Using Everyday Greeting Cards

Special occasions usually hold important places in our lives.  They are times to celebrate, spend time with those you care about, and lead to many happy memories.  Thoughtful gifts and greeting cards can become cherished items for years to come.  Sometimes, though, it is tempting to live from one holiday, birthday, or anniversary to the next without paying much attention to the time in-between.  If you think about it, that can actually seem like a terrible waste.  The vast majority of our time is spent on regular days, which often get lost in the responsibilities of daily life.  We may forget to take a look at who we really are and what and who really matter to us in the course of normal life. 

However, there is no reason to merely exist and subsist and reserve true joy or meaningful interaction with others until a social event.  Why not let those people you care about know it more often than not?  A thoughtful way to express yourself is by simply giving a greeting card.  The act of selecting, possibly writing, and signing a greeting card doesn’t take much time or effort, but it has the capacity to resonate with someone.  I can’t remember a time when I received a greeting card and was disappointed.  Everyday Cards aren’t only reserved for special occasions.  They can be given for everyday events like wishing a child well on their test at school, thanking a parent for their insightful advice, or congratulating a co-worker on putting out that pesky popcorn inferno you ignited in the break room microwave.  Everyday cards should be used every day.  If you have something to say, feel free to say it with a greeting card. 

Why are Greeting Card Assortments a Great Gift?

Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, or any special occasion; we find ourselves stressing on what the perfect gift would be. A greeting card assortment box is the answer to alleviate all your worries. Personally, I love to gift things that the person can either use, it’s in the person’s needs, or comes in handy. When my son graduated Kindergarten, I couldn’t think of a gift to give to his teachers other than your boring set of flowers. I decided to gift each of them a greeting card assortment box.

In the following school year, I was able to chat with my son’s kindergarten teacher and was truly pleased to find out how happy she was with her gift. It’s a gift that is not normally thought of, but it comes in handy in that last minute when you’re running out of the door to a celebration and forgot to buy a card. It comes in handy when you want to send a card to a relative or friend that may live far just to wish them well or even to send them sympathy if a tragic event ever occurred. Overall, the greeting card assortment box is a shoe win as a gift to anyone of any age and for any occasion.

13th Annual Create a Greeting Card Scholarship Contest – Round 1 Finalists Announced!

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Birthday Cards in the Office Elevate Morale

Why give birthday cards to your coworkers? It’s fun and it makes them feel good. The question is what kind of card should I send? Well that’s part of the fun part. Do you really the people you spend one third of your life with? Give it a try now.

Is the person sitting next to you a happy person or do they appear down too often? They may need some cheering up so let’s get them something funny or cute. Do they like puppies or are they a foodie? There’s your start, get to know the people you work with better and when it is their birthday they will appreciate you taking the time to understand what they like.

Here are a few tips:

  • If the person seems like a grouch, they may have problems at home or have bad arthritis, so kill them with kindness and send a warm card on their birthday.
  • If the person is always joking, they will probably appreciate a funny card.
  • If the person is a gossip, don’t give them any fuel to feed the gossip mill, send them a card with a very neutral message.
  • If you really dislike the person, send a card anyway but don’t bother thinking about it too much.

The best approach is to have a ready supply of different designs available so you are always ready when birthdays come around. People appreciate you thinking about them and they will show it. The atmosphere of friendliness makes the morale so much better when you work in an office.

Dark vs. light Stock Greeting Cards

This has been an ongoing debate for years.  Do I go with the dark stock paper or the light stock paper for my greeting card?  Which is more elegant? Which makes more of a statement?

On the one side, the dark stock paper, whether it be black, blue, green or red, has a unique flair.  It is not something you see all the time.  When you add the gold or silver foil imprinting, the words just jump off the page.  The negative feedback to the dark paper is that it is a little down beat.  It doesn’t scream cheer as you would expect from a greeting card.

The other side of the debate is the light stock card.  Whether you are looking at a white or buff background card, it is the norm.  You will find cards printed on these two colors everywhere.  There is no distinction to these cards.  In this case, you have to rely on the front picture and the inside message to really make your point.  These cards do exude a brightness and perkiness to your sentiments.  You also have more options as far as imprint colors.  You can use blue, black, green or red ink besides the option of silver or gold foil. 

I feel it is all personal preference.  No matter what card stock, dark or light, that you choose to go with, it is the message you are sending that counts.

Card Imprinting on Business Holiday Cards

Personalizing or card imprinting on Business Holiday Cards is key in getting your company name out there to all of your customers, clients and vendors. But equally important is how its looks. Whether a company decides to add their logo or go with standard typesetting, it needs to look “nice.” It should be appropriately sized for the card, and color selection should complement the front of the card. For more conservative companies, black might be a better or safer choice. One-color printing looks more cohesive inside the card, the greeting should be the same color as the card personalization. A red foil greeting with the company name typeset in green foil does look “Christmas-y” but it also looks like the company name was thrown on the card as afterthought. If the front of the card is mostly red or green, choose either color for inside the cards; printing in blue ink for whatever reason creates a card that does not look professional or well designed.

