Sending an eCard can be a great alternative to a traditional paper card, but also retains many of the same benefits. As well as being cheaper, with eCards sent online without postage, you also receive the benefit of being able to personalize it with images, videos, and music - however, it can be difficult to send one that appears to be sincere - some people still associate eCards with being a cheaper substitute for a paper card. How, then, can you aim to make your electronic greetings more sincere? What are some of the best tactics to try, and what should be avoided?

It’s worth taking the time to browse through the many different formats that you can find online; many eCards have messages that you can easily adapt to suit your purposes, while others will allow you to make greater changes, and will be more personal. In either case, a big part of the effectiveness of your card will come down its overall appearance, and the first impression it can make. In this context, it’s crucial to choose the right graphics and tone for your card.

Reproduce What You Would with a Paper Card

You can still convey the same sentiments on an eCard as you would with a paper card; if you are ambitious about personalizing your card, you might even want to scan in your handwriting and add it as an image to a card. It’s also possible, though, to practice writing multiple messages in an eCard, and then picking the one that best demonstrates what you mean to say.

Enhance Your Message

One of the main advantages of sending eCards is that you can enhance your message through the use of websites’ extra features; this might mean uploading personal photographs that highlight the relationship between you and the receiver; you might even upload a short video or animation that loads when someone opens the card, or a piece of music that you both have a strong connection to.

Practice

Compared to paper cards, where you might occasionally have to scribble out part of a message, eCards allow you multiple opportunities to edit your message; you can run test previews of how an eCard will appear in someone’s browser, and you can make sure that the message you’re sending doesn’t contain any glaring mistakes.

Get a Second Opinion

If you are concerned about sending an eCard and having it misinterpreted, consider getting a friend to check through what you’ve written (unless it’s very personal); doing so can mean that you get a useful second opinion on whether or not you’re not being clear enough.

Include an Additional Email

You could also attach an eCard to an email that contains a longer message - the eCard itself may just contain a short message or a joke, while the email can provide space for crafting a much longer piece of text.

Consider Sending Multiple eCards

One idea with eCards is to send multiple cards, which can arrive every day or week before an anniversary or a special occasion; each card might represent part of a story, or a series of necdotes. Don’t go overboard, though, as these cards can become more like spam than a genuine message.

Look at Other Cards You’ve Sent

Make sure that you’re not departing from any successful messages that you’ve written in cards in the past; don’t put something that you’re not comfortable with, or that might be taken the wrong way.

About the Author: Chris G relies a little too heavily on last minute gifts and greetings, but first class shipping has saved him from a grilling on a number of occasions! To ensure he gets his Easter greetings out on time, he is planning to resort to eCards, to remove any extra stress