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With the holiday season spreading joy and cheer all around us, it is also probably the ideal time for you to send out holiday cards to your wedding clients, friends, and family. Not only does it count as a great gesture to show that you care for them but it is also a wonderful way to maximize your reach among your potential clients and grow your business. And to help you do that, we’ve gone ahead and created a step-by-step process for a successful holiday card campaign you can implement just in time for the holidays this year.

CREATING A HOLIDAY CARD CAMPAIGN

A business campaign revolving around holiday cards could be your perfect tool to grab the attention of your clients and expand your income. It is also a great way to keep in touch with your clients long after the wedding is over and the wedding images are delivered. The steps discussed here could help you design the ideal campaign to make your clients relive the amazing photography experience you had offered to them and maybe even prompt them to reach out to you for more such experiences when the need arises. So here goes the list!

1. DEFINE A GOAL

Before you pick up the mouse and get your creative juices flowing on customizing your holiday cards, first determine the goal behind this campaign. Do you want to raise awareness of your brand and increase the number of prospective clients for your business? Will you sell the cards to past and current clients with their wedding photos? Is your goal to focus on your dedicated clients and send love to them? Defining the goal behind your campaign could also be the first step on the path to success. Remember to add metrics to your goal, as this will help keep you motivated.

Related Read: How To Grow Your Wedding Business With Holiday Cards

2. RESEARCH PRODUCTS AND PRICING

Now that you have established a goal, define the specifics for what you want your cards to look like and the direction you want to go with the message on it. Will your holiday cards be humorous or sentimental? What size do you envision your cards, and what type of paper do you want to print? Once you decide on what direction you are going to take, research various companies to determine who can best help you achieve your vision. Remember to review the different pricing options as well.

Related Read: Holiday Cards For Business: How To Maximize Sales

3. DETERMINE A BUDGET

While it would be nice to send cards to all of your clients, friends, and family members, the cost and timeliness of this can add up quickly. Based on your research of pricing options for the cards, determine your budget for this campaign. Once you have a budget in mind, select who will receive holiday cards from you. Will you send cards to your clients from this past year, your friends, or your family? When determining your budget, remember to factor in the cost of printing, as well as shipping for each card. Staying within your budget is crucial, because you want to grow your business with this campaign!

Quick Tip: With any spare funds in your budget, you could even consider adding fellow vendors and other colleagues to your holiday card list.

4. WATCH OUT FOR CARD TEMPLATE PACKS

To get started, look out for holiday card templates. Look for templates that are customizable to fit the needs of your business, allowing you to add your style to each design. Once most of the heavy lifting in creating the basic layout is done, all you’ll need to do is add your personal touches to the cards before you send them out.

5. RESEARCH AND PREPARE FILES

With your customizable templates, decide how many images are needed per design. A meaningful way to reach out to your clients could be including your favorite photograph of your clients from their wedding day. That way, you’ll remind your couple of their special day that you were a part of. Another approach is to include a photo of you with your family to remind clients you are just like them. Once you have selected your images, spend a few minutes retouching them. Since only a couple of images will be used on each card, you want them to look their best!

6. CREATE THE HOLIDAY CARDS

Once the research and preparation is complete, you can begin creating your holiday cards! Decide if you will use the same basic template for each client, or see if you want to customize each template to be unique for each person. When creating your cards, consider choosing a template that flatters the size and type of paper you selected. Decide the best placement for your images on the cards and where you want the text to be placed. When choosing a font for your holiday cards, the idea should be to have fun with it. Just remember to choose one that is not too difficult for your couples to read.

7. CUSTOMIZE THE HOLIDAY CARDS

This is one of the really fun parts, which is adding your personal touch to the cards! With a holiday card template pack to make your job easy, there are several ways to make each one unique to match your brand style. You can change the background color of the card or modify what the text says. If you want to personalize each card even more, update the text to include the couple’s names in it! As a final touch, add your logo so everyone knows who created the card.

8. ORDER THE HOLIDAY CARDS

At this point, revisit the previous steps to ensure you are happy with the cards you designed. Are they designed in a way that will help you achieve your goal? Are you in line with your determined budget? If so, you can begin the ordering process for your cards. Shipping time will vary based on where you decide to order the cards from, so be sure to order them well in advance of when you plan to send them out.

9. PREPARE ADDRESSES TO SEND

While you are waiting in anticipation for your holiday cards to arrive, take this time to find and organize the contact information you need for sending the cards. Do you have the correct spelling of the clients’ names and addresses? If you are sending cards to people you have not been in contact with recently, be sure to check the address you have is correct. Once everything is up to date and you have the cards, a great way to show how much your clients and friends mean to you is to hand-write, or if you have the bandwidth - hand-letter, each envelope. This touch of personalization shows the time and effort you spent to make them something special.

10. SEND OUT THE HOLIDAY CARDS

Now comes the final step, which is sending your cards. Create a plan for when you want to send out the cards based on when you want people to receive them. You will want the cards to be received before the holidays are over, so people can display and share them with their friends and family.

Quick Tip: If you are sending any holiday cards across the country, remember to plan for additional time for the card to arrive at the destination.

CONNECT WITH YOUR CLIENTS WITH HOLIDAY CARDS

Creating a holiday card campaign is a great way to connect with your current and past clients, as well as spread the word about your photography business. In all likelihood, your clients will appreciate your creative ideas and even share this unique and personalized experience with others. And if you have exciting holiday sessions planned for your clients, you could even consider getting in touch with them through personalized and creative emails especially designed for the holidays. Steps like these could go a long way in ensuring that the relationships you build and secure with your clients help you grow your business. So, what are you waiting for? Spread some cheer and joy with a creative holiday card campaign this festive season.