Mail Cards 4 Me

Moved

2006-03-30T14:05:00.000-08:00

This blog has moved. Please see the new blog at www.mailcards4me.com.

How To Write Thank You Letters With Class

2006-03-14T09:45:00.000-08:00

How To Write Thank You Letters With Class
By Shaun Fawcett

When I first started tracking the information preferences of people visiting my Writing Help Central Web site I was surprised to find how many folks were seeking information on how to write thank you letters. In fact, "thank you letter" information and sample templates are the third ranked destinations at that Web site.

However, I caution you to be careful if you conduct a "thank you letter" keyword search using an engine such as google or yahoo. Those top 10 or 20 search results will definitely give you the wrong idea about thank you letters in the broad sense. Looking at those results alone you'll find that the vast majority of so-called experts seem to think that there is essentially only one kind of thank you letter - one written after a job interview.

In reality, this is a very narrow view that fails to recognize the literally dozens of situations for which thank you letters are often warranted. I believe that this proliferation of references to employment-related thank you letters is simply a reflection of the massive number of Web-based businesses involved in the online career and job hunting services industry.

WHEN TO SAY THANK YOU IN WRITING

The purpose of a thank you letter is self-explanatory. Write one when you want to formally thank a person, company or institution for something they have done for you or your organization, which you consider to be out of the ordinary.

Simply receiving a contracted service as requested does not normally warrant a formal thank you. However, service provided to you above and beyond your normal expectations can often call for a special thank you letter. Normally, it should be a clear case of "above and beyond the call of duty", as the saying goes.

And yes, thank you letters can also be important follow-up mechanisms in certain employment-related situations.

Generally speaking, there are two main types of thank you letters -- business thank you letters and personal thank you letters.

Business Thank You Letters

There are many situations in business that can warrant a thank you letter. Here are a few generic examples of thank you letter situations for businesses and institutions:

- Appreciation for any type of special consideration extended by another organization.

- Thanking a speaker for a presentation at an annual board meeting.

- Customer appreciation letters - thanking them for their patronage.

- Thank you letters to employees for exceptional service or performance.

- Thanks to an individual or organization for a customer referral.

- Commendations to volunteer service workers for their personal contributions.

These are just a few examples. I'm sure you can think of many more situations that might demand a thank you letter from a business or institution.

Personal Thank You Letters

As with business situations, there are many instances in day-to-day life that can warrant a formal thank you letter. Following are a few typical situations that often require a personal thank you letter:

- As a follow-up after a job interview and/or job offer.

- To a company or institution in appreciation for exceptional customer service.

- Letter of appreciation to a teacher for a positive influence on your child.

- To friends and/or neighbors for their exceptional support during a difficult period.

- Thanks to a service club or agency for their support to your family.

- Social occasion thank you's.

Again these are just examples. New situations similar to these arise on a regular basis in our daily lives that call for a formal thank you letter.

7 TIPS FOR WRITING THANK YOU LETTERS

Following are a few tips that will help you whenever you encounter thank you letter situations in your business or personal life.

1. Make Sure It's Appropriate
One of the main issues with respect to thank you letters is to know when to send one. As a general rule, I would say "better to be safe than sorry". However, make sure there is something noteworthy about the situation. A thank you letter for a routine situation doesn't make sense and dilutes their meaning.

2. Write It Promptly
It is always best to send a thank you letter as soon as possible after the event for which you are doing the thanking. It will help with the level of sincerity in your letter if the event is still fresh in your mind. In any case, a delayed thank you letter will seem like an obligatory afterthought to the recipient.

3. Remind The Recipient
In your introductory sentence, make it very clear that it is indeed a thank you letter and that it pertains to a specific event, situation and/or person. This will eliminate any confusion on the part of the recipient as to the purpose of the letter.

4. Make It Short and Direct
Get straight to the point and never exceed one page. Thank you letters should be short, direct, sincere, and to the point. In business situations they will always type-written but personal thank you letters can be hand-written or typed, as appropriate to the situation.

5. Make It Personal
By definition, a thank you letter is a sincere personal gesture from one individual to another. It should be expressed as a heartfelt personal sentiment, even when written in a business situation. At the same time, strive to be balanced in approach and don't be overly effusive.

