Holiday cards are big business. And they can cause almost as much anxiety as planning the office holiday party. Whether you buy pre-made cards or create custom designs for your business, here are are some tips I gleaned from researching a holiday content package Staples asked us to build.
5 tips for creating a better business holiday card
- It's never too early to start planning your holiday mailings, and thanks to email, it's almost never too late, either! But regardless of how you're sending it, you need to leave some time to make your mailing list and check it twice.
- Unless you're doing a set-it-and-forget-it photo card using a template, or buying pre-printed greetings, seek professional help if you don't have the talent internally. Your business holiday dispatch should stand out because it's thoughtful or creative, not because it establishes a new low.
- Print versus digital depends on your business, your budget and your customers' preferences. Choose the format and delivery channel that feels appropriate for your enterprise, your own personality and your clientele's expectations.
- You don't need to feel bound to traditional scenes and messages -- but be careful using humor or coloring too far outside the lines since there are some preconceived notions about the kind of greetings we receive during the winter holidays.
- No matter how hard you try not to, you can inadvertently offend. Show preliminary ideas and mock-ups to a handful of trusted people with different perspectives and backgrounds to get varied insights.
Get more advice on how to create a business holiday card by checking out the content package we created:
- Holiday Face-Off: Should You Send Printed Cards or Digital Cards? Short answer: It depends.
- 4 Trends in Small Business Holiday Cards. Consider these trends as you brainstorm your holiday card.
- Small Business Holiday Cards: Your Design Tip Sheet. How to avoid sending the message "You’re nothing but an account number to us, but happy holidays anyway.”