Greeting Cards - Moonpigs Success and the Potential Impact on The Greeting Card Industry

Does the phenomenal success of Moonpig spell the end of traditional Greeting cards?

Guernsey based Moonpig, producers of online personalised cards, have grown from strength to strength since they were founded in July 2000 by Nick Jenkins. Nick Jenkins struggled through the collapse of the dotcom era and after raising further investment started to see growth until profits were first recorded in 2005. The real advancement came following their first television advertising campaign in 2006 and sales have grown substantially since then. By the end of 2009 Moonpig boasted almost 2.6million Greeting card customers. The company then established a base in Australia before launching in America in 2010. Moonpig now boast a staggering turnover in excess of £30 million. That represents more than 10 million cards!

Greeting

Amazingly other online personalised card producers have been relatively slow to follow. That is until now! It now seems that a new operator is launching almost every week. WH Smiths have invested heavily into Funky Pigeon whilst other retailers such as Marks and Spenser have also launched a competitive online personalised card store. The danger signs for the industry are starting to show. Hallmark is one of the biggest Greeting card publishers in the world and yet they too have now launched their own competing online personalised greeting card store, do they know something that we don't?

As technology moves on at an ever increasing pace it becomes easier to produce high quality greeting cards on demand without the need for massive print runs. Will this be good or bad for the card industry? More over does the personalised greeting card spell the end for mass market cards produced by the industry giants such as Hallmark and UKG?

There seems to be a very big void in people's opinion on personalised greetings. Some think that they are fantastic but equally others state that receiving a card that has been written and signed by a machine is not at all personal and they would much prefer a hand written card, in fact many people would actually be offended to receive a card that hasn't been signed by the person sending it.

There are other successful on-line card stores that offer regular traditionally produced cards that you can order for delivery to yourself so that you can enter your own message and post on to the intended recipient. A great example is contemporary card and poster publisher Icon. They have an extensive selection of design led contemporary cards for all occasions and offer express delivery all over the world.

So there are two distinctive markets that are being catered for online and it is likely that both avenues will continue to flourish in the very buoyant market sector for greeting cards.

Greeting Cards - Moonpigs Success and the Potential Impact on The Greeting Card Industry

Find Good Free Ecard Services & Reviews

With electronic cards (Or ecards) you can greet friends, family and co-workers through special occasions like birthdays and holidays with animated and fun designs. Cards (in general) are widely used by people to greet others. The only thing that has changed in the trend is that now 72% of the people that give Greeting cards now send online through electronic cards, instead of traditional Greeting cards.

People have increased the growth of electronic Greeting card companies, it has decreased the sales in traditional paper Greeting cards. The notable features that you will notice when looking into ecards is, ecards include no cost, variety, customer service, convenience in sending and receiving custom and personalize messages as well depending on the Ecard service: Personalized music or voice message as well as animated cartoons with a personalized touch.

ECard

Benefits which you can get from electronic greeting cards are that these cards are free, while paper cards have always cost you -10 depending on what card you pick. You can avoid high prices and still make an emotional connection with the people you share your personalized messages with.

It quiet amazing and interested to make aware, that retailing greeting card corporations are shifting their business from physical to online sites offering free ecards with the exception of perhaps a few ads. Which now make their money. Of course you can sign up for a paid membership, but why would when you can sign up for a free membership under a selected program. You do not have to pay a single cent for sending ecards to your friends and family.

There are websites now that promote the the best and most unique free ecard services.When you take the time to create an ecard to relatives or friend, you create an emotional feeling to connect with those people. If you are in positions where you can not give a gift to a certain person, you can at least share with them a customized ecard that you created for them.

Electronic cards have changed the way we view giving and receiving. Be it for mothers day, fathers day, valentine's day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years or any kind of birthday or religious or nation holiday you will find exactly what you need every time!

Best thing about the change from paper to electronic is of course again, there is free services that can help you express your true feelings into a elegant and thoughtful message.

Find Good Free Ecard Services & Reviews

A Guide To The Patterns, Styles And Types Of Diwali Greeting Cards

The festival of Diwali brings with it much joy and gaiety. With the preparations now complete for the welcoming of both wealth and prosperity in the new year it's now time to prepare for the holiday season. Diwali signifies the faith of people in the good that prevails on earth and brings with it the hope for peace and a happy life for all. Diwali Greeting cards are one of the most popular ways of exchanging Diwali wishes with one another.

The significance of Diwali in the Hindu culture can be gauged from the fact that the preparations begin almost a month in advance with people shopping for gifts and decorations. All of this effort is made in order to wish loved ones both at home and abroad a happy Diwali. Consequently, Diwali Greeting cards are in great demand during festival time as it's the most convenient way to send your Diwali wishes.

Greeting

With so many Diwali card designs on the market it's sometimes hard to choose. The variety includes simple and graceful Greeting designs to more elaborate and ornate versions depending on a persons taste and budget. Here are some of the more common patterns, styles and types of Diwali Greeting cards that are very popular at this time of the year;

Designer Diwali greeting cards: Instead of the regular greeting card which is rectangular in shape there are now a variety of Diwali greeting cards that are cut in the shape of lamps, diyas and even sweet boxes. These cards are decorated with stones, lace and colourful art-paper to give the look and feel of the Diwali celebrations.

