Some interesting info on the Greeting Card Industry

7 Billion $ industry

6.5 Billion Cards purchased each year

1.5 Billion are Christmas Cards

According to the US Post office 3.5 billion greeting cards are printed each year but never get purchased by end user (Thrown out or shredded). When you buy a greeting card in a store you are paying for all the cards that don’t get sent and that is why they are so expensive. 

Hallmark and American Greetings – 80% of Market (Monopoly) 

9/10 households buy greeting cards every year

Boomers buy more cards than Millenials but Millenials spend more

GenX do not buy cards but the Millenials do (known for killing shopping malls, banks, 9-5 jobs, suits, movie theatres etc) Born between 1981 and 1996. They are reviving the greeting card industry. They want differentiation of their cards. Will pay up to $8 per card. 

DO YOU SEE WHY OUR CARDS ARE 1/5 THE PRICE? BECAUSE IN THE TRADITIONAL GREETING CARD INDUSTRY THE CUSTOMERS WHO BUY ARE PAYING FOR THE MILLIONS OF CARDS THAT NEVER GET PURCHASED. This makes my little Send Out Cards thing very affordable.

SOURCE: Freakonomics Podcast

p.s I added a few riddles and a story to the Brain Teasers page.

Category: cards, Fun, greeting cards, mail | LEAVE A COMMENT

The Latest Batch of Brain-Teasers are on their way…

I just finished mailing the latest batch of brain-teaser cards. It was a great way to take a break from the seriousness of the workday and the latest Covid updates.

Letter in the mail

I have fun doing it because I get to be creative and help people have some.

Have you signed up yet?

Why not?

  • It’s fun
  • It’s free
  • It makes you think
  • There is no obligation

Want to sign up?

Go here…Brain-Teasers

Category: Brain Teasers, cards, Fun, greeting cards, mail | LEAVE A COMMENT

Oh no… more brain-teasers!

What do you call a haunted chicken?
Poultry-geist

Hey, I thought I would do a quick update. I just sent some more brain-teaser cards in the mail.

Before you ask…YES Real cards that go in a real mailbox!

I’m tired of the usual mail I get and thought I would create something fun for people to get in the mail.

I’ve realized I’m a little old fashioned because of some things that I have experienced over the last year or so. I get messages and chats with videos in them and I don’t always open them or finish them. I like reading more than watching because it gives me time to think about the message.

I would rather read a book than watch television.

I would rather read an email or posting than watch a video.

An interesting thing about email I’ve noticed is that if it doesn’t capture my attention by telling me a story it goes to the bottom of the pile.

Something else I’ve noticed is that at work my boss and I communicate by email several times a day. They are very short email.

Well I went a little off topic there…

If want some brain-teasers delivered to your physical mailbox let me know.

danwrites.ca/brain-teasers/

Category: Brain Teasers, Canada Post, cards, greeting cards, mail | LEAVE A COMMENT

Brain Teasers!

I like word games, brain teasers, riddles etc. They make me think and let me have fun at the same time. When you add the fact that I like reading and writing you will understand why I have added a new page to my website.

My question for you is if you could receive a card in the mail with a couple of brain teasers in it would you like it? I would so I’m setting up a page for that purpose.

Please note there is no cost or obligation to subscribe to this fun and mentally stimulating service. I’m doing it for the fun of it.

You can learn the details here… Brain Teasers

Category: Brain Teasers, cards, Fun, greeting cards, letters, mail, Think, Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT

Thoughtless Writing

The title expresses my feeling about more than 90% of the written communication I receive today. Email and text and crappy, boring flyers. I was speaking with a fellow poet earlier today and that started a bunch of thoughts rolling around in my brain. Here is the first draft of a poem that came from those thoughts and feelings. I think it needs work but as a guy who loves words and poetry and tries to communicate emotions and evoke a response I know it is going somewhere.

Thoughtless writing finger and smartphone

Black marks on a white background
Pixels forming the shapes of letters
Words on a screen

Slashed and pecked
Clicked and clacked
Thumbed or fingered
And click to send

Drab and boring
Unemotional
No beauty
No flow
Just click and go

The power of words
Thoughtlessly ignored
Sacrificed for speed
Just to meet the instant need
Written in haste
Thoughtless writing
A waste

No description
No emotion
Perhaps an emoticon
Click and gone
Then move on

No thought for the deed
Of writing words for others to heed
No sharing of soul
Speed the only goal

Thoughtless writing
Words on a screen
No cadence or flow
Words sent in haste
Bland and boring
(Excuse my snoring)

Category: mail, poem, writing | LEAVE A COMMENT

‘Twas the Month Before Christmas

My musings this week lead me to write my first Christmas poem.  The ending is a little week and the poem is still a work in progress. I hope you enjoy it and I welcome your feedback.

Cheers,
Dan

‘Twas the month before Christmas

Grammas and grandpas, uncles and aunts were planning with glee

Christmas gifts for under the tree

Skates for Suzie

An e-book for Ned

A dolly for Tasha

Maybe a tablet instead

 

Parcels were packed

Cards were signed

And Monday morning they woke to find

Their gift sending in a bind

 

No mail was moving

Not even an inch

The mail was frozen like the heart of a Grinch

The mail would not move by foot or by car

Not by plane or by train

Not by truck or by bike

The posties were on strike

 

They cried for benefits

For hours and pay

And in the warehouse the mail would stay

Until they got their way

 

A ruling was made up on the hill

To work the posties must go

So to work they show but ever so slow

No smaller do the mountains of parcels grow

 

Now brothers in arms

Block the way

Continuing the delay

The unions are holding our nation at bay

 

Caring not for sobs and sighs

Or the little one’s cries

Ruining Christmas for those far away

Alas what a sad day

Category: Canada Post, Christmas, mail, poem, strike, Unions | LEAVE A COMMENT

10 Letters to Success…

10 Letters to Success…

I like direct mail. I don’t mean flyers or brochures or coupons or booklets or any of those other things that we find in our mailbox every day. I mean letters; letters sent to me that have my name on them. I write letters every month and I am going to kick it up a notch for the rest of June. I am going to write 10 letters a day from June 9th until June 30th. My goal is to have my business booming by the end of June. What does that mean? It means I will have more clients and referral partners.

There are 22 days left in the month. At 10 letters a day that means 220 letters. Just the postage alone will be $187.00!

Does that sound expensive? I have a system that I use so that my total cost for stationary, envelopes and stamps will only be $127.00. (I have already sent 20 letters using this system this month and no matter how many letters I send my cost will not change.)

Does that sound time consuming? Think about it sitting down and writing 10 letters, printing the letters, stuffing them in an envelope, printing the address labels, putting the address labels on the envelopes, putting the stamp on the envelope and getting the letters to the mail box. It sounds like it would take a couple of hours. The system I use will do all that for me. I just have to write the letters, pick who I am sending it to and click a button and woosh… the letter will be on it’s way.

Starting June 18th I will share the results of my letter campaign. Why June 18th? I have to allow time to get the letters delivered.

How will I measure the results? I will tell  every person I write that I will call them on a certain at a certain time.

What is my goal for this mail campaign? To get permission to meet them for a coffee and a short conversation to show them my system either in person or on a Zoom call.

Are you up for a challenge?

Sit down with me, look at my system and give it a try. If you don’t like what you see, no problem.

Category: cards, greeting cards, letters, mail | LEAVE A COMMENT