How To Let Your Holiday Card Tell Your Family Story!
Posted: November 27, 2009 Filed under: Helpful Tips | Tags: holiday card, how to Leave a comment »Sending holiday cards is a tradition most people continue every year, and there are many good reasons why these cards are so deeply engrained into our yearly celebrations. A good holiday card manages to update everyone you know about your life, and how things have progressed over the last year. It allows your family and friends to connect with you no matter how far away you all are. It’s the link that makes sure we don’t lose track of some people forever.
Sometimes we forget to send holiday cards, or wait till it is too late. If you regularly receive holiday cards, you should make the effort to reciprocate the gesture. Start thinking about it early and make a list of who you will be sending them too, and make sure you have their updated addresses so it doesn’t get returned to you after you find out your cousin moved to Vancouver!
Another good tip is to be mindful of the faith of those you are sending to. If you have a friend who you know is Jewish, while your relatives are Christian, it is a really nice gesture to personalize the card in a way that reflects the faith of that particular person or family. And remember that a memorable card is one that tells the recipient all the notable facts of your year, but doesn’t get excessively wordy. Try to keep it to a paragraph or two and leave out any details that are not major so to avoid making the card appear messy. Make sure to state your well wishes for the recipient at the end.
Some people like to enclose a letter updating everyone about what happened during the year, while others find that to be too much work, too stressful or too imposing. An easier way to tell your story for the year is with photos. We live in such a visual society now that we are all constantly armed with thousands of digital photos taken over the year. Why not take the best of the best and work them into your holiday card? A card that features pictures of your year is even more exciting than one that just tells them what you have been up to. Try including pictures of any new changes in your life. People love to see pictures of your new baby or pet, renovations on your house, or a new purchase you’ve made. It is a very simple yet personal way of making a connection with that relative who never gets the chance to visit.
If you are going to go with a photo card, there are a lot of ways to have fun with it. Some creative families like to take their picture when they go on vacation every year, posing the same but in a different exciting location. If you take your photos at home, a fun option is to make it a different theme every year. One year you could all dress up as old Hollywood movie stars, the next year as Christmas personalities like Santa and his Elves. There are no limits on what you can do, so have fun with it and let your creativity drive you.
Of course if you want a fast, easy and efficient way to get your photo cards ready, CQ Cards is a great option. Our cards make a lasting impact on your recipients, and our customers tell us that their friends wait expectantly each for their Christmas card because of the great pictures and graphic design. We have one, two and three panel options depending on how many pictures you want to include, and we can write your update into the card so you can avoid rewriting it on every single card. We can also take care of addressing, enveloping, stamping and sending them for you as well. The holiday season is always stressful; we are here to make it easier for you.
Ten Reasons to Send Custom Corporate Holiday Cards
Posted: October 22, 2009 Filed under: Helpful Tips | Tags: card design, graphic design, holiday card Leave a comment »1. Stand out from the Crowd
Sending holiday cards is a terrific way to make a social connection with people who are important to your organization and you personally. However, sending a shelf bought or generic catalog card may not make the impression you are hoping for, but sending a customized holiday card just might. Services offered by companies such as CQ Cards can help you make your holiday greeting stand out in the crowd during that busy seasonal time of year.
2. Appeal to Different Audiences
With CQ Cards you have the option of changing the wording on your cards to fit the religious inclinations of your customers. If you know your audience well enough, you can segment the card run into Happy Holiday, Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas, or even create messages in different languages for diverse customer segments. The possibilities are endless, and the personalized touch will be noticed and appreciated.
3. Meet your Branding Objectives
There is no reason your holiday card shouldn’t reflect some of your basic branding features. Full card customization allows you to add your company logo and name anywhere on the card, and you can even add your primary marketing bylines. You can also coordinate the card design to match your company’s branding colors.
4. Inform about your Organization
It doesn’t hurt to tell them a little bit about your company. Add information about your locations, key product lines, services or personnel. If you’ve supported various charities throughout the year, let people know you care by listing them. If you’ve moved during the year, why not add a photo of your new location? You could also add some information about the background of your company – people love to learn about the history of a company and its workforce.
5. Personalize the Card Design Greeting
Choosing from alternatives is helpful but sometimes you just want to tweak the holiday message or greeting on the card front to be exactly the way you want it, even if that just means changing a word or two. With custom cards almost anything can be changed – even the elements of the design.
6. Save Time and Money
There is no longer a reason to waste the valuable time of your administrative professionals to address, stuff, seal, stamp, and mail so many cards during a very busy time of year. You can simply outsource those activities to your custom card supplier. They can do it more cost effectively while your team is free to do more important tasks.
7. Choose the Appropriate Card Formats
Custom card suppliers often allow you a choice of card formats. Although a two-panel card is the traditional choice, a three-panel card will help your greeting stand out in the sea of holiday cards sent each season. There is also the option of a one-panel card at a lower cost point. This may fit into your budget easier, while still allowing you to make that important social connection with the people who are so vital to your organization.
8. Choose the Right Signature Approach
For some card senders, signing the card is a very important personal touch. For others, adding their perfectly scanned signatures is a monumental time saver. In some cases they may want to include the scanned signatures of the entire team for that truly personal touch. With a custom card service, you get to decide which choice best suits your needs.
9. One on One Personalization to the Card Recipient
Your audience knows you care when you’ve personalized the card with their name in the greeting. If you have a personal connection to your audience then adding their names is easy and will leave the recipient feeling important. Making this happen is as simple as providing a spreadsheet of names and addresses to your custom card supplier and they can do the rest.
10. Make a Positive Impact
When done right, these cards leave a lasting impression, and will be appreciated by each and every card recipient. People will notice that little extra effort put into your holiday card, especially if you craft something that so unique that it speaks to them and about you.
CQ Cards specializes in outsourced custom designed corporate and personal holiday cards as well as custom announcement, invitation and thank-you cards for milestones and other events.
Holiday Card: Twinkle Tree
Posted: October 14, 2009 Filed under: Featured Card Design | Tags: card design, graphic design, holiday card Leave a comment »
Shirley personalized her Twinkle Tree (608) holiday card design in a few different ways. First she changed the color theme to a bright candy cane red, and changed the front panel text from “Happy Holidays” to “Merry Christmas”. She went with the three panel option, choosing to add pictures of her adventures on vacation, including all the monuments and exotic animals she photographed. She changed the back panel text from “Peace and Joy” to “Hope” and added a great picture of her Golden Retriever. It is truly a holiday card that captures her family beautifully.
