Creative greeting card sign-off ideas

Creative greeting card sign-offs for businesses and brands

If you want to send greeting cards for your business, but don’t want to use the old standby “Sincerely” every time, then we have a list of clever business greeting card sign-offs for you. So if you’re not sure how to sign a greeting card, keep reading!

But before we get started… signing off your business greeting cards with a simple “Thanks” or “Thank You” works for nearly every business, brand, or event. Or—and hear us out—a sign-off isn’t always needed! Sometimes, just your signature is enough. Remember, sign-offs are just part of the entire greeting card message.

But if you want to go a bit further, read on for some inspiration. Share how you sign your business greeting cards in the comments below.

Generic sign-offs for any business greeting card

These are the traditional closings for greeting cards from businesses, but they work!

  • Sincerely
  • Regards / Kind Regards / Warm Regards
  • Best Wishes
  • All the best
  • Until next time
  • With appreciation
  • Appreciate your support/business
  • Cordially
  • Respectfully

Motivational sign-offs

If you want to be direct with your sign-off, check out this list. Great for any business, but especially places that motivate like gyms, business/life coaches, and more.

  • Stay tough
  • Slay / Keep Slaying
  • Get it
  • Here’s to the grind
  • Let’s go
  • Let’s do this
  • We got this / You got this

Feel-good sign-offs

These are for those who are festive, fabulous, and not afraid of a good party. These closings have an optimistic feel to them.

  • Cheers
  • Stay fabulous
  • Stay classy
  • Let’s party
  • Hugs & Happiness
  • Here’s to the good times

Secular Christmas & Holiday card sign-offs

We offer a selection of Christmas and Holiday business greeting cards. For those who want to send the more secular-themed cards, check out these easy ways to sign a secular holiday card:

  • Here’s to the Holidays
  • Cheers to the New Year
  • Warm Wishes
  • Peace & Joy
  • Good Tidings
  • To you & yours
  • Be Merry

Greeting card sign-offs by industry

Realtors

  • Congrats
  • Welcome Home
  • To making memories
  • To a new adventure

Finance

  • To new dreams
  • Here’s to your future
  • Here to help you grow
  • Let’s make your dream happen

Where to find greeting cards for your business

We’re On The Ball Promotions, and we make greeting cards for businesses like yours. If you don’t have some cards in your business stationery collection, check out our card collection. All USA-made with free personalization and fast shipping.

Let’s put your logo to work.

Row of semi trucks for truck driver appreciation week

Easy Gifts for Truck Driver Appreciation Week

Truck Driver Appreciation week is September 11-17, 2022. And did you know there are more than 3.5 million truck drivers in the U.S.?

Whether you want to get just one gift for the truck driver in your life, or you want to show some appreciation to those in your fleet, we have some easy gift ideas that any trucker will appreciate.

Let’s roll.

Cleaning Kits: A Practical Option for Long-Haul Truck Drivers

Whether they’re on the road for a few hours or a few days, dust accumulates. Help them keep their driving space clean with a cleaning kit with dashboard cleaner, microfiber cloths or polishing towels, window cleaner, a boot brush, and maybe an air freshener.

But the cleaning kit can go beyond just the truck: think about the driver, too. Perhaps hand sanitizer (the gel or hand sanitizing wipes), stain removal sticks for quick laundry clean-ups, or even a kit with travel-sized toiletries.

Snack Packs!

Mix and match the healthy, the sweet, and the savory. Be sure to get a snack kit for truckers that is easy for them to put in a cup holder.

Die Cast Trucks

A bigger gift that can have a lasting impression. While certainly more decorative than practical, it’s still an appreciated gift that drivers can display at home. Die cast metal trucks—whether painted or with a more rustic finish—have been popular for years (decades!).

Careful, though. If you make it look too cool, future truckers (kids!) will want to play with it. And perhaps that would make this gift even more meaningful.

Business Tools

This one might not be as fun, but it’s highly practical. Clipboards are practical for organizing paperwork in their truck. Clipboards with storage space is an added bonus. And what’s a clipboard without a pen? It’s an easy gift combo.

