Business holiday greeting cards messages

It is already starting.

It is officially the season to send holiday greetings to your customers and business acquaintances.

As you start, they’ll just think you sent them the contents of a business holiday greeting template.

Not good.

How can you avoid this fate? How can you find some more inspiration for creative greetings?

Here’s the good news I have for you: By the time you’ve finished reading this article, you’ll have the words you need to create business holiday greetings that sparkle and bring warmth to the hearts of their readers.

The Dos and Don’ts of Business Holiday Greetings

Dos are things you should do. Don’ts are things you should not do.

This is important to know—even the most delicious spices won’t taste good if you use them incorrectly. So, there are a few things you need to know about writing business holiday greetings before I give you those 15 spicy words. Think of this as advice telling you “how to say it” and “how not to say it.”

Dos

• Begin with a seasonal expression or appropriate holiday greeting. For example, you can start a letter with “Seasonal greetings to you!” This will let readers know right away that you’re sending a holiday greeting.

• Express appreciation for the person you’re writing to (and their business) and express your wish of being of service to them in the future. This adds to the personalized touch.

• Wish the person you’re writing to happiness, success, health and/or prosperity. For example, you can write something like, “all the best to you in 2016.”

Don’ts

• Don’t let your holiday greeting be your only message. Such a card or letter screams “mass production” and, let me tell you, that is worse than sending no card at all. Make it personal by adding your own message to each individual person. Include details that show you know the person and their company.

• Don’t use a holiday greeting message as a sneaky way to get a point across (make people understand or believe something), lecture the group or relay office news.

• Don’t turn your holiday greeting into an aggressive sales letter.

More Holiday Greeting Writing Tips

It is not just the words you choose that will make your message sparkle. As you write your holiday greeting message consider that:

• Even though the holiday season may be joyous for you, it might not be for everyone. Santa may know who’s naughty and nice, but you can’t know who’s happy and sad. So here’s what you do—choose a message that is low-key. Express your good wishes, but make sure that it’s not gushing with cheer (overly cheerful).

• Not everyone has the same religious beliefs. Their new year may not begin on the first of January. Show respect for these facts by choosing terms that aren’t associated with religion such as “the holidays, ” “this season” and “at this time of year, ” and include the year in your happy new year wishes (“wishing you success and happiness in 2016″).

• While you don’t want to weigh your letter down with office news, feel free to include personal updates and important information such as a change of address.

Types of Holiday Greetings

Greeting cards, letters, email—which format choice will best suit your message? The choice is really up to you, but as with all choices each one has advantages and disadvantages.

• Greeting Cards — The good old greeting card is as much a feature of the holiday season as holiday sales and decorations. Do you love greeting cards? Then go ahead and send them. Just avoid the temptation to simply add your signature to cards with mass produced messages. Make the card meaningful by adding your own message. Better yet, buy a greeting card that’s blank inside and make your message the highlight of the card.

• Business Letters — How can you make your holiday greeting even more personal? Put it in a letter. You can make a letter as personal as you want by using different designs and graphics. Plus you can truly individualize the content. Your business associates know this and will appreciate your efforts. Oh, and don’t worry if you have bad handwriting. It’s acceptable to type your holiday greeting business letter.

Resources for Improving Your Holiday Business Greetings

I’m going to get you started in the right direction, but these aren’t the only words that you can use to add spice to your business holiday greetings. If you’re looking for more try:

• Performing a search on the Internet using the keywords “holiday greetings.” You’ll find greeting cards and lists that will feed your creativity.

• Looking at greeting cards in stores.

• Studying the greeting cards, letters and emails you receive.

1. Blessings

A blessing is a thing that leads to happiness or helps bring good things to you. A common holiday greeting phrase using the word “blessing” is “seasons’s blessings.”

You may also see the term “to count your blessings, ” meaning to stop and take time to be thankful for the good things in your life.

How would you use apply this to a business holiday greeting? Try saying something like, “This time of year compels us to count our blessings—and among them are good customers like you.”