Pricing and costs of greeting cards fall into the category of advertising for businesses. Instead of pricey ads on radio, television or billboards, use greeting cards to connect to your customers on a personal level. Send them holiday or birthday greetings, or even use your own store events for an excuse to send a greeting card.

You can spend from under one dollar to several dollars on a greeting card, so consider making a budget for this expense. Buy greeting cards in bulk and save, but then you have to send the same card to everyone. Personalize your business cards for a bit more or buy card stock and a software program and make your own cards to send to your customers for less. Consider the following when looking at pricing and costs of greeting cards:

1. Buy corporate greeting cards from vendors in bulk.

2. Purchase designer greeting cards made to order.

3. Create your own cards by printing greeting cards with card stock for the lowest prices.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Obtain bulk prices for cards from greeting card companies

Many companies will offer a discounted price for buying in bulk, which is usually 100 cards at a time. Find out if you can get a few different designs for this price. If you must choose the exact same card, personalize it by adding a handwritten note inside the card and signing it yourself, instead of using a stamp.

I recommend: Execards offers holiday cards and gives 20% off all orders over $25. Their cards start as low as 79 cents each, so look at their selection. The Gallery Collection offers bulk greeting cards that sell for under $50 per box when you order two to nine boxes. Save even more when ordering 10 or more boxes. The contents vary, but most boxes contain 35 cards with envelopes.

Receive greeting card printing from online printing companies

Use online printing companies to print your personalized greeting cards. This will usually cost a bit more but your customer receives a custom card instead of a generic one.

I recommend: U Printing makes custom greeting cards starting at about $160 for 500 cards to under $600 for 5,000 cards. You can upload your own design or choose one of their ideas. Printing for Less will make your greeting cards for you, starting at under $250 for 250 cards. Send your design and payment and they will make a proof for your inspection in one business day.

Print greeting cards from your original designs to send to your customers

For the cost of card stock and a software program you can create outstanding cards for all occasions that will have your customers singing your praises. While the costs for this are low, you will have to invest time to make the cards or hire an employee to do it for you.

I recommend: Belltech Systems offers software for all types of greeting cards including birthday, holidays and special occasions starting at about $40.00. They offer a free trial of the software, so try before you buy to see if this works for your business. Avery offers greeting card stock for under $15 for 20 cards and envelopes. They also offer free templates for your cards and places to get free software to make your card, so be sure to look at those areas as well.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When sending custom greeting cards, make sure your budget can withstand the cost of this over the lifetime of your business. If you start a greeting card campaign, you will have to continue it year after year. In addition, if you send a very expensive card and then drop down to an inexpensive card the following year, your customers will have unkind words to say about you. So choose a card your budget can live with and a frequency you can maintain.

Greeting cards can be an important part of any comprehensive small business marketing strategy. Sending your customers and prospects personal greetings on holidays and handwritten notes show that you're willing to go the extra distance.

These simple guidelines will help you use business greeting cards to your full advantage:

1. Plan your holiday greeting card calendar out in advance and make it part of your marketing calendar.
2. Decide if you want generic or personalized greeting cards and do the research to find the best prices.
3. Always use greeting card etiquette to avoid offending any customers or prospects.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Review greeting card options online

Your business greeting cards can be custom-designed, personalized with your logo or generic with a hand-written note. While custom-designed cards offer a unique look and feel, you can find inexpensive business cards online that can be personalized with your logo.

I recommend: Card supplier options include: CardsDirect, Holiday Classics and Gallery Collection. Design and print your own greeting cards with Hallmark's Card Studio Software or find a Freelance Artist to design custom cards for you.

Set up a budget and calendar

Your budget will help you determine which holiday greetings you will send. Sending greeting cards is just like any other direct mail campaign and should be included in your marketing projects calendar.

I recommend: Use this Holiday Calendar to determine which holiday greetings you will send.

Always use greeting card etiquette

Make sure your greeting card efforts don't backfire.

I recommend: Check Greeting Card Etiquette to ensure successful mailings.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Random handwritten notes to customers are a nice addition to scheduled holiday greeting cards.
• •  Personally signing every card, or having your entire staff sign cards, is a friendly gesture that will be noticed.
• •  It's a nice touch if mailing addresses are handwritten.
• •  Most people prefer greeting cards sent in the mail instead of an email greeting. If you do send an email greeting, include a special offer or discount so that the email is relevant and isn't simply taking up space in the recipient's inbox.

Corporate greeting cards lend a personal touch to your business and also provide you with an unobtrusive way to put your name back in front of your customers. Sending cards during holidays, or remembering your customers' birthdays, gives you the opportunity to communicate with customers in a non-threatening atmosphere.