Practical Everyday Gifts

A few items that truck drivers use daily:

  • Chargers & cords
  • Small cooking utensils
  • Laundry bags
  • Multitool (get a quality one, though!)
  • Work gloves
  • Tire gauge

Branded Giveaway Bundle

It’s ok to shout about your brand—even during Truck Driver Appreciation Week. But if you’re going to give branded gifts to truck drivers, make them count. Some things to consider with promotional products for truck drivers:

Make it practical. If you simply want to put your logo on a gift for truckers, that’s fine. But if you’re going to take that route, give them something highly practical, like a cleaning cloth, squeegee, or something they’d use on a regular basis.

Make the message resonate. If you want to give them something less practical (ie, decorative, not practical), you can’t just slap your logo on it and call it a day. Put a message or design on it that will make them appreciate the gift—and want to keep it. Say thanks, explain how their work helps you out, or put a catchy saying on it.

Some ideas for branded giveaways for truck drive appreciation week:

Hats. There is a problem here: every trucker driver has their favorite hat. But yours might be the next favorite! Look for a hat that is comfortable and design it so they’ll actually want to wear it. And you know they’ll wear it until it’s basically thread-bare.

Umbrellas. Look for a collapsible umbrella that can fit in the glove box or in the console.

Flashlights. Can you ever have too many flashlights?

Dashboard calendars. Just peel off the back and slap it on the dash. This practical, inexpensive mini sticky calendar will give your company 365 days of advertising.

Black dashboard calendar with diner logo in white.
A truck stop diner handed out small calendars as gifts to truck drivers. Learn more about this calendar.

Need help finding the right gift for Truck Driver Appreciation Week? We can help.

We’re On The Ball Promotions, and we specialize in putting your logo to work. We have a large collection of custom promotional products. But what you see there isn’t all. We can help you find the right gift for your clients. Send us a message or give our team a call at (800) 475-2255.

Man with drill, text reads how to design giveaways for a handyman service

How to design giveaways for a handyman service

Whether you’re a one-man handyman service or you run a franchise, designing giveaways for your customers shouldn’t be painful.

The giveaways you’re looking for are often called “promotional products” or “swag.” Some contractors call them leave-behinds. But whatever you call them, if you don’t have the right message on the product, it won’t work.

If you have no graphic design skills, don’t worry. First off, we can help with that. Second, it’s the message that really needs to stand out. Make the message clear, and the design will follow.

Here are some easy tips and design ideas for handyman promotional products and giveaways.

Use your message to tell them exactly what to do

Yes, you could just put your logo, phone number, and website on the custom leave-behind.

Or you could be like Rick (below) and tell them what to do: call him! Want your customers to do that? Tell them to. Want them to schedule an appointment on your website? Give the website address and obvious instructions to do that.

People have enough to think about; when you tell them exactly what to do, you will see more action taken… meaning more business for you.

Black promotional calendar with handyman service logo. Stuck to a red cabinet.
Be like Rick: tell customers what to do! Shown: Value Stick Calendar with handyman logo imprint.

Use a custom leave-behind as a chance to educate your customers

Want to avoid calls that could have been avoided? Give them some guidance with an informational brochure.

Now, this is not meant to take the place of professional know-how. Use this as a simple troubleshooting checklist before they call.

If it’s an easy thing for the homeowner to take care of, that’s great. If they can’t fix it, at least you’ve given them a bit of knowledge that they can then pass onto you. For example: “I connected Widget A to Widget B, but then Widget C starting puttering when it should have been whirring.”

This could help save time (how much time do you spend just finding the problem?) and money for them.

But it also builds trust. If you’re willing to share your knowledge with them, they know you’re a reliable expert in your field, and they are far more likely to call on you again or refer you to their neighbors.

Woman holding a tri-fold marketing piece with troubleshooting tips from a handyman.
Help them help YOU with a troubleshooting guide. Helps you get to the problem faster! Shown: Custom printed z-fold marketing mailer.

