In the past few years, the look of marketing has changed -
for the better I believe. Money businesses spend on Public
Relations (PR) has increased and has become a marketing
priority. Even on the Internet, people want to connect with
you – to see your picture and the pictures of your staff.
I’ve had a few clients send me their pictures, too!

Many people enjoy receiving "nice notes" via mail – the old
fashioned type of PR. Nice notes are congratulations and
thank you letters. When received they maybe kept in a folder
– in your file cabinet and inbox. I started my first “Nice
Notes” folder in 1973 when I started receiving thank you
letters as part of my first Wall Street job. I still have
that folder and now have an email “Nice Notes” folder, too.

Send nice notes to your current and potential clients. Do
you review the business sections of your local newspaper or
business journal for opportunities to “meet” your ideal
clients, get known, and remembered, for your thoughtfulness?
Will you now?

The format you choose to send your nice note is up to you.
Choose postcards, stationary, note cards, cards you make –
they can all be part of your PR. One thing though, make sure
that the note is personalized and hand written is good! My
favorite cards to send out are postcards I create from
scenic pictures I take when I drive across the country, and
cards I “stamp”. For greeting cards I use MS Publisher,
however, Word and specialized greeting card templates are
available for purchase.

According to “How To Say It” by Roasalie Maggio, p. 100
“don’t make your congratulatory note do double duty: save
for another day any questions, information, sales messages,
or work matters that aren’t relevant to the good news at
hand. (Exception: personal letters accompanying birthday
congratulations.)” To that I’d add, don’t even add your
business card to the card. You can send that as a follow up.

Brenda Kury of Synergy Resource Solutions, Inc.
http://www.countgrass.com recently sent me another great
public relations letter – a thank you card. On the front of
the card, it has her companies name, then a big “Thank You”,
then the address phone number and web site for her company.
She hand writes her note. It’s the type of card you want to
hang up on the wall when you receive it (a little extra
PR?). I used Synergy Resource Solutions format to create my
own greeting cards, too. Below are ten ideas of
congratulatory cards you can create. So go buy those extra
stamps!

1. Congratulations on your recent business opening
2. Congratulations on your recent move to
3. Congratulations on your membership into
4. Congratulations on your _____ article in
5. Congratulations on your recent promotion to
6. Congratulations on your recent expansion into
7. Congratulations on your award
8. Congratulations on such a successful year
9. Congratulations on achieving your __th year in business
10. Congratulations on your ____ (hey - it's your turn to
fill in the blank)

Author's Bio: 

© 2003 Maria Marsala. I help business owners make and keep more of their hard earned money. Join "Elevating You"ezine and request a complimentary consultation at http://coachmaria.com/consultation/