6. Always Write it To One Person
Always write your thank you letter to an individual, not an organization or group. Even if it's a situation where a group was involved, write your letter to the senior person in the group and/or the group spokesperson. Ask that person to please pass on your sincere appreciation to the other people in the group, and name them in your letter if possible. (Contrary to some advice given by certain so-called experts, in my experience, writing a group letter is never appropriate and achieves little or nothing).

7. Check Spelling and Grammar
As when writing all letters make sure you carefully check your spelling and grammar. This is even more important for thank you letters, since they are almost always a sincere statement of appreciation from one person to another. Be sure to double check the spelling of all names used in the letter. There's no quicker way to blow your credibility and sincerity than to misspell someone's name.

Sending thank you letters when appropriate is important in both business and personal life. Individuals and companies that do not send thank you letters are seen as ungracious and perhaps not worthy of future good deeds or special treatment.

So, whenever it's warranted, make sure you send an appropriate thank you letter. Invariably, thank you letters are very well received and appreciated by recipients, and the sender's reputation is generally enhanced in their eyes.

To see a sample thank you letter, check out the following:
http://writinghelp-central.com/thank-you-letter.html

Shaun Fawcett, is webmaster of the popular writing help site WritingHelp-Central.com. He is also the author of several best selling "writing toolkit" eBooks. All of his eBooks and his internationally acclaimed f-r-e-e course, "Tips and Tricks For Writing Success" are available at his writing tools site: http://www.writinghelptools.com/ea.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shaun_Fawcett

Time does fly!

2006-03-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been almost a whole week since I have posted.

Today I was talking to someone about sending greeting cards. She shared a story with me about how she had sent a greeting card to a client. All it said was, "You're a great dad". That greeting card now hangs on his refrigerator as a reminder to him.

I did something very similar about a week ago. I sent a greeting card telling one of my friends what a great mom she was. When I saw her on Wednesday, she thanked me for the greeting card and told me she now keeps it on her mantel.

The benefits of sending greeting cards are not just for the recievers. Each time I send an unexpected greeting card to someone I care about and tell them how special they are, I feel 10 feet taller and much more ready to take on the world! Wouldn't you love that kind of drug?

Find out about getting a free gift account to send a couple of greeting cards yourself. www.MailCards4Me.com.

7 Rules For Sending Greeting Cards

2006-03-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

1) Send the real thing! e-Cards are entirely too common, and rarely show the attention to detail that sending a real card demonstrates.

2) Personalize it! Never limit yourself to the message that came in the greeting card. Always add your own personal touch or flair.

3) Never use address labels for the recipient, or metered postage. Use a stamp and handwrite or type the envelope.

4) When complimenting someone in your card, be specific with them about what it is you like about them. Don't just say you're a good person, be more specific (example: 'I like having you as a friend because you take a sincere interest in the things that matter to me!').

5) Make sending greeting cards a habit instead of an occasional afterthought. You'll find your relationships will grow as you express yourself to the people that matter to you.

6) Don't wait for special occasions to send a greeting card. Holidays and birthdays are great, but an unexpected card for no particular reason can have a great impact too!

7) Don't print it, stuff and send it yourself. Let us do that for you! Visit www.mailcards4me.com for a free Gift Account.

A Nice Thank You

2006-03-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

Recently, I sent a greeting card to the customer service department at Nature's Sunshine for all the hard work they do. I included a picture of my family so they would know who was thanking them. This is the email I got back from their director.

Hi Nicole,
What a nice surprise, and I mean SURPRISE!! I think that your letter is one of the nicest I've ever received. What a cute family! I'm partial to boys, since that's what I 'specialized' in, too! My husband and I have three grown sons (all Eagle Scouts). Now we also have three wonderful daughters-in-law, two grand-daughters and two grandsons! It's great!

Thank you for taking the time to send us a card. My folks do try really hard to help. They will love this.

Have a great day.

Karen Johnson
Director - Customer Service

First Impressions

2006-03-01T08:05:00.000-08:00

I just got back from my weekly BNI meeting (Business Networkers International). Last week I sent a card to a prospective customer that I met at this group. She is a loan officer in a large company. Today she said she received the card and that her boss, the head of the company HAND DELIVERED it because he thought she was getting “a love note”. Ok, maybe it wasn’t a love note but the point is that this card had enough impact to impress the head of the company and didn’t look like just another piece of junk mail.