Go the heart-felt route and send them Christmas cards with a hand-written message

Yes, this might sound like a pain. How many customers have you seen this past year? Do you want to send a card to each of them, or just some of your regulars?

If you are the lone handyman in your business, you might have to write each and every message yourself. Have someone help with taking calls? If they’ve built rapport with your customers, have them help write some of the messages.

These messages don’t have to be long-winded. A simple “Hi, Happy Holidays!” can sometimes works. But if there’s a story to share, share it. A funny moment fixing a customer’s window? Reminisce on it.

No doubt you’ve heard about branding for your business. Well, we have some news for you: rapport with customers is part of your branding.

Ivory and jewel-toned Christmas card with gold sentiment and company logo. Handwritten note to customer.
A simple sentiment, a heart-felt message. Christmas cards with your company logo can make a big impact with your customers.

Need some more ideas? Let’s talk.

We are promotional products experts, and we know how to put your logo to work to get you more business, referrals, and help gain you the trust of your customers.

We have a large selection of practical, affordable logoed leave-behinds, but we can do a lot more. Whatever your branded giveaway needs, let us know. We’ll find you what your business needs.

Check out OnTheBallPromotions.com or give us a call at (800) 475-2255.

Let’s put your logo to work.

Thanksgiving Greeting Cards for Businesses with Your Logo

Thanksgiving Greeting Card Sentiments for your B2B and B2C Customers

Need help expressing your gratitude to your clients or customers? Thanksgiving greeting cards are the perfect way to express your sentiments.

We’ve collected some Thanksgiving greeting card sentiments to say how much your customers mean to you. These messages for Thanksgiving cards work for small businesses, large companies, non-profit organizations, family-owned businesses, and more.

Here are some Thanksgiving greeting card message ideas:

  • During this time of Thanksgiving, we’d like to express our appreciation to you for your business.
  • Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays and a wonderful New Year!
  • I appreciate having you as a client and a friend. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
  • Clients like you make our business thrive, and for that, I am thankful.
  • During this time in giving thanks, we want to thank you for your business. We value you and look forward to working with you in the future.
  • Warmest Thanksgiving wishes and hopes for a happy holiday season!
  • We’re thankful to have clients like you—not just on Thanksgiving, but every day. Happy holidays!
  • We’re counting our blessings this Thanksgiving and working with you is one of them!
  • Warmest wishes for a blessed holiday season and a wonderful New Year!
  • From our family to yours, have a Happy Thanksgiving.
  • Your support means the world to us. During this time of thanks, we thank you for continuing to support our cause.
  • Wishing you prosperity, health and happiness on this special day of thanks.
  • Sending warm wishes this Thanksgiving season and throughout the coming holidays.

Before you send your Thanksgiving holiday cards, be sure to brush up on your how to write business greeting cards.

Need Thanksgiving greeting card for your business or organization?

We have you covered. Shop Thanksgiving cards for your business from On The Ball Promotions. We provide Thanksgiving business greeting cards for small business owners, non-profit organizations, city governments, and more.

What can we create for your business? Check out our Thanksgiving card line.

Why your logo looks bad on promotional products… and what you can do to fix it

Have you ever sent your logo to a promotional products decorator, an embroidery shop, or a print shop, only to have them tell you, “Sorry, your art is no good.”

If so, do you know what that even means?

Thing is, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to putting a logo on a promotional product. The specs of a logo you send to a printer for flyers won’t necessarily work for those needed to put your logo on an umbrella.

We get it; things get confusing. But we want to help you learn how to design a logo for branded items or promotional products. Read on to learn what kind of logos look good on promotional products—and which ones might need a little work.

An example of artwork that will look good on only some promotional products

Let’s take a look at a logo that will work on some products, but not all. Here, we have a full-color logo for a fictional company, the Sad Yeti Widget Co.

Full-color logo for promotional products
Cute enough to boop his nose (if he had one, that is).

It looks great in full-color, doesn’t it? And this would work perfectly for digitally printed products, like business cards, flyers, and even some t-shirts (depending on finishing technique).

But what if the logo can’t be printed in full color?

