Daily Sense

2 sites to upgrade your e-cards

by ClayHebert on January 31, 2010

If you’re sending someone a card, whether physical or digital, the goal should be to trigger an emotion.

Isn’t that why we send cards?

If that’s not the reason, it’s just a selfish act on the sender’s part to communicate that they did remember the recipient’s birthday/graduation/Bat Mitzvah.

So if triggering an emotion is the goal, why do so many cards fail to do so? Between physical stores and e-card sites, there are tens of thousands of card options, yet maybe 1% are written well enough to trigger an emotion?

99% look something like this.

Really? Who sends cards like this?

(To be fair, I guess this card does trigger an emotion with me, but it’s not the desired one.)

Well in my never-ending quest to serve you, my brilliant and attractive Daily Sense readers, I have researched and found two sites to use to permanently upgrade your e-cards.

Someecards
This site is brilliant. The humor is often sarcastic and crass, something you would expect when one of the co-founders is a former writer for The Onion. Not all cards are safe to send to grandma, but it’s easy to find the perfect card to remind a friend or significant other of that inside joke or funny memory.

One of my favorite things about someecards.com is that users can customize their own cards and submit to the site. Leveraging the Wisdom of Crowds, The Editor’s Picks in the User Cards section are often some of the best.

Story People
This is the site of artist Brian Andreas. Story People is much more than e-cards. Brian has built a nice little empire out of his inspirational snippets and whimsical artwork. You can browse the entire collection, creating your own e-cards by combining any of the text with any of the images. You can also order the physical prints for framing and other products.

The Story People cards are often amazing and emotionally moving.

[The full "Hi, Mom" disclaimer: My mother originally introduced me to Story People and she's been a fan for a long time. As always, all credit goes to her.]

Use these two sites to save you from ever sending another forgettable e-card.

I’m sure there are more than just these two. What other sites have emotion-triggering e-cards?

{ 2 comments }

Vinny the Linchpin won’t let you make a waffle

by ClayHebert on January 30, 2010

(Seth Godin’s new book, “Linchpin – Are you Indispensible?” just hit the New York Times bestseller list. It’s an amazing, life-changing book and my review is coming soon. If you don’t know the term Linchpin yet, you will. Until then, read this. Now, on to Vinny)

You don’t have to be an artist or a musician or a creative to be a Linchpin.

Sometimes all it takes is a waffle.

My client Altec Lansing is based in Milford, Pennsylvania and when I’m there, I stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Matamoras.

There is a self serve breakfast buffet just like at every Hampton Inn & Suites. Except this one isn’t like every one. And Vinny makes it so much more than self-serve.

I’ve only met Vinny three times but it only took once to realize what kind of guy he is. He waits on you hand and foot, transforming the experience from a self-serve breakfast buffet into a four-star restaurant.

Every time, Vinny enthusiastically lets me know what the hot dish of the day is. Sometimes it’s pancakes, sometimes it’s a eggs on a bagel sandwich. Vinny sells it and somehow, I’m always convinced it’s a good choice to start my day.

Vinny makes small talk if you’re interested but it’s never probing or bothersome.

Vinny insists on making your waffle for you, even though the machine is self-serve.

Vinny bustles around, making sure every item at the buffet is stocked completely at all times.

Vinny always wishes everyone a wonderful day but it’s his actions that ensure they start the day delighted.

Vinny doesn’t do his art only on good days. He does it every day.

It’s pretty clear Vinny doesn’t do this job for the money. He does it to give a gift and because he enjoys making people feel special.

To be a Linchpin, location doesn’t matter. Neither does title or how big your office is.

If Vinny can be a Linchpin working at a Hampton Inn & Suites breakfast buffet in Matamoras, what’s stopping you?

{ 3 comments }

Tools for thrashing early

January 29, 2010

If you’re building something, it’s critical to thrash early. The biggest and loudest changes should be vocalized early on.
Everyone gets heard, opinions are out in the open and the design gets refined from there.
If it’s done right, there is little to no thrashing at the end and the project ships on time [...]

Best Business Books of 2009 – a list of lists

January 28, 2010

Beantown Web compiled a neat list of lists of the Best Business Books of 2009.
Congratulations to Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. Their NYT bestselller Trust Agents made four of the lists.
I’m following Julien’s advice and trying to read one book a week in 2010. I am currently on track and have read some [...]

Reducing friction

January 26, 2010

There is a lot of friction in buying a new house. Agents. Lawyers. Notaries. More agents.
I recently helped design a social media campaign for a client. The campaign was less successful than it could have been because there was too much friction. The process to participate had too many hurdles and [...]

The Same People

January 25, 2010

Do you constantly hang out with the same people?
The concept of Dunbar’s number is an interesting one. Recently, I have seen more discussion on it and how it relates to social connections.
In short, Dunbar suggests there’s an upper limit to the amount of relationships we can maintain. That number, for the record, [...]

Your new competition

January 24, 2010

Quick. Take 30 seconds and list your main competitors.
(don’t worry, I’ll wait)
Done?
Good.
Sorry, but your list is wrong.
Unless of course, you listed Zappos, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Trader Joe’s, Wegman’s, Netflix, The Container Store and Apple.
Your customers are doing business with these companies, who are constantly raising the bar on engagement and customer [...]

How TED got even better

January 22, 2010

One of the best websites in the world just got even better.
TED.com recently rolled out a “Best of the Web” section, designed to be a “one-stop portal to the very best talks on the Internet”.
You can view some of the early selections at the TED Talks page here. In the ‘Show by Event’ selector [...]