Diwali Text Messages: From a simple 'Happy Diwali' to a more poetic version, the messages for Diwali greetings have surely become very creative. You will even find some cards with humorous Diwali messages.

Popular Diwali card designs: Diwali is the celebration of life therefore the greeting cards of Diwali also depicts the joyous celebration. Popular Diwali card designs include pictures and paintings of fireworks, lamps, diyas, sweets, decorated homes etc. Each Diwali card is filled with bright Diwali colours such as yellow, red, orange etc.

E cards for this Diwali: With the advancement of technology the cards have also become digital. In the modern world you can easily send Diwali greeting cards to your friends and relatives abroad electronically over the world wide web. A wide range of Diwali card designs are available in the online market. Sending E-cards has a definite advantage over the traditional cards. They are paperless, free of cost most of the time and can be sent in no time at all. E-cards are available with music and animations. You can even order gifts and chocolates to accompany the cards online.

A personal message accompanied with the Diwali greeting cards will convey the warmth and the spirit of Diwali that you feel for your loved ones.

A Guide To The Patterns, Styles And Types Of Diwali Greeting Cards

The Benefits of Corporate Greeting Cards

Regardless of your business size, corporate Greeting cards are an essential foundation to maintain a friendly image towards employees and customers.

Employees Appreciate Recognition...

Greeting

Sending out corporate Greeting cards is an important gesture to acknowledge employees for all the hard work they do for your business. Why wait until a special occasion to encourage Joe in accounting that you do, in fact, recognize the contributions he has made to your company?

Nothing is more encouraging than an unexpected corporate Greeting-card, with a handwritten personal message. This is a simple gesture that can go a long way.

Corporate Greeting cards are the most appropriate and powerful way to boost employee confidence and satisfaction. When this happens, you are also increasing productivity levels immensely. The impact of corporate-greeting-cards is powerful, because it has a personal touch.

The second most effective way to increase employee satisfaction and improve productivity levels is to send everybody a raise, which is impersonal and expensive. It goes without saying that corporate-greeting-cards are a smart and cost effective way to reach out to your employees and say thank you, resulting in an improved work environment.

Corporate Greeting Cards Can Also Be Used to Secure Customer Loyalty...

Direct mail marketing is a smart business tactic used to strengthen customer loyalty and promote special offers. Unfortunately, a majority of direct mail marketing campaigns fail if the publication is tossed into the junk mail bin.

Direct mail marketing can also be very expensive if you take into consideration the cost of copywriting, publication and materials, and the costs of mailing.

Corporate-greeting-cards are a direct mail marketing solution that won't be tossed into the junk mail bin. Individuals love to receive mail, as long it isn't a bill or-yup-junk mail. A greeting-card is likely to be the most interesting thing in the mailbox, and will instantly catch the attention of your valued customer.

Corporate-greeting-cards are designed to deliver a personal touch, and a warm thank you, that will be appreciated. After receiving a corporate-greeting-card, customers are more likely to consider you again when they are in need of your product or service.

Also, customers are more likely to recommend you to friends, family members, neighbors, coworkers, and anybody who will listen. The word-of-mouth referrals are just icing on the cake, because corporate-greeting-cards are an especially powerful method of securing customer loyalty.

Other Uses of Corporate Greeting Cards

Corporate greeting cards have many advantages that you can benefit from. It's how you use this service that matters.

Corporate greeting cards can be used as an above-and-beyond customer service strategy. In the unfortunate case that a customer has had a bad experience with your company, you should do everything possible to satisfy their complaint and then follow up with a personal apology, and perhaps a special offer as incentive for giving you a second chance. Of course, corporate-greeting-cards are the best way to do this...

In summary, corporate greeting cards provide a warm personal touch to any message (other than "you're fired") and you can use this service many ways... be creative!!!

The Benefits of Corporate Greeting Cards

Greeting Cards That Are Custom-Made - How They Came About

The Greeting cards industry has always been bolstered by trends that come and go, which has largely been the reason behind the industry's relatively strong sales, which have remained stable through the years. The advent of the customized Greeting cards however, is slowly changing all that. Providers of photo greeting notes and other custom-made cards have grown in number all over the world, providing services such as personalized greeting notes, which can be delivered to their recipients for a small fee. So what are the factors behind this trend of custom-made greeting cards?

For starters, it's relatively easy for just about anyone with a creative streak to get into the world of customized greeting notes. Young companies who are willing to innovate and make a salutation cards that's custom-made are more likely to find success, at least when compared to larger and established salutation cards companies. It's no secret that these companies, due to their rigidity and belief in the traditional method of creating salutation cards, have a significantly harder time when making changes with their greeting card. It's not unheard of for cards from 2001, to be recycled in 2011. After all, when something works, why fix it right?