If you want this logo foil stamped, embossed, etched, or done with letterpress, it won’t work so well.

Why?

Because with many decorating techniques, your artwork needs to be pure black and white. The black is what would be imprinted, embossed, or etched. The white is the negative space.

The sad little Yeti shown above gives the promotional products decorator no idea what will be imprinted and what will be the negative space.

Here’s what that yeti would look like if a promotional products decorator used the logo as it was sent to them:

Bad logo for foil stamping or embossing on promotional products
Little Yeti, where’d you go???

Not good, right? Not to worry. A logo like this doesn’t necessarily need modification; it just needs variations of the primary logo.

Let’s see if we can make this sad yeti work for any type of decorating method.

An example of artwork that can be used on (nearly) any promotional product

Ok, little yeti, your original logo will remain your primary logo.

But let’s see if we can make some modifications so that the yeti will look nicer on other branded giveaways like foil stamped calendars or etched awards.

The black will be imprinted, embossed, or etched. The white is the negative space.

Much better, right? Rather than just a fuzzy blob, we can still tell it’s the yeti, even though it’s just black and white. By choosing areas that will be imprinted (black) and areas that will be the negative space (white), this little yeti now stands out as an imprintable 1-color logo.

Want to make sure your logo works on all sorts of promotional products like this one does? This is where you need the help of a trusted graphic designer.


What should I ask my designer for when creating a new logo for my business?

Here are the variations of your logo you should request when working with a graphic designer:

  • A vector logo. Never accept a JPG as your primary logo format. In order for your logo to work in various mediums (like on a truck, on a coaster, or a calendar), you’ll need a vector logo that can be resized without losing any image quality. AI (Adobe Illustrator) files are the best vector format. You can also have vector files as PDF or EPS, but only if those have been saved in Adobe Illustrator or another vector graphics program.
  • PMS (Pantone) version. You need a PMS version of your logo for printing techniques like ink offset printing and screen printed products. This includes anything from pocket folders to tote bags.
  • CMYK version. Useful for digital printing. Many promotional products decorators are able to use CMYK logos. Not sure where CMYK is used? Think post cards, business cards, and even t-shirt designs can be CMYK (but not always; it’s best to check with your printer first).
  • RGB version. You need an RGB version of your logo for your website, social media, and email campaigns. It’s ok to get a JPG format for your RGB logo.
  • Grayscale version. Though grayscale logos aren’t used much anymore, they are still helpful when a document needs to be printed in black and white, but gradients or varying shades of gray are acceptable.
  • Black and white version. This is needed for decorating processes like foil stamping and embossing. You need a version with a distinct area that will be imprinted (that is the black area), and the area that won’t be imprinted (that’s the white area).

Here are some optional logo variations to ask for:

  • Logomark-only or text-only. If your logo includes both a picture or icon (ie, logomark) AND text, it might be helpful to have variations with just the image and just the text. For example, your logomark might not scale down well enough to fit on the barrel of a pen, but the text-only version of your logo might work just fine.
Left: The logomark. This is sometimes a company’s mascot, like the yeti. Right: The text-only version of this logo.
  • Square (for social media). What this looks like depends entirely on the original shape of your logo. Some brands use just their logomark, others have a “stacked” version of their logo. If your standard logo is rectangular, consider a square version for social media purposes.

This might seem like a lot to ask for, but having this collection of logos on hand will make working with outside vendors like print shops and promotional products decorators that much easier.


We can help put your logo on promotional products

If you don’t understand graphic design or what “good” or “bad” artwork means, don’t worry. Small promotional products distributors (like us) are really good at working with customers who don’t know vector from bitmap.

When in doubt, ask for help. Send us an email to start a conversation or give us a call at (800) 475-2255.

National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day - Facts & History

National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day – Facts and Trivia

March 29 is National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day in the U.S. It’s a day to recognize couples who have built their businesses from the ground up, as well as larger businesses who started small, but have grown immensely, thanks to community support and local consumer engagement.

It’s a day to celebrate small business owners who value face-to-face customer interaction, community loyalty, and business flexibility.