When a logo is used for the card imprint, there may be corporate “Identity” standards that require that certain colors must be used when printing a logo. If these PMS or “branded” colors cannot be followed, a typical workaround involves printing the logo in black and occasionally in gold or silver foil. If a company logo appears on a holiday card in black, it probably does not mean they lack holiday spirit. They are probably following set guidelines as required by corporate mandate.

Whatever colors appear when you open your next holiday card, be thankful you received it; it indicates your business is much appreciated by the sender!

Correspondence Note Cards vs. Business Cards

There is a significant difference between correspondence note cards and business cards.  So let’s discuss the differences…

Correspondence Note Cards

Correspondence Note Cards are perfect for short notes that can be used for business or personal use.  The cards measure 4 ¼ by 6 3/8 and can be used in many instances such as for Thank You notes or to recognized employee milestones.  At the top of your correspondence note cards, you can imprint your name, initials or short personalized message in your choice of 4 different fonts and choice of ink or foil.

The egg shell white correspondence note cards are available in a boxed set of 15 plat panels with matching seal fast envelopes.  To add a little flair to the cards they have an embossed border framing your personalization.  If you are in need of a unique gift, these are a memorable, personalized option.

Business Cards

Business cards have a completely different use.  Sure, you can use correspondence note cards to pass on your company information, however, the sole purpose of business cards are to promote yourself and your company.  They are an effective, low cost and convenient marketing tool.  You can add images of yourself, your product or your location along with adding pertinent text on the front and back.  Where correspondence note cards are only available in the egg shell white, business cards can be customized in a variety of colors and many different fonts opposed to just the four for note cards.

Choose the product that best suits your needs.

Welcome Cards Make You Feel At Home

Greeting Cards are probably the most welcome mail we get. We get holiday cards, birthday cards, easter, mother’s day, etc. The one thing they have in common is they make us feel good. Sending and receiving cards benefits the sender as well as the receiver.

Let’s go the extra mile to make new employees feel great about working at our company. Sending or giving them welcome cards will calm their first day jitters. An employee will be instantly happy to be in a company that thinks enough of them to make them feel welcome. Nobody wants to be just a number.

Do you belong to a club or organization? A great way to encourage a new member is to send them a Welcome card. Especially when the group divides into a circle of friends in the organization, will the inductee feel more comfortable with a card in hand. We all need encouragement when we are the newbies.

Putting ourselves in other people’s shoes will certainly give us a better grasp of how the newest people feel. Let’s get on the Welcome train wherever we are. A warm greeting in a card and a smile is the best feeling. Welcome aboard!

Handshakes & Business Cards

Handshakes and business cards take doing business from strictly business to the more personal side of things.  Business can be gained or lost by just these two simple, but necessary things.  The impression you make with either of these will be remembered. Customers or potential customers will link the two with your character and professionalism.

Have you ever shaken someone’s hand and immediately had a negative thought about them?  Maybe they seemed weak or unsubstantial, but maybe you shook their hand and felt this person has depth of character.  You want the person you are connecting with to exude confidence in their handshake.  You are more likely to reach back out to a business acquaintance if you felt poise and conviction.

Business cards can have the same power and are just as important as that handshake. If you present a simple, dynamic business card, you are presenting yourself as a motivated professional. On the other side of it, if your business card looks haphazard with spelling mistakes or missing information, chances are that your client or potential client will move in a different direction. Your handshake and business card speak volumes of who you are as a businessman. Make sure to put your best foot, or should I say hand, forward.

The Versatility of Corporate Thank You Cards

You probably haven’t received a Thank You card in a while. Is it because they seem passé? Sure feels like it, but in today’s hustle bustle, it is more important than ever to use Thank You cards as a way of acknowledging your appreciation. For example, the elusive client meeting you finally landed.  Sure you may have taken the client out to lunch and sent a “thanks for meeting with me” email, but a Thank You card is a way to get noticed and stand out from the rest. Don’t miss the opportunity to get customers thinking positively about you and your business.  

Thank You cards also work great for your suppliers or vendors as well.  Have any of them gone out of their way to meet a deadline for you?  If so, keep the good relations going with a Thank You card. 

Thank You cards are great for giving internal kudos to those who deserve it. You obviously don’t want to send a card every time someone does their job right, but you do want to recognize those employees who go above and beyond. 

Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish yourself as a company or a person in the corporate world, but using Thank You cards at appropriate times will really set you apart from the pack.