It’s never too early to start planning your cards for the holiday season. To make the job easier, here is a 12-step guide to making the critical decisions, along with a timeline for getting it all done.
Open up your calendar and add these deadlines!
Table of contents
- 1. Which Holiday Are You Observing?
- 2. E-card, Printed Card or No Card?
- 3. To Contribute or Not to Contribute—That is the Question!
- 4. What’s Your Message: “Happy Holidays,” “Happy New Year” or …?
- 5. What’s the Creative Concept?
- 6. Who Will Receive the Card?
- 7. Who Signs and Sends the Card?
- 8. Where Do You Purchase Holiday Cards or How Do You Develop an E-card?
- 9. What About the Envelope or “From” Field in Your E-card?
- 10. Should you Conform or Buck the Holiday Card Trends?
- 11. How Much Will All This Cost?
- 12. We Have to Start When?
- There Is Still Time!
A Holiday Card Checklist to Make Your Job a Little Easier
Download the 12-step planner PDF and get a jump on your holiday to-do’s. Be sure to share the link with your staff and get these deadlines into your calendar.
Share the download link with your colleagues: https://bit.ly/HolidayCardPlanner
1. Which Holiday Are You Observing?
In recent years, some lawyers have decided to beat the holiday card rush and send “Happy Thanksgiving” or “Happy New Year” greetings. Most, however, send their cards to arrive in early December to take the traditional “season’s greetings” approach to cover the many holidays happening at the end of the year, including Christmas cards. Many holidays? Yes. Al-Kijra, Chanuka, Christmas, Kwanzaa and Chinese New Year to name a few.
It’s wise and thoughtful to remember that many clients and colleagues come from different faiths and ethnic backgrounds. Some observe their significant holidays at other times of the year entirely. Whatever the holiday and however you express your message, it is a good idea to start the project in September. So if you are reading this now, you are off to a good start!
2. E-card, Printed Card or No Card?
Do you want to sign your cards by hand or merely hit “send” to distribute? Perhaps you want to do both or maybe you don’t want to send a card at all? Although many firms have turned to e-cards, the signed printed card, including legal Christmas cards, is still a favorite. Whatever your decision, make your selection soon and get started right away on design concepts and updating mailing lists.
3. To Contribute or Not to Contribute—That is the Question!
Some law firms select three, four or more charitable organizations to contribute to at the holidays, others one or none. Some firms even make a contribution in the name of their clients and skip the greeting card.
4. What’s Your Message: “Happy Holidays,” “Happy New Year” or …?
What do you want the card to say? “Wishing you the best in the New Year?” “Warm holiday wishes to you and yours?” “Season’s greetings?” Or perhaps you want to go down the humorous message path or simply convey good wishes? The options are endless, of course. Just make sure your message accepts the celebration of various holiday traditions and that it is about the recipient instead of all about you. The best approach is to keep your content simple and concise.
5. What’s the Creative Concept?
Having selected the holiday message you wish to express, you have to consider the “creative.” What images will you use? What words will you choose? Do you want to include animation or music in your electronic card? If you incorporate music, what will it be? Perhaps a cheerful ‘merry Christmas’ tune? Holiday cards traditionally use many different images, including wintery landscape scenes, bright holiday lights, gifts being wrapped or unwrapped, wreaths and photos of cities in which the firms reside. Just make sure that the tone and spirit of the card reflects your firm’s brand. If that means something more unusual, creative or quirky, plan on production taking a bit more time then a traditional card, since the more creative elements that are added the longer it may take to get the concept through internal approval and production.
6. Who Will Receive the Card?
Maybe you’ve decided to send both electronic and print holiday cards. How do you decide who receives them and which lawyer or lawyers will sign and send them? Do you create one central list that is approved by firm management (just typing that phrase makes me cringe), or do practice groups develop their own lists and assign lawyers to send and therefore organize the signature process? For larger firms, this becomes one of the most difficult portions of the holiday card project. Another option is to have each individual lawyer responsible for their own holiday card distribution. The main concern here is that one recipient may receive multiple cards from your firm. Some firms believe this reinforces the importance of the recipient; others think it makes the firm look uncoordinated and wasteful.
As for the actual mailing list, you should include clients, prospects, friends of the firm, real or potential referral sources and firm alumni. Staff managers may wish to send greetings to vendors and professional association colleagues. In some firms, the relationship between firm and client is broadened by including paralegals, assistants and secretaries in the signing groups, or encouraging them to send their own greetings to their contacts in the client organization.
7. Who Signs and Sends the Card?
For a solo lawyer, this is a perfect time of year for a sincere handwritten note on each card. Lawyers in larger firms who can make this work while coordinating with others find it to be the best approach for them as well. Many different strategies have been developed for the actual signings, one being to set up large conference rooms for signing sessions to ensure that everyone who touches a client signs their card.