When—and why—was National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day started?

This unique holiday was founded by Rick and Margie Segel. Rick’s parents built and owned a dress shop 5 miles outside the city of Boston.

Why did the son of a husband and wife business owner team want to recognize these unique business partnerships?

Because he saw this business built from the ground up by his parents, and witnessed its growth, despite an often turbulent economic landscape.

Rick’s background is in retail; “That’s who I am,” he says. With a degree in marketing and after several years working for Hertz Rent-a-Car, Rick received a call one day from his mom saying that his father had suffered a heart attack. When asked to come help with the family business, a then 900-square-foot dress shop, Rick took a 90 day leave-of-absence from his job to go back to Boston.

On the 47th day of his leave, Rick’s father passed away. When faced with the decision to go back to the corporate world or remain in the family business, Rick opted to stay.

For the next 25 years, he worked in the family dress shop. “That is who I am, that is where I come from, and I’m not trying to be anything other than that,” Rick states in a talk at the 2013 ARN Revenue Conference & Exhibition.

Over those 25 years, Rick saw 97 stores go out of business during an urban renewal project. Meanwhile, his family’s business grew and the dress shop expanded to 10,000 sq. feet, doing over $2.5 million “in a plighted downtown.”


Why support Mom and Pop Shops?

That type of resilience, growth, and determination are the markers of a true mom-and-pop business success story, and inspiration enough to dedicate a day to the entrepreneurs who build small businesses across the U.S.

Small businesses come and go. It’s estimated that roughly 80% of small businesses survive the first year; only half survive the first five years.

Supporting local, small businesses and shops is important because:

  • It helps family-owned businesses survive—and thrive. In the United States family businesses account for 57% of the GDP and employ 63% of the workforce (source: Family Business Alliance).
  • They get to know their customers. We all know that a personalized experience creates more loyal users. Just like we trust a doctor who listens to our concerns, we trust a shop owner who listens to our story and provides a more personal shopping experience.
  • They support the community. Not only do they provide employment for local residents, mom and pop shops are often present at community events like parades, festivals, school events, and even fundraisers, providing donations through time, money, or hard goods.
  • Family-owned = high values and high standards. According to the academic journal Family Business Review, more than 30% of family-owned businesses survive into the second generation, 12% survive into the third, and just 3% into the fourth-generation level and beyond. Whatever generation a family business is on, the current owners have a legacy to maintain, and will maintain the standards, ethics, and values imparted to them from their predecessors.

What is a “Mom and Pop Shop”?

A Mom and Pop Shop is a small business. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, a small business has fewer than 500 employees. Though mom and pop shops have far less than 500 employees, some large businesses started off as small mom and pop businesses and grew because of community support.

Most mom and pop shops have a brick-and-mortar location. Some examples of these shops include:

  • Restaurants & Cafés
  • Jewelers
  • Clothing Boutiques
  • Hotels & Inns
  • Crafters and Manufacturers
  • Salons & Spas
  • Print Shops
  • Gift Shops
  • Grocery Stores

Hashtags to use for Mom and Pop Business Owners Day

Even if you have steady foot traffic to your shop, reach out to customers on social media to further your reach. Here are some popular hashtags small business owners use on national mom and pop business owners day:

  • #MomandPopBusinessOwnersDay
  • #MomPopBusinessOwnersDay
  • #SmallBiz
  • #SmallBusiness
  • #SmallBusinessRocks
  • #MomandPopBusiness
  • #MomandPopShop
  • #ShopLocal
  • #Shop(City/State)

See how small business owners have used these hashtags on social media:


What shop owners can do to celebrate National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day

There are lots of unique ways to commemorate this unique holiday that celebrates small business owners. Here are just a few ways to reach out to your customers and community:

