The holiday season is upon us! Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving, Honica, Kwanza, Christmas, Yule, or just the New Year, it is a time of reflection, renewal, and family. Many people send out holiday cards with family pictures, pictures of their pets, and a little update of how the year went. The intention is usually to stay in touch with distant friends and family in a clever way. But what about your business?

You might be thinking "No way! That's cheesy!" And if that is your first instinct, I would reccomend skipping holiday cards. There is no right or wrong way to market your business, as long as it aligns with your values and you have peace about it.

If you are on the fence, here are some recommendations to get the most impact with those holiday cards.

Keep it Light

Life can be heavy, and if we are being real running a business can be extra heavy. This time of year can bring out the best and worst in people, so keep it light if you are marketing to your past clients. Stick to cute greetings, short and sweet updates, etc. We want to bring joy this season, not negativity!

Try to Limit Sales or CTAs

CTAs, or Call to Actions, are great for most marketing materials! Not only are they great, they are often required to generate business. What good is a social media post if it doesn't help drive business to you? In the case of holiday cards, we want this to feel like a genuine, human touch. Imagine how you feel getting a sales letter that gives you zero warm fuzzy feelings–– it often ends up in the trash. If you want to offer a promotion for your past customers that is great! Value adds are never a bad thing, but it should be presented as a gift rather than a sales pitch. "Thank you for supporting my business. Here is 20% off all my services through the end of the year!" has a very different tone than, "Get 20% off all services by visiting sales.com and sharing my page on your socials!" The second promotion isn't bad or even negative, but the tone shifts from generousity to regular sales. 'Tis the season to be generous!

Include a Personal Photo

Now this one is more of an option than a recommendation. If you want to connect with your customers on a personal level, an appropriate non-selfie photo of you and/or family/pets would be a great addition! Seeing someone as a human being rather than just a business builds empathy and relationships. It is a great reason to add an image to your email signature as well!

Handwrite What You Can

If you have a customer database of over 250 past clients, it might not be realistic or even worthwhile to handwrite all of the address labels and a personal message. If you are able to recruit support from family and friends, handwriting whatever you can on the cards or envelopes can also add a human touch! It could be simply handwriting the address label, or writing a quick thank you note on the card itself. Whatever you can swing with your resources is recommended.

Happy Holidays!

If you need assistance with designing or even sending out holiday cards, we are here to help! Ideally getting the cards ready before the end of November will ensure the cards arrive on time, but some years are chaos, and you can always send a Happy New Year card rather than a Christmas card if this time of year is too busy. Let us know if you need anything at all! Good luck!