Greeting

Although big companies boast of having more experience in the greeting notes industry, it's harder for them to go beyond their strict policies and structured bureaucracies, which can definitely get in the way of new innovations. The largest greeting cards companies are often a part of multinational corporations, who have absolutely nothing to do with the greeting notes industry itself. Smaller companies on the other hand, are more flexible, and are less likely to fall into such scenarios, wherein their options are limited to ventures geared towards making a profit.

Small companies have recently surged in popularity amongst customers who are now more discerning than ever. The days of cookie cutter greeting notes are waning; with customize greeting notes now being highly sought after. Among the most popular salutation cards options are printable salutation cards, which are widely available on the Internet. For a relatively small fee, customers can download these cards designs, which can be personalized according to their liking. Whether it's by adding witty lines, graphics, or personal photographers, becoming a graphic designer has now been easier than ever. Indeed, the advent of the Internet has indeed changed the face of the greeting cards industry, as well as the behavior of customers.

Greeting Cards That Are Custom-Made - How They Came About

ECard Virus Removal

e-card.exe is a link embedded in an email.

The email subject is: You've received a Greeting card.

ECard

The body reads as follows:

Good day. You have received an eCard

To pick up your eCard, choose from any of the following options: Click on the following link (or copy & paste it into your web browser):

kkvto*****.be/e-card.exe

Your card will be aviailable for pick-up beginning for the next 30 days. Please be sure to view your eCard before the days are up!

We hope you enjoy you eCard.

Thank You! Greetingcard.org

Please remember that eCards are viewed online and not as downloadable exe files. Do NOT click the link and save the file, it contains a Win32.Trojan.

The following antivirus programs will remove this, each having their own definition file, so please UPDATE your antivirus

Arcavir - Trojan.Downloader.Agent.Aaky AVAST! - Win32:Agent-ABBH [Trj] AVG - SHeur.CCDK BitDefender - Trojan.Dropper.Delf.Crypt.K CA (VET) - Win32/Bugnraw.DK trojan ClamAV - Trojan.Crypt-63 Dr.Web - Trojan.MulDrop.18319 F-Prot - W32/Dropper.YLQ F-Secure - Trojan-Downloader:W32/Agent.HFP [Orion] Fortinet - W32/Meredr!tr Kaspersky - Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Agent.aaky Microsoft - TrojanDropper:Win32/Rooter.A nProtect - Trojan.Dropper.Delf.Crypt.K Sophos - Troj/Meredr-Gen Symantec - Trojan.Dropper Trend Micro - TROJ_NUWAR.JTZ VirusBuster - Trojan.DR.FakeAlert.GE

If you do not use any of the above then scan online for free.

Use either Housecall or BitDefender

Please also read article about XPAntivirus2008/2009 for more free tools if your Desktop has changed, Restore Points been wiped out, Icons missing or you have just a blank Desktop. Some of these infections remove the Desktop completely, reboot and wait for up to 10 minutes, right click and open Task Manager, then click on File, New Task (Run) and type in My Documents and click OK, quite often this will bring your Desktop back and you will be able to use the tools to repair the problem.

ECard Virus Removal

Free Halloween Ecards- Get Best Of The Net Free

Halloween is the time to send Ecards to friends. Halloween is the time to send Ecards to family. How to get Free Halloween Ecards? One must share the fun of Halloween but how to get very good quality Ecards that look different and don't cost? Let me tell you.

Free Halloween Ecards - tips on selection

ECard

Internet offers paid and free, both kinds of Ecards. How to get the best at no cost? Let me give you few tips.

1. Search for Free Halloween Ecards. It is not necessary that the best Ecards will be always on the first page of search results. That may be even in the third or fourth page. Search engine searches with different criteria and the first result need not be best for you. Therefore look at few websites. The very first page - home of the website should give you idea about the quality of the content. Ask these questions- is the homepage well laid out? Are the fonts and colors pleasing? Does the design look professional? Does the website offer small content or large content? Once you are sure that you have located a good website, click the Halloween Ecards.

2. View few Free Halloween Ecards. Look at the colors. Is the size right? Or the Ecard is very small? Is the Ecard designed in flash or plain JPG? If they are JPG, move to another website.

3. What about the Ecards text? Does it evoke the spirit of Halloween? Listen to the music. Is the music matching the mood of the Ecards? If not, select another.

4. Does the Free Halloween Ecard open and begin playing immediately? Or you have to click the Ecard to play? The later is good because it gives you the opportunity to view the Ecard carefully and enjoy it. The Ecards that begin playing immediately as they open give no opportunity to the recipient to watch it and enjoy. He/she will have to replay it again to view it. Why trouble the recipient? Send an Ecard that has to be played. That will give enough time to watch the Ecard. Look at some of these Free Halloween Ecards-
http://www.ecarduniverse.com/ecards/halloween-showall.php

5.Write whatever message you want below the Ecard. The message should be personal- between you and the recipient. Make it sound funny and nostalgic. The final test of a good message is simple- will it make the recipient feel good? If yes, go ahead. Send as many free Ecards as you wish.

Free Halloween Ecards- Get Best Of The Net Free