  • Host a tour of your shop. Let them see you making your crafts in action, or take small tour groups into the kitchen so they can see what goes into their meal prep.
  • Create a timeline of your business’ history. Whether you post pictures and text on a wall inside your store, or you share it online, customers love seeing the journey a small business took to get to where it is. Sharing your story with them creates a more trusting environment.
  • Hand out goodies. Sometimes, a small offering helps remind your community what you do. Whether it’s a small coffee, a massage, a small necklace pendant, sometimes the small things make the biggest difference.
  • Host a fun fair. Food, drinks, a bounce house? Why not? If time and space allows, host a mini fun fair, either by yourself or with a group of other small business owners. It’s a great way to network with those in your community.
  • Teach your customers your trade. Let them in on some of your secrets. For example, if you have a woodworking shop, host small classes, letting attendees try out some of your tools and even create a small craft.
  • Take a break. If you can afford to close up shop for the day, or just half a day, consider giving yourself and your employees a break. Customers will understand, and will appreciate that you value employee morale.

We ❤ working with Mom and Pop Shops

Are you a small business owner, or do you own a mom and pop shop? We work with business owners and managers just like you by offering branded giveaways, promotional products, and marketing materials. Browse OnTheBallPromotions.com to see how we can help enforce your small business’ image in your community.

Why mini sticky calendars are so dang popular

Year after year, our small adhesive Value Stick Calendars continue to be our most popular product.

Whether it’s a pilot car service, a logistics company, a grocer, or even a communications company, business owners love these practical mini sticky calendars.

Whatever your industry or trade, business owners always find these inexpensive promotional calendars a practical option for advertising their business or service throughout the entire year.

But why are our mini sticky calendars so popular?

They’re cheap.

Our popular Value Stick Calendars are just 85¢ per calendar. How’s that for an inexpensive promotion? Our Easy Stick Calendars are slightly larger in size if you’re looking for more ad space.

HVAC stick-on calendar with company logo
This HVAC pro is able to hand out mini stick-up calendars to all his customers because they make for an inexpensive business promotion. Shown: #602 Traditional Value Stick Calendar

They stick anywhere.

The fridge, the work locker, the dashboard, the toolbox, the inside of your desk drawer… we could go on.

The biggest benefit of sticky calendars vs. magnetic calendars is that magnetic calendars only stick to certain surfaces. Small stick-up calendars go anywhere.

It is important to note that although our mini adhesive calendars can stick anywhere, it’s best to clean the surface first to ensure the calendars sticks for the entire year.

Small adhesive promotional calendar with logo
Mini stick-up calendars are often put in the garage or workshop, as this one for a local barber is. And yes, they withstand cold temperatures without falling off. Shown: #602 Traditional Value Stick Calendar

While these sticky back calendars can be put anywhere, some people might not want to stick them on something—and that’s ok. A pushpin easily pushes through these calendars if your customers want to display these on a bulletin board without using the adhesive backing.

They’re cheap.

Did we mention just 60¢ for Value Stick Calendars?

Let’s break that down to show you how effective these cheap stick-up calendars are for your business… and your budget.

So you pay 60¢ for a calendar that lasts 365 days. That calendar costs you just $0.0016 per day to advertise your business, product, or service.

That’s a lot less than a pay-per-click ad (the cost of the calendar itself is less than one click).

So your daily cost to advertise your business is pretty cheap. What about the overall cost for these calendars?

The order minimum is just 150 calendars. At 60¢ per calendar, your cost is just $90.

You read that right. You can advertise your business to 150 people (of your choosing) for just $90 per year.

That’s cheap, focused advertising.

They work for nearly every industry

As we pointed out in the beginning, we get orders for these customers from customers in a lot of different industries.

Here are some of the industries and trades our Value Stick customers work in:

  • Transportation & Logistics
  • Pilot Car Companies
  • Manufacturers
  • Realtors
  • Grocers
  • HVAC professionals
  • Contractors
  • Agricultural Businesses
  • Communications Companies
  • Tourism & Hospitality Businesses
  • Flea Markets
  • Truck Stops
Co-branded promo calendar | On The Ball Promotions
And sometimes two businesses co-brand an already inexpensive promotional calendar. Here, a grocer advertises with an auto shop. Shown: #602 Traditional Value Stick Calendar

They’re cheap.

