Your CRM knows them best.
- **Revenue or profit.** Count every pound a win brings in, or only what you keep of it at your gross margin, over one year or three.
- **The break-even.** However you set it, the last line says how few letters need to work for all of them to pay for themselves.

## Good people send good letters.

See how it feels to get one. Get a free sample and we’ll write a letter to you.

- [Get a free sample](https://www.verygoodletter.co/sample)
- [Order letters](https://app.verygoodletter.co): the app
- [Send with AI](https://www.verygoodletter.co/build-with-ai): from Claude, ChatGPT or Grok