The best approach may be a combination of organized signing and individual attorneys sending their own cards, working with the relationship partner to make the decision. I am not sure taking only one approach is manageable, given all the variables. Clearly, for some clients you want to show a unified message. For others, that approach may not make sense because the contact your firm has with the client includes numerous people from completely different departments or offices. Your employment attorneys may be dealing with the HR professionals, where your litigation attorneys may be working only with one lawyer in the compliance department. So, your employment attorneys can sign one card for all the HR professionals and the litigation attorney can send one card to the compliance contact.
It goes without saying that this is all an organizational nightmare. (See why you need to start early?) Make sure now that you know who will have overall responsibility for this signing and mailing project. If you don’t, you’ll be sorry later on.
8. Where Do You Purchase Holiday Cards or How Do You Develop an E-card?
There are many places where you can just purchase the standard “cookie-cutter” holiday card, including lawyer Christmas cards, imprinted with your firm name or not. Simply type “corporate holiday cards” into the search engine of your choice. For a more unique holiday card, something that only your firm will have, reach out to a graphic designer or a company that creates electronic greetings. There are several companies geared toward law firm holiday e-greetings.
9. What About the Envelope or “From” Field in Your E-card?
It’s easy to get so focused on the card that you forget to plan the envelope. If you have multiple offices and lawyers sending cards, you will need to create envelopes with return addresses from each office. Nothing says, “I did not put any thought into my holiday greeting” like a holiday card from a Boston lawyer sent in an envelope with the firm’s New York return address. Also, lawyers in smaller offices have been known to feel marginalized by the implication that they aren’t in the “home (important) office.” In respect to an electronic card, on the front side you’ll need to figure out whether the “From” field of your email should be filled with the “Law Firm Name LLP” or each individual attorney’s name.
10. Should you Conform or Buck the Holiday Card Trends?
The trend toward electronic holiday cards continues. If you decide this approach better represents your firm or saves you money and time, make sure you let your designer know up front because it could take more time to develop something that is unique.
11. How Much Will All This Cost?
Of course, how much you spend will depend on different aspects of production. Print cards are expensive and, like anything a firm prints, the higher the quantity the more expensive the project. You also have to anticipate that the cost of print cards goes up with each one you send because of postage. The e-card makes the stamp and printing costs of the card and the envelope disappear. Yet, electronic cards are not necessarily the less expensive alternative. Do you want a static card, simple repetitive motions, complex repetitive motion or one that tells a story? The more creative elements, animation and story, the more expensive the e-card. I have seen quotes for e-cards in the following ranges:
Static: $1,500 to $3,000
Simple repetitive motions: $5,800 to $8,500
Tells a story: $12,000 to $24,500
That said, I have also seen much lower prices from smaller design companies and freelancers. If you choose this direction, you will need to shop around and ask for samples and references. (And actually call the references!)
12. We Have to Start When?
Take a look at this timeline for planning and delivering your firm holiday card. It becomes pretty obvious that time is already tight (assuming everyone is continuing to practice law during this period).
September: Just getting started.
Before the end of September, you should have already thought about:
The vendor or designer you will employ to create the card
The general creative concept and copy for your card
Whether or not you will be making a charitable contribution as part of the holiday greeting
Obtaining your first round of draft concepts for review and selection, especially if you are a legal professional
October: Keep the Project Going.
By this time, you should have addressed:
Approving the final card concept (and contribution recipient if you are doing that as part of this)
Identifying the number of print cards you need and ordering them
Determining how many envelopes you will need and ordering them
Beginning your mailing list process
Informing the firm’s lawyers (if more than one) of when and how the cards will be distributed to them for signing
Prepping any other staff or departments that touch the holiday card project on their role in implementing
November: The Real Countdown Begins.
It is almost over. Keep up the momentum, and by the end of November, you should have:
The E-card complete and printed cards in hand
Mailing lists updated and confirmed
Printed cards distributed to lawyers
Signing of the masses complete (if you take that approach)
Started snail-mailing right after Thanksgiving
December: The Holidays Are Here!
It’s almost time to celebrate. By the end of the second week of December, you should:
Complete your mailing, preferably in early December
Handle any last-minute requests for additional cards
Incorporate your e-card on your firm website
There Is Still Time!
OK, so perhaps you didn’t read this article until mid-November. It is acceptable to send cards out throughout the end of December. You will have a difficult time finding a vendor to create a custom card for your firm — they are busy working for others — but nothing’s impossible. However, you’ll want to gear your message more toward “Happy New Year” if it goes out toward the end of December. You’ll also have to eliminate any intention to send the card out with multiple signatures.
Good luck and happy holidays!
Image © iStockPhoto.com.
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