Yup, we’re going to say it again: Value Stick Calendars are cheap.

These durable little calendars are made of vinyl and have strong adhesive backs, so don’t let the price fool you.

These USA-manufactured calendars are not cheaply made; we just want to offer them at a price that any business or budget can afford.

Get cheap adhesive calendars for your business

We’re here to help you get the best calendar for your business. Shop all Value Stick Calendars, contact us, or call us at (800) 475-2255.

Let’s start your promotion.

10 Client Appreciation Gifts for Small Businesses

Whether you just opened your doors this year, or your small business has been operating for 25 years, it’s always a good idea to invest a little in client appreciation gifts.

And those gifts don’t have to be ordinary, nor do they have to cost an arm and a leg. Some might even cost you next to nothing—but could instill a lot of gratitude and trust in you, the small business owner.

We understand that holiday gift ideas for small business owners are seemingly endless, so we have some ideas for you—based on experience and talking to several of our small business customers—that we think will help you out.

Here we go.

1. Gift card to a local store or restaurant

Custom gift card holder with an arboretum logo on the cover
Gift cards are the easiest customer loyalty gift you can hand out.

Alright, so we’re starting off with a generic—if not overly obvious—idea.

But this one works! Even if they don’t end up using it (perhaps they prefer Dunkin’ over Starbucks), they’ll still appreciate the gesture and understand that you were willing to invest in a gift for them.

No business owner has to hand out client thank you gifts at Christmas, but those who choose to do so will surely make an impact.

How On The Ball Promotions can help: You can certainly hand out gift cards in the envelope the store or restaurant provides. But if you want to up your branding game while saying thanks, here are a few easy ways we can help you out:

  • Card Holders: We can custom print your logo and branding in full color on a gift card holder.
  • Christmas Cards: Christmas is a popular time to send customer appreciation gifts, so why not throw them in with your company Christmas cards this year?
  • Logo Note Cards: Did you know we can add custom die cuts to any of our greeting cards? This makes our ivory logo note cards a very appealing option to small business owners. On the front cover, write “A token of our appreciation” or “Just our way of saying thanks” and add your logo underneath. We’ll add die cuts to fit your gift card on the inside. With the foil stamped personalization, this is a more upscale look for your gift card holders.

2. Food

A selection of various cookies at a bake shop
Visit the local bakery and see what kind of goodies you can get for your loyal customers. Photo by Sarah Shaffer on Unsplash.

Skip the gift card, and go straight to the source yourself. Find a local bakery, buy some boxes of cookies or pastries, and deliver them yourself.

This method might work best if you are planning on handing out these gifts to just a handful of customers.

It’s worth it to pay a little extra for well-made, bakery-fresh cookies than tinned cookies that were baked days ago and shipped halfway across the U.S.

3. Discount on a product or service

Dog walking as a client thank you gift
Are you a dog walking service? Offer some free walks as a way of saying “thanks” to loyal clients. Photo by leonides ruvalcabar on Unsplash.

Whatever your line of work, you can give some sort of deal to your customers. Doing so helps cultivate customer loyalty not because they’re getting something for free or at a discount, but because you are willing to give them that, knowing they will make no profit from that “transaction.”

Ultimately, it’s a goodwill action toward your clients. These gestures are rarely forgotten.

They can also lead to some good reviews or solid referrals for your small business.

Here are some other holiday discount ideas for small businesses:

  • HVAC – Offer deals on an AC cleaning when you’re cleaning their furnace, and vice versa.
  • Beauty salon – Discount a massage, cut, or color.
  • Dog walking service – Offer one or two free walks.
  • Bookstore – Offer a discount, a free staff-recommended book, or their choice of book (be sure to set a price limit, though).
  • Restaurant – On a specified night each week, hold a drawing. The customer’s name who’s drawn can receive something free, like appetizers, drinks, entrée… or even their entire bill!

4. Give them something from a fellow small business owner

Someone is using a riding mower to cut grass
Offer gifts from your fellow small business owners to your clients, like one week of free lawn care service.

