Commentary

How To Make Holiday Cards Magnificent

by dave.b , Max Kalehoff , January 8, 2010

Reflecting back on the 2009 holiday season, I received an unprecedented surge in two types of holiday cards from industry colleagues and other acquaintances: mass e-cards and mass-printed cards with no handwriting (not even a signature). Meanwhile, the volume of handcrafted, personalized cards and letters has dropped significantly. This is a radical shift from the past, so I thought I'd unpack this a bit:

E-cards: They can be delightful, and they're a great environment-friendly alternative to paper. Just like any other card, they're only meaningful if meaningful effort went into producing them. What makes a meaningful e-card? Personal expression, customization, first-person video, pictures and a link to a central place where recipients can reply (the more communal and open, the better). For those feeling guilty of not sending a paper card via snail mail, I like the concept of an e-card with an associated charitable donation. To be sure, e-cards suck if they're simply a scan or rendering of a traditional printed card, with no personalization. E-mail spam filters tend to flag them, anyway.

Mass-Printed Cards: These are acceptable only if you personalize them in some fashion. A personalized note is preferred, though initials are a minimum. But it's not good to send a mass-printed card with no human marks. That is most often forgettable, and sometimes insulting. It's OK if someone is a single record in your database, but most would prefer you spare the trees and carbon emissions of land delivery versus sending a mass-printed card with no human touch. It would be better to send an e-card, even a spammy one, which can be deleted easily!

Handcrafted Cards: These are the best kind, and you don't even need a card; even a napkin can have tremendous impact. Similar to e-cards and other communications, personal expression and customization create success. We need more handcrafted cards and, even better, handwritten letters.

What kind of holiday cards work best for you?

commentary, netiquette

12 comments about "How To Make Holiday Cards Magnificent".

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Rita Allenrallen@freshaddress.com from FreshAddress, Inc., January 8, 2010 at 11:29 a.m.
Great article pointing to the essence of the connection...As a company which specializes in email, I have heard that we surprised our recipients with a direct mail hand signed 2010 calendar card which will work all year long. I agree, that if the relationship is valuable, so is the time spent in creating and sending a greeting!
Reply

Kristi Nelson from Trekk Cross-Media, January 8, 2010 at 11:31 a.m.

At Trekk, we tried something different this year to personalize the holiday experience. All of our clients, friends and suppliers received a holiday email with a link to an interactive site that let them "Holidaze Yourself." Try it and see what you think. http://holidazeyourself.trekk.com/

Michael Mitchell from Byblos Press, LLC, January 8, 2010 at 12:13 p.m.

This year we used http://www.paperlesspost.com/ This group has crossed the chasm from the mass e-card feel to a truly personalized and handcrafted look and feel. We received some great comments.

Rich Benci from Benci Consulting, LLC, January 8, 2010 at 12:37 p.m.

I've also found the timing of sending a New Year's card is better: more relevant to business to "kick off the year"; keeps your card from being lost in the December deluge; and the person is less likely to be on vacation so they'll actually see the card!

Jonathan Mirow from BroadbandVideo, Inc., January 8, 2010 at 1:48 p.m.

"...you don't even need a card; even a napkin can have tremendous impact." Don't send me a napkin of any kind. ("I couldn't afford a card so I sent you this message in crayon on a napkin. Please ignore the soup stains.") Uh-huh.

Max Kalehoff from MAK, January 8, 2010 at 2:53 p.m.

Rich: That's a great idea to wait until after New Year's. It separates you from the pack.

Alan Ross from RealAge, January 8, 2010 at 3:42 p.m.

Yes New Years cards for clients or if that database is large New Years emails lend to my continuity with many prospects.

Kaila Colbin from Boma, January 12, 2010 at 4:52 a.m.

Hi there,

At my company Missing Link (http://missinglinknz.co.nz), we don't deal with a high volume of clients, and we tend to have solid, ongoing relationships with them. So we figure the most valuable gift we can give them is our time and attention. This year, we created a holiday package that included separate handwritten notes (on pretty paper with cool white ink) from each person who worked on the account, telling the client why they were important to that person. The package also included a CD of holiday music. Finally, we went through http://b1g1.com to select a worthy cause that was appropriate for each client, made a donation to that cause, and included an additional note in the package that explained the donation and why we thought that cause was a good reflection of their company.

It may seem like a lot, but it was worth every minute, especially in reminding us in the company why we're lucky to have these clients and what we appreciate about them!

Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, January 12, 2010 at 8:30 p.m.

Kaila, you found the WOW factor.

Tara Burnham from Media Logic, January 14, 2010 at 2:17 p.m.

At Media Logic, each holiday season we take great pride in developing a creative and heartfelt greeting for our clients, colleagues and friends - over the years we've produced homemade paper cards, e-cards, even custom zoetropes and other toys... But whatever the medium, we consider our holiday card an opportunity to show the personality of our agency and our people. This year's "card" was noisy, fun and interactive. Check it out at www.mlinc.com/holidaysound.

Andrew Mintz from SalesQuill.com, January 19, 2010 at 12:25 p.m.

There's a new handwriting service available for those who don't have the penmanship, stationery or stamps at hand. Write your note on line, pick a penmanship style, hit submit and a handwritten note is penned in Portland, Maine. The company url is http://bit.ly/5IjWKA.

Enjoy writing again.

PS: Thank you notes for business are a specialty.

Tim Orr from Barnett Orr Marketing Group, Inc., January 22, 2010 at 7:45 p.m.

I almost hate saying this because if everybody does it, it will ruin our edge, but we have always ignored the December/January period and sent Thanksgiving greetings instead. NOBODY sends you a Thanksgiving card. And for that reason alone, one stands out. It's also a mostly non-religious holiday, and being thankful to clients and even suppliers is extraordinarily relevant.