You’ve heard about the Jedi-like power of ecards.
They boost employee engagement, increase company performance, connect individuals inside and outside the workplace, improve general morale…the list goes on. (Though, said list does NOT include mind control. So if you were hoping for a “These are not the droids you are looking for” moment, you’ll have to keep looking. Sorry!)
But have you ever wondered, “When’s the best time to send an ecard?“
Well, you’re in luck, friend. In this article, we share 20 moments perfect for an ecard. So, sit back, relax, and learn when to send one of these sweet creations.
1. Celebrate a Birthday
How many physical birthday cards have you sent in your life? Switch things up with a birthday-themed ecard. Apps like Kudoboard include professionally designed templates—some with birthday cakes, others with funny animals in party hats—to help make your recipient’s special day extra fun and memorable. Whichever template you choose, a birthday ecard will give you space to express yourself via text, meme, or video. (As a bonus, Kudoboard lets users attach a digital gift card to their ecards to sweeten the deal for colleagues or loved ones.)
2. Welcome a New Employee
Think back to your first day at your current job. There were so many people to meet and processes to learn. It was overwhelming. In fact, you might have even questions whether you made the right decision.” While an ecard won’t eliminate all these feelings, it will make new hires feel welcome. And when they feel welcome, they’ll onboard faster and become productive members of your team. Plus, they’ll appreciate the gesture and have more respect for your organization, which could lead to greater retention in the future. Win!
3. Recognize a National Holiday
There are 11 national holidays in the United States, and this number doesn’t even count widely celebrated events like April Fool’s Day and Halloween. The point? There are plenty of opportunities to send a holiday-themed ecard. Simply take a look at your calendar, circle the holidays you want to celebrate, and fire off a few ecards. You won’t even need to budget for stamps, making the process less stressful.
4. Say, “Thank You!“
Send a custom thank you ecard when someone gets you a gift, attends your event, or performs admirably at work. Kudoboard has a wide variety of card templates for these scenarios. Choose one, then add a heartfelt message, cute animations, or a personalized video to express your gratitude. Your recipient will appreciate the note, and your relationship will get stronger.
5. Bid Someone Farewell
A colleague takes a new job. A child goes off to college. A dear friend moves to Vermont. What do these situations have in common? They force us to say goodbye. While these events are always sad, ecards make farewells a bit more tolerable. You’ll get to express your feelings in a novel way. And your recipient will enjoy your kind words, which they can access at any time on anydevice. When it’s time to bid farewell, use an ecard to ease the pain of parting.
6. Announce a New Baby
There are few things as exciting (and terrifying!) as a new baby. If you or your partner have a bun in the oven, plan to announce the little peanut’s birth with an ecard. This strategy will help you avoid trips to the store for physical cards and envelopes. It will also simplify photo-sharing. Snap pictures with your phone and upload them to Kudoboard. You can even let your friends and family offer congratulations directly inside the ecard via Kudoboard’s “Invite” feature. Then, when your baby is home and you’ve had time to breathe, turn the card into a hardbound book to cherish the memories forever. It’s like scrapbooking without sticky fingers.
7. Offer Condolences
As mentioned above, ecards can be used to recognize sad occasions too, like a downturn in one’s career or the death of a loved one. Create an ecard to offer well-wishes in these difficult times. Your recipient will appreciate the gesture, and you’ll know that even if you can’t fix the situation, you can make it more bearable. This thought will bring you comfort through the grief.
8. Congratulate a Graduate
Kids work hard to graduate from high school. Then they work just as hard to graduate from college. Both situations deserve recognition, which you can give with a congratulatory ecard. Use the space to tell your recipient you’re proud of their accomplishment and you can’t wait to see what the future holds. Attach a few pictures of their time in school as well, if you have access to them. Or make the special occasion even more memorable with a heartfelt video message. Tools like Kudobaord make it easy to add these kinds of elements to ecards.
9. Invite People to a Party
Your birthday is around the corner. You just purchased a new house. You snagged the last donut in the break room. Honestly, you can throw a party for any reason—we ain’t stopping you. Life could use more joy and laughter, don’t you think? Once you’ve chosen a theme, venue, and/or caterer, invite your guest list to the shindig with a snazzy ecard. Simply add important details, like date, time, and location. Then send the invites to every guest simultaneously. (Even if you’re planning to invite a few hundred people.) The convenience of ecards will streamline an otherwise daunting task and ensure you throw that killer party you’re dreaming of.
10. Host an Office Competition
You need a unique way to engage your employees. A group ecard is the perfect solution—especially if you use it to host an in-office competition. For example, you could host a “Cutest Pet” contest and ask all employees to add pictures of their pets to the ecard. Or a “Best Caption” contest, where employees add captions to images and vote for a winner. Kudoboard has all the features to host these competitions and supercharge employee engagement.
11. Acknowledge a Retirement
When it’s all said and done, the average person spends 90,000 hours of their life working. In other words, retirement is a serious accomplishment. Celebrate a coworker, your grandmother, and everyone else who reaches this incredible milestone with a personalized ecard. Tell them that they inspire you and you’re proud of their achievements. Then encourage them to enjoy their golden years on the golf course, in a boat, in front of the TV… or whatever it is that retired people do. But we bet it’s awesome and they deserve every minute of it!
