ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
Greeting Card Tango: How To Impress, Not Stress, During The Holidays
When it comes to holiday greeting cards, to send or not to send is often the question. Once you have decided in the affirmative, you then have to determine who to include on your list, what kind of card to choose and how to address the envelope. There are lots of reasons for sending those holiday cards. You might want to enhance your current business relationships, attract new customers, remind old clients that you exist or show appreciation to those who have faithfully supported you during the year. What is obviously a well-meaning gesture can actually offend the people you want to impress when it is not done properly. The first place to start is with a good quality card to show that you value your clients and colleagues. Skimping on your selection can be interpreted in a number of ways. Your recipients might take it as a sign that business has not been good or that they aren't worth a little extra investment on your part. Make sure your list is up-to-date with correct names and current addresses. If you do this on a regular basis, it does not become a dreaded holiday chore. As you gain new clients and contacts throughout the year, take a few minutes to add them to your database and mark them for your greeting card group. This way you won't overlook anyone or embarrass yourself by sending the card to the old address. Sign each card personally. Even if you have preprinted information on the card such as your name - which is an impressive detail - you need to add your handwritten signature. The most elegant cards should still have your personal signature and a short handwritten message or greeting. Sound like a lot of trouble? If the business or the relationship is worth it, so is the extra effort. This is your chance to connect on a personal level with your clients and colleagues. Take the time to handwrite the address as well. If you are ready to throw up your hands at this point and forget the whole project, then have someone else address the envelopes for you. Whatever you do, don't use computer-generated labels. They are impersonal and make your holiday wishes look like a mass mailing. You may save time and even money, but lose a client or a business associate in the process. You may mail your greeting to the home if you know the business person socially. Be sure to include the spouse's name in this instance. The card is not sent to both husband and wife at the business address unless they both work there. Whether you are addressing the envelope to an individual or a couple, titles should always be used. It's "Mr. John Doe," not "John Doe," or "Mr. and Mrs. John Doe, rather that "John and Mary Doe." Be sensitive to the religious and cultural traditions of the people to whom you are sending your cards. Find out whether they observe Christmas, Hanukah or Kwanzaa and make sure your message is appropriate for each individual. If you decide to go with one card and a single message for all, choose a generic one that will not offend. "Season's Greetings" and "Happy Holidays" are both safe bets. Mail your greetings in time to arrive for the designated holiday. If you find yourself addressing the envelopes on Super Bowl Sunday, keep the cards until next year and send out a high-quality note thanking people for their business during the previous year instead. The best way to avoid the last minute greeting rush is to have all your envelopes addressed before Thanksgiving. Then during December you can leisurely write a short message - one or two lines are all that is necessary on each card, sign your name and have them in the mail with a minimum of hassle. You now have all the time in the world for the shopping, baking, decorating and celebrating that accompany the holiday season. ************************************************* Additional Tips for Addressing Envelopes If you are about to address your holiday greeting cards or the invitations to the company party and you are confused about the correct way to do it, you are not alone. There are situations that we have not had to consider before. There are more women with professional titles, increased numbers of women who retain their maiden name after marriage, and couples choosing alternative living arrangements. The simple act of addressing an envelope has become quite complicated. Here are a few tips to cover the majority of those demanding dilemmas. Always write titles on the envelope. The card or invitation goes to "Mr. John Smith," not "John Smith." It is addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith," instead of "John and Mary Smith." When you address a couple, use titles, rather than professional initials. It's "Dr. and Mrs. John Smith," not "John Smith, M.D. and Mrs. Smith." If both the husband and the wife are doctors, you write, "The Doctors Smith." However, if they use different last names, you address the envelope to "Dr. John Smith and Dr. Mary Brown." The husband's name is placed first. If the wife is a doctor and the husband is not, you send your invitation to "Mr. John Smith and Dr. Mary Smith." Try to get it all on one line. When the husband has an unusually long name, the wife's title and name are indented and written on the second line: The Honorable Jonathon Richardson Staniskowsky and Mrs. Staniskowsky When a couple is not married and share a mutual address, their names are written on separate lines alphabetically and not connected by the word "and." Ms. Mary Brown
When the woman outranks her husband, her name is written first. It's "Major Mary Smith and Lieutenant John Smith." Note: The man's name is always written first unless the wife outranks him or if the couple is unmarried and her last name precedes his alphabetically. So much for "Ladies first." (c) 2004, Lydia Ramsey. All rights in all media reserved. About The Author Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of MANNERS THAT SELL - ADDING THE POLISH THAT BUILDS PROFITS. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, Investors' Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple and Woman's Day. For more information about her programs, products and services, e-mail her at Lydia@MannersThatSell.com or visit her web site http://www.mannersthatsell.com.