You never get a second chance for a first impression and I think this was a great first impression for this company!

A New Custom Greeting Card

2006-02-28T20:26:00.000-08:00

This is my newest custom greeting card for Nature's Sunshine. I will be using this greeting card to send to new members when they sign up with Nature's Sunshine.

If you are a Nature's Sunshine distributor and would be interested in using this greeting card for your business, please contact me through www.mailcards4me.com.

If you are interested in having a custom greeting card created specifically for your business or family, you can also contact me at the above website. Be sure to add what you are interested in to the notes field.

March Holidays & Events

2006-02-27T11:26:00.000-08:00

The following holidays and events could be just the reason to send a special card to someone you know.

March is
National Nutrition Month
National Women's History Month

March also has the following week long observances.
Save Your Vision Week - 1st week in March
National Poison Prevention Week - 3rd week in March
Girl Scout Week - March 10-16

March 2nd is
Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss' birthday.

March 17th is
St. Patrick's Day

March 20th is
First Day of Spring

So send a card to someone reminding them it is a great month to start eating healthier, or to a child who loves Dr. Seuss for his birthday.

A little humor - Things greeting cards don't say

2006-02-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Things that Greeting Cards just don't say.

My tire was thumping.
I thought it was flat
When I looked at the tire...
I noticed your cat. Sorry!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heard your wife left you,
How upset you must be.
But don't fret about it...
She moved in with me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looking back over the years
that we've been together,I can't help but wonder...
"What the hell was I thinking?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congratulations on your wedding day!
Too bad no one likes your husband.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How could two people as beautiful as you
Have such an ugly baby?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've always wanted to havesomeone to hold
,someone to love.
After having met you ..
I've changed my mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I must admit, you brought Religion into my life.
I never believed in Hell until I met you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the days go by,
I think of how lucky I am...
That you're not here to ruin it for me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congratulations on your promotion.
Before you go...
Would you like to take this knife out of my back?
You'll probably need it again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Happy Birthday, Uncle Dad!
(Available only in Tennessee, Kentucky & West Virginia)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Happy birthday!
You look great for your age.
Almost Lifelike!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When we were together,
you always said you'd die for me
Now that we've broken up
I think it's time you kept your promise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have been friends for
a very long time ..
let's say we stop?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm so miserable without you
it's almost like you're here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congratulations on your new bundle of joy.
Did you ever find out who the father was?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your friends and I wanted to do
something special for your birthday.
So we're having you put to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So your daughter's a hooker,
and it spoiled your day.
Look at the bright side,
it's really good pay.

http://spaces.msn.com/angelicrose/blog/cns!B468E160ED14A6AF!684.entry

Strangers

2006-02-24T13:49:00.000-08:00

A quote from the movie "The 5 People You Will Meet in Heaven".

"Strangers are just friends you have yet come to know."

Sending e-cards may do more harm than good

2006-02-23T03:25:00.000-08:00

So you thought it was a good idea. You were about to miss your friend's birthday and decided to send off a quick e-card instead of going shopping for a real card. After all, the time it would take you to go to the store, find a card, get something written in it, locate his address and write that down, find a stamp... Well, it just wasn't worth it. It would probably be late anyway.

But was that really a good idea? Read this article about the dangers of sending online greeting cards.

Another reason not to send e-cards is that many viruses are now being masked as electronic greeting cards. In addition, now spyware is now being masked in downloading the emails.

Instead of sending online greeting cards consider sending a real card with the easy of sending an e-card. Visit www.mailcards4me.com for your free Gift Account.

A Random Act of Kindness

2006-02-22T15:08:00.000-08:00

Today I sent a greeting card thanking the PTSA president for all she does to help my children. That is a truly thankless job and the person in that position is often very under appreciated.

Will you take some time today to send a greeting card to someone that has been forgotten in the meaningful work they do?

My Neighbors

2006-02-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, my neighbors came over for dinner with their children. We had a nice time. The next day we went bowling together. It was a very enjoyable weekend.

That Monday, I sent my neighbors a thank you greeting card for coming over to dinner at MY house and joining us for bowling the next day. My neighbor just thought that was the nicest thing anyone had done. I could just tell that it really brightened her day.

