Digital cards are an affordable way to send greetings
E-cards are a way to encourage visits to your site as well as a method for cleverly getting people to market your site on your behalf. When they forward one of your e-cards to their family and friends, they are essentially giving you their personal seal of approval. Their friends and family members are introduced to your message and may send your e-cards to more friends. You can increase your exposure with one e-card to 10 or more people.
Instructions
Creating E-cards on Your Site.
1. Get a digital camera and take photos of your offices, products or images representative of your industry. Create image files that your customers can scroll through to search for pictures for their greeting cards. (See Reference 1, pg. 134)
2. Upload the images to your website publishing file or your website's images folder. Give each image a relevant file name. Bundle all images into one folder.
3. Create a jingle for your company. Use desktop music software like Pro Tools or Cakewalk. Hire a student musician from the local community college to put together a few jingles. Keep them under one minute. Upload the music clips to your media folder.
4. Locate free e-card services. Perform a search for "greeting cards" or "e-cards." Review the sites that you come across until you find one that provides you with html code to embed in your site, allowing you and your users to customize e-cards.
5. Create a few e-cards that your customers can choose from. Save templates of e-cards that you have created. Brand all cards with your website address and company name.
6. Build a webpage to host your e-card offer. Embed the e-card customization feature from the site you've signed up with. Post the thumbnails of your greeting card templates along with a caption that encourages users to send an e-card to friends, family and colleagues.
7. Create a thank you page that customers will land on after they have sent their greeting cards. Add links to other interesting things they should see while they are on your website.
Sending E-Cards
8. Select an e-card design that you will send in bulk to all of your customers and prospects. Choose the background colors and the primary images for the e-card.
9. Write a light marketing message in the body of the card. Play around with the font choices until the card looks professional.
10. Add holiday music for e-cards sent to celebrate major holidays. If there is not a holiday coming up, add a jingle that fits the mood of the card.
11. Link your e-card service to your e-mail address book.
12. Choose the dates on which you want to send the cards out. Submit and send the cards through the free e-card service.
Tags: your website, greeting cards, your customers, e-card service, e-cards that, free e-card