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It may only be September, but now is the time to start thinking about your annual Christmas card mailout. These might seem like a simple piece of communication requiring minimal thought and energy, be warned; you’ll only get back what you put into them. 

Too many agents don’t put enough thought into their cards, and tired, cliched holiday messages will be totally ignored by customers. If you want to turn your annual Christmas mailout into a dedicated brand building exercise, keep these four tips in mind:

Overhaul the design

A card that uses stock images and a generic message is all but guaranteed to go straight in the bin. On the other hand, a unique, eye-catching design is something people are far more likely to hang onto. It’s worth getting a professional designer involved; rethink not only the imagery and typeface but the size of the card, the paper used and the shape. 

Something that displays thought and effort creates a real impression, and it’s far more likely that people will keep and display the card in their home – being subtly reminded of your brand each time they look at it. Jump online and do some research; there are many creative card concepts out there just waiting to be embraced.

Send a real card

If you’re tempted to save time and money by sending an eCard, take a moment to consider what you’re trying to achieve with your Christmas message. Not only is it difficult to even get people to open the email, an ecard looks like an easy option, sent with the click of a button – those who receive it are well aware how little energy has been put into the final product.

For lots of people, a Christmas card may be some of the only physical mail they get. Just like unwrapping a gift on Christmas day, opening a beautiful, well-thought out card is exciting. Your customers will appreciate the effort that’s been put into an outstanding finished product. 

Adopt the right tone

Tying a holiday greeting directly to your professional successes or the state of the property market can be a little tenuous and at odds with the spirit of a Christmas message. This isn’t the space for aggressive marketing tactics; instead, send a simple message that focuses on those receiving the cards, thanking them for working with you and wishing them well for the year ahead. 

Your logo and contact details are all the branding needed here. At the end of the year, people are feeling happy and generous; aim to link your brand to that frame of mind so they think of you favourably down the track. 

Send an inclusive message

While a significant number of people celebrate Christmas, there’s a sizeable majority that don’t. Sending a message geared to a particular holiday isn’t offensive, but in certain markets you risk excluding a large group of people, so tailor the wording to suit your database. Opt for an all encompassing message that wishes people well. 

Get ahead of the pack

There are a few reasons to start planning your Christmas cards early; you give yourself ample time to perfect the design and wording, and if there’s any handwriting involved with your cards, you leave yourself plenty of time to get it done. You can also mail them out early enough to miss the deluge of Christmas mail that swamps the postal system in December. 

Ideally, you should aim to send your cards out at the end of November, so that they go out with the first lot of Christmas cards – before people get sick of all the holiday messages in their overflowing letterbox. Mailing the cards out too late means they risk getting lost among the many other messages that bombard your database at the end of the year.

What tactics do you embrace when sending out Christmas cards?