It’s the same every year: Merry Christmas card time

We wish you a sparkling celebration and a New Year brimful of pleasant surprises.

We join with the Christ Child in wishing you a wonderful celebration. May the New Year bring you happiness, peace and prosperity.

We are grateful to you for your continued support and custom and wish you every success for the coming year.

Here are more ingredients for our Christmas card recipe:

1. Appreciation, not blah-blah
As mentioned earlier, steer away from stock phrases and empty words. Try thinking about the special things that happened during the year that’s drawing to an end and what connects you with your business partners. Use heartfelt language to arouse emotions. You’ll also find tips on an attractive writing style here. At the same time, you need to be nuanced: wishing a new customer you don’t know very well a happy Christmas with their loved ones might be inappropriate.

2. Creativity is also on the Christmas wish list

Make your card stand out by doing things differently. After all, you want the recipient to read your card with pleasure and not put it straight in the bin. Think about the choice of paper and/or the shape of the card – maybe a star? – or an original photo as a motif. Cards like that are more likely to be remembered than a folded A5 with the traditional Christmas tree on the front. Whatever you choose, opt for high quality paper and images. Amateur photos are counterproductive, so hire a professional if necessary.

3. No advertising under the Christmas tree!

Check that you don’t come across as too pushy. The best advertising for your company is a Christmas card to which you’ve given some thought: it shows that your customers are important and that they mean a lot to you.

4. Design not kitsch

Adhere to your company’s corporate design and stay true to yourself – it’ll ensure your brand recognition. However, don’t make your logo too obtrusive. Refrain from using ornate and kitschy fonts that are hard to read and look old-fashioned. Hand-signed cards are appreciated more than those with impersonal pre-printed signatures. Set time aside to sign a few cards each day by making this task a pre-Christmas ritual. Doing that also helps keep your mind fresh.

5. One or multiple versions?

Think about producing different variations of Christmas card for the various target groups. You might, for instance, want to address recipients in different ways. But fundamentally, compelling ideas and friendly texts are key to creating a good card that’s relevant to everyone. That’s why it’s worth investing time and effort here.

6. Planning and sending

Plan your Christmas cards well in advance and allow time for any translations. It’s best to send them at the beginning of Advent – that way, they’re sure to be read before Christmas and won’t end up unopened in the New Year’s recycling.

7. A concept avoids the annual headache

Developing a concept will save you having to “reinvent the wheel” every year in terms of the card’s design and text. One idea is to define a Christmas theme for implementation by an annually changing roster of creatives, artists and copywriters. This approach will ease your workload and ensure that what you’re sending is special and unique.

With this in mind, we wish you a happy  wonderfully creative Advent