12. Remember an Anniversary
Life is full of important anniversaries: the day you started with a company. Or married your high school sweetheart. Or finally kicked debt to the curb. Ecards make it easier (and more fun!) to remember them. If you’re an employer, send an ecard to commemorate an employee’s first day and thank them for their contributions. If your parents are still married after 40 years, send them an ecard to acknowledge the achievement. And if you recently paid off debt, send yourself an ecard. Then look at it every time you want to buy a new power tool or pair of shoes and refrain from the purchase. Ecards can bring joy and wisdom to those who receive them.
13. Say, “Get Well Soon!“
Sickness is never fun. Fortunately, ecards can improve these miserable experiences via kind words, funny images, and personalized videos. For example, you could send a “Get Well Soon!” note to a family member if they come down with the flu. Or a group “We’re Thinking of You!” ecard if a colleague is diagnosed with a serious illness. Your recipients will appreciate the kind words and support. The ecard might even bring a smile to their face and help them carry on.
14. Hand Out an Employee Award
90% of HR professionals say an effective employee recognition program improves business results. Want to achieve more success for your company? Praise your team for their efforts. A handwritten note or social media shoutout is nice, but an ecard that contains an employee award is better. Kudoboard has purpose-made templates for employee awards. To ensure your employees feel valued, customize the text of said templates to acknowledge specific contributions. Doing so increases employee engagement, motivation, and retention.
15. Appreciate Fellow Staff Members
Peer-to-peer recognition is a big deal. With Kudoboard, employees can send each other ecards to acknowledge quality work. While this doesn’t replace the need for management recognition, it still engages and motivates employees while creating a stronger workplace culture. As such, it’s a vital aspect of an effective employee recognition strategy. It’s also fun. Your employees will enjoy their jobs more when they can share encouragement and funny memes.
16. Greet Conference Attendees
You’ve worked hard to plan an amazing conference. You booked a top venue, lined up the best speakers, and scheduled memorable activities. Don’t drop the ball now. Greet every conference attendee with an ecard that welcomes them to the event, gives them vital information (like check-in details and a conference schedule), and thanks them for participating. A simple ecard will remove stress, make everyone feel accepted, and ensure a more successful get-together.
17. Recognize a Career Milestone
Jimmy landed a job at a Fortune 500 company. Morgan completed five years at a major law firm. And Tina was promoted to a senior management position. These career milestones deserve recognition. As you might have guessed by now, an ecard is the perfect tool for the job. Choose a template to fit the occasion, customize it with personal text and images, and send it to your recipient. It will make the joy of their latest accomplishment even sweeter. Plus, they’ll be able to look back at the kind words and find encouragement if their career hits a speed bump.
18. Motivate an Employee
Is your team slacking? They may be bored. Their personal lives might be difficult. They may have simply forgotten why your company exists and the customers it aims to help. Whatever the case may be, you can use ecards to motivate them to perform better. Perhaps your ecard introduces them to a new project. Or offers emotional support in trying times. Or states your organization’s mission and recognizes the contributions employees make to achieving it. All these things are easily conveyed in a digital card and are incredibly meaningful.
19. Say, “Welcome Home!“
Whether you’re welcoming a kid home from summer camp, a relative home from a military deployment, or even a colleague back to work after parental leave, you can do it better with an ecard. Write personalized text to share how much the recipient was missed. Include memes and animations to show your excitement for their return. Do whatever you can to make this person see how special they are and how their absence affected you. They’ll appreciate the sentiment.
20. Announce an Engagement
Love is in the air! Use an ecard to announce an engagement between two lovebirds. Said ecard can include the names of the engaged individuals, the date they decided to get married, pictures from the momentous occasion, and details of the party they’re hosting to celebrate their upcoming nuptials. Speaking of nuptials, use an ecard to announce an actual wedding date too. And as long as you use the right platform, you’ll be able to track RSVPs for true convenience.
Common FAQs About Ecards
What’s an Ecard?
An ecard is a digital greeting card sent through the internet—usually via email, social media, or a direct link. Ecards can be used to celebrate and/or recognize a variety of important events. Examples include a coworker’s promotion, a friend’s birthday, and a family member’s wedding.
You might hear ecards referred to as “electronic cards,” “online cards,” or stylized “e cards“. All versions mean the same thing and are equally valid, though ecard is the most popular.
Why Are Online Cards Important?
Online cards are extremely convenient. Senders don’t have to go to the store, buy physical cards, or sign them by hand. They can use their computers to create ecards from the comfort of their homes. Plus, online cards are easier to personalize, can include multiple media types, can be sent to as many people as required, and are better for the environment.
How Do I Make Free Ecards?
Kudoboard will help you make free ecards. Simply sign up for the platform, choose a professionally designed template, and customize it to match the occasion and recipient. If you like using the tool, upgrade to a paid membership and enjoy additional features.
What’s the Best Electronic Card Maker?
Kudoboard is widely considered the best electronic card maker due to its intuitive interface, abundance of features, and affordable price point. Other options include American Greetings, JibJab, and Jacquie Lawson. You can learn more about these tools in our best ecards guide.
Make Amazing Digital Ecards With Kudoboard!
You can send ecards in a variety of scenarios.
Want to celebrate a birthday, offer condolences, or send an employee award? Maybe you need to say, “Thanks!” or motivate a team member. Whatever the occasion, ecards can help.
The question is, which platform should you use to make ecards? The answer is Kudoboard because our solution is intuitive, powerful, and affordable. Sign up for the service, choose a template, customize it to your needs, invite others to participate, and click send. That’s it!
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