Discover the best holidays to work for your business. Remember at Christmas most people get many cards and yours may be lost in the shuffle. Send the customer a birthday greeting on their special day. Instead of sending a sales notice about your anniversary sale, send a greeting card and invite them in for the anniversary cake. Remember the following greeting cards basics:

1. Find one or more holidays to send custom greeting cards to your customers.

2. Wish your customer a happy birthday with designer greeting cards.

3. Announce your business anniversary and special days by printing greeting cards and sending them to your customers.

4. Create special cards with greeting card printing you make.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Pick the holidays to send your corporate greeting cards

Select one or more holidays to send greeting cards according to your business advertising budget. Since customers will probably buy during the Christmas holiday season, you may want to find lesser-known holidays to send your cards. Another strategy is to use holidays that fall during off-peak times to drum up business at that time by putting your name in front of your customers.

I recommend: Cards Direct offers cards for many holidays including Valentines Day, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas. Posty Cards offers holiday greeting cards including Easter, Fourth of July, St Patrick's Day and many other holidays. Holiday Classics offers recycled holiday cards to send to your customers. The cost is less but the quality is not and these cards are friendly for the environment.

Send warmest regards to your customers on a personal day as part of greeting cards basics

Send a quick greeting card on your customer's birthday. Do not enclose any sales pitch but do offer some trinket to them for stopping by the store.

I recommend: Executive Greeting Cards offer birthday wishes cards for businesses. Choose from their selection of cards or purchase one hundred card boxes and save. Hammond Greetings and Promotions offers business birthday greeting cards in boxes of one hundred to save you money. Check their selection and choose one or more to share with your customers.

Share your business happy days by sending greeting card companies professional cards

Send your customers greetings when it is your business anniversary or to announce good news about your business. Mention that if the customer stops by they will get a small gift.

I recommend: BrookHollow Cards offers profession-specific cards for dental, legal or financial professions. If you do not fall into one of these categories, ask them to customize a card for you or choose from their other ready-made cards. Remember Greeting Cards offers a service of sending your customers timely cards to commemorate any occasion you choose. They will personalize your card with your logo for an additional charge and send the cards out automatically when the time comes.

Show your customers they are special when you print greeting cards tailored for them

Create the card yourself instead of sending a manufactured generic greeting to your customers. Even if you are not computer savvy, greeting card printing is not out of your reach.

I recommend: Moo will help you print your own unique greeting cards for any occasion. Each card can be different, so style your greeting cards for each customer. Vista Print will print your custom cards for you. Choose from holiday postcards, photo cards and holiday letters and make your card different from the pack.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  The small gift you offer your customers in their online greeting cards can be a key chain or pen with your company name on it.

Every person can think of a time when he or she purchased a greeting card. Individuals and businesses use greeting cards for an added personal touch for an acquaintance or business associate. Businesses use greeting cards to wish clients well during the holidays or for their birthdays. Greeting cards also work well for showing gratitude or expressing feelings you may not be able to verbalize. When shopping for greeting cards or greeting card products, know the key terms.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Custom greeting cards

Custom greeting cards are ones designed specifically for you. They bypass the generic poems and drawings for a custom logo or graphic, including a photo. These greeting cards include custom verses, colors, fonts, borders and personal artwork.

I recommend: Cards Direct offers a more in-depth look at custom greeting cards, including pricing.

Photo greeting cards

Photo greeting cards are cards that utilize a personal photo as the image on the card. These are popular with holiday greeting cards and birth announcement cards. Photo cards can include one photo, a montage of photos or a larger family photo. Most photo cards are in postcard format, but there are some foldable cards available.

I recommend: Tiny Prints is a great place to see a large selection of photo greeting cards.

Greeting card software

Greeting card software is a computer program that allows the users to create and design their own greeting cards. The programs come equipped with a variety of designs, layouts, clip art and fonts. These programs also allow you to create and animate electronic greeting cards.

I recommend: Top Ten Reviews goes into in-depth information about the pros and cons of greeting card software.

Card stock

Anyone wanting to print or create individual greeting cards will need card stock. This is a thicker, heavier paper used for printing and greeting card crafts.

I recommend: William H. Geoghegan discusses the differences in card stock based on weight.

Online greeting cards or e-cards

E-cards are similar to paper cards, but online cards use digital media to create or animate a greeting card sent through e-mail. The receivers either receive the card in their inbox or they receive a link to collect the card from a Web site.

I recommend: American Greetings offers free e-cards that you just pick and send.

Printable greeting cards, or printables

Printables are greeting cards found on Web sites. You choose from graphics and words to create a printable card. The site will then explain how to set up your printer or paper to print the greeting card.

I recommend: Print Free offers a huge list of free printable cards and explains the process.