An Easy Way to Stand Out in the Crowded Mailbox
My wife and I don’t check our mailbox nearly enough. We get most of our bills online, so it’s normally full of junk mail and catalogs. Nothing we care to read. December is always the exception. Every day is exciting because we look forward to getting Christmas cards from family and friends.
We all love to get cards. According to the Greeting Card Association, Christmas is the most popular card-sending holiday of the year, accounting for more than 60 percent of all individual season cards sold. Valentine’s Day is second. Americans purchase nearly 7 billion greeting cards every year, which is great news for the 3,000 greeting card publishers in America.
Quite frankly, I’m surprised Americans purchase billions of greeting cards every year. Technology has made it so easy to send a quick e-mail. It’s cheaper, and we can cover an entire database with the click of a button. There certainly is nothing wrong with using technology to reach out to those around us, but it simply cannot replace the feeling we get when we open the mailbox and see a hand-addressed card.
Too often we only buy and send cards when we feel we are required. I think we need to send more “just because” cards. Anyone who chooses to take the time to send a personal card will stand out in a unique way these days. So here’s the challenge. Go out and buy a stack of cards and keep them on your desk (before you can ever begin to make sending cards a habit, you must have a supply). Commit to sending just one card a week. Not just birthdays and other “required” holidays. Send them “just because.”
In a world of sameness, you will have found a way to stand out from the crowd.