So who's life are you going to make just a little bit better today by sending them a greeting card?

The Philosophy of Charles Schultz

2006-02-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

I received this as an email today and really loved it so I wanted to share it here.

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners .

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier? The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care .Pass this on to those people who have made a difference in your life. You are receiving this because you made a difference in mine."Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia ." (Charles Schultz)

21 Reasons to Send a Child a Greeting Card

2006-02-17T15:18:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you saw the face of a child light up and glow because they got a piece of mail with their name on it? Children love to get mail. My children, even at 10 years of age, run to the door and ask if they got any mail today. It doesn’t even matter if it is junk mail. They just like to get anything with their names on it. Of course, it means that much more if there is a special reason for the mail.

Sending letters or greeting cards is a good way to foster a love of communication and writing in children. In our society, instant messaging, text messaging, and short emails have all but killed the art of good communication. Studies indicate that the more a child reads, the smarter they are. However, it can often be difficult to get some children to read due to lack of interest. I bet there isn’t a child around that wouldn’t be interested in reading a card or letter addressed to them from someone they care about. And, of course, if a child is raised to expect that letters and greeting cards are a regular occurrence, they are more likely to become better communicators themselves.

So take some time and send a greeting card to a child in your life. Here are just a handful of reasons you can use to send a greeting card to a child you know and help to make their day that much brighter.

They got an A on a test or report card. Make the joy of doing well last just a little longer.
They said, “Please”.
It’s their birthday, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, etc…
They were well-behaved.
They did something special for someone (even if it wasn’t you). It helps to foster the trait of good will when they get some feedback for what they have done.
They helped with dinner.
Just to say, “I appreciate you”. Do they really know how valuable they are to you?
They said, “Thank you”.
Just to say, “You’re Special”.
They did a great job on their chores. Rewards for a job well done encourage more of the same.
Because you haven’t seen them and want them to know you miss them.
Say thanks for being my ...(son, daughter, grandchild, niece, nephew, friend, etc…).
They made the honor roll.
They helped in the yard.
Remind them of an exciting event that is coming up.
Remind them of a neat experience you had together.
Tell them something special about yourself.
Tell them something special about someone you both know.
Share a joke you just heard.
They brought home a warm fuzzy note from the teacher.
Just to say you love them. Do you really need any more of a reason than that?

Will you be taking just a few minutes out of your busy schedule today to foster the emotional and mental development of a child in your life? I know I will.

A Great Baby Shower Gift

2006-02-09T07:41:00.000-08:00

A wonderful gift idea to send to mothers-to-be would be a prepaid account card to SendOutCards. With this card, the new mother can take a beautiful picture of her new baby and add it to a birth annoucement card to send to all her family and friends.

Be sure to include all the baby's details!

My first custom card

2006-02-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

Today I created a new custom card for my Nature's Sunshine business to use with Send Out Cards. This, of course, is a scaled down version of what the original will look like but I think it came out pretty good.

If you are a Nature's Sunshine distributor and would be interested in using this card for your business, please contact me through www.mailcards4me.com.

Valentine's Cards

2006-02-06T06:53:00.000-08:00

Today I sent Valentine's cards to my mother (who doesn't have a loved one to get one from), my husband (since I will be out of town on that particular day) and my children (just to remind them of how special they are too).

For an interesting history of Valentine's Day, visit the History Channel website.

More cards are sent out on Valentine's Day each year than any other holiday except Christmas.

Have you sent your Valentine a card yet?

Send your free printed Valentine Card here.

Have we lost touch?

2006-02-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

It used to mean so much to receive a letter or a card from someone that those items were charished for many years. Those same letters and cards were often found after the death of loved ones and brought back cherished memories or uncovered lost secrets.

In our current age of e this and e that, letters and cards are now sent in electronic format. They are viewed and deleted, lost forever in cyberspace.

All the time we read about how everything has become so impersonal. Maybe it is time to get back to the days when we wrote letters and sent cards. The benefit of technology is that we can actually use it in our favor to do just that.

www.mailcards4me.com is a place where you can learn how to send real printed cards from your computer that include personal messages and may even include your own handwriting without you even touching an envelope. Check it out and see what you think. Are you ready to get back in touch?