That’s some strong cheddar

January 21, 2010

One video, two lessons.
1) Never give up. (Which is different than strategic quitting, as outlined in The Dip.)
2) If you’re going to make ads, don’t drone on about your features, low price or celebrity endorsers. Tell a story. Make us laugh. Make it memorable and remarkable so we want to tell [...]

Inspiration, not information

January 20, 2010

At every presentation, the level of understanding of the subject matter by the audience varies widely.
If you’re giving a presentation on social media, some people are well educated and understand it’s place in business (and it’s not always the people live-tweeting your thoughts). There are others who know a little but are less familiar [...]

Speed and edges

January 19, 2010

When I first learned to snowboard, I fell. Often and hard. I fell on my wrists. I fell on my ass. I was black and blue and wet.
The second time, I got a little better.
The third time, something clicked. A light bulb went on and I realized the two things that [...]

Remember when you were a kid?

January 18, 2010

Thanks to Jimmy for pointing out this great video that he found on Tristan Walker’s blog.
My wish for Martin Luther King Jr. day is for all of us to have a dream. And act on it.

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Tweet This!

Share this on Facebook

Subscribe to the comments for this post?

Share this [...]

Flowtown knows what you’re wearing

January 17, 2010

OK, they may not know what you’re wearing but there is a good chance they know your customers better than you do.
Flowtown uses emails from your customer database, (you do have an email database for your customers, right?) and can tell you interesting and valuable information about those customers.
I recently met the founders of Flowtown [...]

Layering snowballs

January 15, 2010

With the right temperature and a little wet snow, anyone can make a snowball, but my friend Jimmy makes them all day, everyday, in sunny San Diego.
I had another excellent call with Jimmy and a potential client today. After the call, a light bulb went on and I realized what makes Jimmy such a [...]

8 Reasons Why Conan Should Go Direct

January 14, 2010

There is an important lesson in this whole Conan vs. Leno debacle.

No matter how famous you are or how many fans you have, if you work for a huge corporation, they own you.
NBC wanted to put Conan’s show at 12:05am. Technically, that’s not even The Tonight Show. It’s The Tomorrow Show.
Conan [...]

Haiti: How you can help

January 13, 2010

Today, it seems irresponsible to post about anything except the tragic earthquake in Haiti. The death toll is currently estimated between 30,000 and 100,000 but could be much higher.
The two best sites I’ve seen for clarifying how anyone can help are:
ReadWriteWeb’s post
Google’s Disaster Relief site (thanks to my friend Chris Czerwonka for pointing [...]

Tools Tuesday: S2H Replay Watch

January 12, 2010

Adult and child obesity is a huge problem in America. The statistics are staggering and the future impact on healthcare costs is terrifying.
So what does the cure look like?
Years of nutritional education?
Mandatory Wii Fit summer camps?
Another complete overhaul of the food pyramid?
What if the answer is actually much simpler? What if it’s [...]

The Second Sale

January 11, 2010

Too many marketers focus solely on the first sale.
I was leaving Las Vegas today (Nicholas Cage was nowhere in sight) and with my stomach sensing that my culinary options would be limited once on board, I decided to grab lunch while at the gate.
My best option was Moe’s Mexican Grill. [...]

Director of Phone

January 10, 2010

How absurd would it be to hire a “Director of Phone”?
Imagine proposing a job requisition for an “Email Manager” position?
Where would you go to hire a “Czar of FAX”?
Yet companies are hiring “social media managers” and “social media directors” to lead the “social media team”.
In a couple years, these titles will seem just [...]

Precious Moments

January 9, 2010

At the end of a long day, you’re heading back to your hotel room. Alone in the elevator, you push the button for floor 26 and want nothing more than room service and maybe a shower before working a few more hours. Before the elevator door closes, a hand slices past the sensor [...]

Living your brand aftershocks

January 8, 2010

If customer engagement is the new marketing, customer experience is the new brand.
Brand in 2010 is the collective gut feel that customers have about your company. With the internet and social media, companies need to realize that they can no longer control their brand, as they have tried to do in the [...]

CES isn’t about tech

January 7, 2010

Social media isn’t about the tools, it’s about the relationships and connections that the tools enable.
It’s the same with CES and similar conferences. They aren’t about consumer electronics or the sessions or the swag. The real value is in the relationships and connections (personal, business and both) that can be developed or rekindled.
Via [...]

Thinking outside the (Four)square

January 6, 2010

Today I was at the Consumer Electronics Show helping Altec Lansing (a Tribes Win client) setup their booth. In between unpacking and displaying product and setting up the booth’s wifi, I was tweeting on my iPhone and decided to check in on Foursquare.
(Tip: If you ever need to setup wifi at a conference, I [...]

Launching Untemplater

January 5, 2010

From when we are young, most of us are taught that there are a few specific templates to follow to a successful life.
Template 1
Get into a good college
Study hard
Get a good job at a big corporation
Work hard for 35 years
Retire and collect pension and gold watch.

Template 2
Get into a good college
Study hard
Meet and [...]

How Avatar followed the Seth Godin playbook to $1B in 17 days

January 3, 2010

Last night I went to watch Avatar with my younger brother, Tim. The first theater was sold out so we yelled to everyone still streaming in and we all quickly drove to the next closest theater, 10 miles away.
Don’t worry if you haven’t seen the film. There are no real spoilers below, just [...]

Sink your ships

January 2, 2010

This post is inspired by a presentation I attended last summer by Mitch Joel, a brilliant marketer who has a wonderful blog over at Six Pixels of Separation.
Mitch told the story of legendary explorer Captain Hernando Cortés. In July 1519, Cortés and a small army left the Spanish held island of Cuba and set [...]

← Previous Entries

Daily drips of not so common sense on marketing, brands and social media