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Successful Holiday Gift Giving Starts with a Plan It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and the clock is ticking down as we grow closer to the holiday festivities. By now, many have either started thinking about what they are going to purchase for those on their gift list ? others are in full holiday shopping mode. The holiday season proves to be a stressful time for some, adding to their already tension-filled lives. Buying gifts is only half of the dilemma ? deciding what to buy makes up the other half. The Five Best Cigar-Related Fathers Day Gifts According to a recent study by the internet cigar retailer WhatsKnotToLove.com, Father's Day -- that shameless day of the year when wives, daughters and sons have to publicly humiliate themselves in a quest for a gift they know will go unappreciated -- has become a national epidemic. More than sixty million American Fathers are affected by a disappointing Father's Day, and it is estimated that half of those try to conceal the fact with crooked smiles and unintelligible mumbles that invoke the Need a Moment? Twix Bar commercial. Fortunately, the disease rarely causes permanent disability -- if the syndrome is identified early and gift-givers comply with at least one of the five following treatment strategies. Low On Cash For Christmas? Try Gifts in a Jar Time is money, and right now you don't have either the time or the money to answer the call of the shopping mall at Christmas. The only way you can show your friends love, peace on earth, goodwill towards men is by shopping at Macy's, so you think. Valentines Day Flowers Flowers & Valentine's Day go hand in hand. Your Valentine will be so thrilled to receive a beautiful flower arrangement! Of course, Roses are known for their association with love. They are available in many colors and can create quite an impressive presentation. For a really impressive gift, send a 2 or 3 dozen arrangement, WOW! Looking for something a little different than the standard red roses? Consider "Black Magics!" With their dark red velvet like petals, Black Magics express elegance, class and true beauty. Perfect for your Special Valentine! 10 Ways to Keep Your Expectations From Making You Crazy This Christmas Christmas is a wonderful time! Everyone is full of good cheer, the milk of human kindness and 20 pounds of candy. All gifts are given with love, are exactly the right size, are exactly the right color, or exactly the right thing for exactly the price you could afford. Right? A Christmas Tradition - Vintage Ornaments Traditional hand-blown glass Christmas ornaments never seem to go out of style. There is something special about them: pulling them out year after year and smiling at the memories they bring back. Putting up familiar Christmas ornaments is one of the rituals that make the holidays special. This month we'll talk about vintage Christmas ornaments. Jewelry Christmas Gifts That Sparkle and Shine The joyous season of Christmas is steeped in tradition, and gift giving is one ritual that is inseparable from this holiday. Who hasn't had difficulty at one time or another in choosing a suitable present for a beloved family member or a dear friend? Fortunately, jewelry Christmas gifts are widely available and there is an endless variety of styles from which to choose. Twinkling and shining, they reflect the nature of that season to be jolly. Valentines Day - A Guide for Men Did you know that after Christmas, Valentine's Day is the biggest retail holiday? That means a variety of things for you the consumer, but mostly it means the market is saturated with a plethora of heart-shaped, cutesy, not so worth it products. I have a philosophy?one that is not always popular?but here it goes. If you love someone, then saying "I love you" is a full time job, not one accomplished by dime store shrink-wrapped chocolates and plush toys holding bags of candy hearts. Home For The Holidays: Happy Times, Right This time of the year is supposed to be happy. A time when family is warm and welcoming. A time for loving and feeling loved. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - How to Tap in to the Holiday Publicity Bonanza If your product or service can be given as a gift, a publicitywindfall awaits at the end of the year - but you need to startworking in June. Each December, media outlets cover the newest,the hottest and the most unusual Holiday gifts. The reportersassigned to develop these pieces typically depend on two sourcesof information: The Cheapest Christmas Ever! Have you ever said "I wish we didn't have to spend so much money on Christmas?" or "I wish we could have Christmas without going into debt!" Well here is your answer - tell your family that next Christmas no one is allowed to buy a new, expensive gift for anyone! Yes, I really said that. Tell them that all presents must be from garage sales, tag sales, yard sales, auctions, handmade or made over. Anniversary Gift Ideas Year by Year, the First Nineteen Years It's impossible to remember what gift is traditional for each anniversary. This article is perfect to print out or post on your website for easy reference. Plus gift ideas for each anniversary makes it easy, you'll never miss getting the perfect anniversary gift again. Event Planning 101 One of the tools I use as a professional organizer are countdowns. Color Easter Eggs Naturally With Dyes From Your Kitchen The most beautiful dyes for Easter eggs come from foodstuff you probably already have in your kitchen. Say I Love You For Valentines Day With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about the perfect gift for the one you love. Whether you are looking for something special on a tight budget or would simply like to add something special to another gift, there's no better way to express your love than by saying it in a variety of languages. The Rose Lifestyle is style over amount. And style is an art - the art of living. You can't buy style with money. You can't buy good taste with money. You can only buy more with money. Lifestyle is culture - the appreciation of good music, dance, art, sculpture, literature, plays and the art of living well. It's a taste for the fine, the unique, the beautiful. Samanthas Bay Leaf Ritual for the New Year HI would like to share with you a ritual I do every New Year's that is quite involved and requires a lot of thought and meditation time. It is derived from an ancient Greek ritual for prosperity and fertility. As you may recall, ancient Mediterranean Kings and Queens used to wear garlands of bay leaves (as well as olive leaves) as crowns. Bay leaves, and often bayberry leaves, are often used in Alexandrian magic as well, as well to draw success in business and finances. I like this ritual because first of all it is very "white" and it also involves the writing down of your wishes. The writing down of your wishes on 108 bay leaves works in the same way as a positive affirmation. The stating of your goals and desires allows you to properly manifest them in real life. Every year I pull out my old bay leaves and sort through them and I am always astounded by how many of my wishes have actually been granted. Important Chinese Festivals Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year (January/February) Gift Shopping Tips for Tight Budgets Have you seen the prices of greeting cards lately? It is hideous! Once you purchase the card and gift-wrap, your overall cost can easily increase by $10 to$15. If you are on a tight budget, this can be difficult as you spend more on the fluff and less on the actual gift. Not only are greeting cards expensive, their sizes often overwhelm small gifts, which make the overall presentation, looking goofy and unbalanced. Basically, you really don't need to spend on expensive greeting cards to make an impression. 15 Ways to Create Some Extra Holiday Money Originally this was going to be a list for my two teenagers but some of these ideas are better suited to adults with a valid driver's license and a bit of know-how. Some of these take a bit of planning and organizing, but most of them could be done on a fairly spur of the moment case by case basis. The great thing about a lot of these ideas is that you're spreading holiday cheer by helping to make someone else's otherwise stressful and overwhelming to-do list a little bit easier. Who wouldn't pay to have someone come do a few of these things for you? Mostly, what's important is that you remember to provide a quality item or service to the buyer with a smile on your face and in your heart. Have fun with these!
|
|
|
|
|