First, we tell you to offer them a discount on your service, now we’re telling you to give them something from someone else? We’re not crazy, promise. We just have some unique ideas.

Bear with us.

Here are some services from your fellow small business owners that you could offer to your clients:

  • House cleaning
  • Lawn mowing
  • Snow plowing
  • Photography mini session
  • Pet sitting

Why does this work? Because when small businesses support each other, everyone wins. Referrals are made, trust is built, and business grows. It’s a win-win-win-win-win…. well, you get the idea.

It is important to note that this customer appreciation gift might cost more than others, so plan accordingly when budgeting for this.

Not everyone will jump on the offer, but for budgeting purposes, plan on everyone cashing in on this.

5. Donate to a local non-profit or charity group in their name

A gray cat lays in a wire cage
Win customer loyalty by donating to a local non-profit or organization (like an animal shelter) in their name.

Whether you have a connection to the charity or not, this feel-good gesture is sure to warm their hearts. Send them a Christmas card with a note saying “We’ve made a donation on your behalf to [name of non-profit].”

Here are some non-profits you can consider:

  • Food pantry: donate money or non-perishables.
  • Homeless shelter: donate money. If you volunteer, share a photo of you and your staff volunteering.
  • Kid’s organization: There are many non-profits that provide services, products, or even social, relationship-building outings for children either from low-income families or who are at-risk.
  • Animal shelter: donate money or supplies.
  • Habitat for Humanity (or similar local service)
  • Refugee Aid: donate money. This might only be available larger cities or their suburbs.

6. Host an event for their kids

A large crow of kids chase big bubble made by adults at sunset at a park near the ocean
Throw a party for your clients’ kids—they’ll appreciate the chance to let their kids burn off some energy.

If a lot of your clients have kids, host a Christmas party with food, fun, and games.

Have a large space? Rent a bounce house or inflatable playground. Are you on the chamber of commerce with a catering company? Hire them to cater the event. Have some small games like a candy cane hunt, tree decorating contest, or even pin the nose on Rudolf.

Parents will appreciate the time for their kids to burn off some of that energy. Be sure to provide some comfy seating for the parents, and have your employees help watch the kids.

Oh, and don’t forget to invite Santa.

Not just for Christmas parties, you can also host customer appreciation open houses for other celebrations, like your business’ founding date, end of the school year, any school holiday or day off (think teacher institute days), Fourth of July, or Valentine’s Day.

Or do it just because, on any given date.

Party planning tip: have age-appropriate game or play stations available so kids can play games that cater to their development. Pre-teens might not want to play the same games as toddlers.

7. Celebrate the momentous occasions

A mom holding a crying newborn baby
If you listen to clients and pay attention to local happenings, you can extend your heartfelt congratulations at just the right time (like when they have a baby—or even a grandchild), ensuring customer loyalty.

This one is less of a thank you gift for clients, and more of an I-pay-attention-to-you gift for clients.

For this idea, you’ll either have to take notes if you have a conversation with a customer, pay attention to news mentions, or listen to talk around town (if you’re from a small town, you’ll understand the last one).

Here are some ways you can mark these occasions:

  • If you repair a heater in January, and the homeowner tells you their son is a senior in high school, send a congratulations note in June to the son and his parents.
  • If you learn a new client had a baby, send a onesie, a teether, or even a gift card. Even if it’s six months after the fact, it’s still appropriate to send these gifts.
  • If you’ve learned a client recently retired, celebrate it! A congratulations note card would suffice as a gift.

8. Offer a rewards program to loyal customers

Punch cards for customer loyalty
If you have a brick-and-mortar store, consider punch cards to increase customer loyalty. Though they are an old-fashioned marketing tactic, these little cards are an easy way to say thanks to loyal customers.

Punch cards, points programs, anniversary discount… there are many different ways you can reward loyal customers.

Just be sure to make it as easy as possible for them to accrue points and cash in on their rewards.

Here’s how some small businesses use customer loyalty programs as a way to say thank you:

  • Clothing boutique – Punch cards. Every 10 punches (or stamps) gets you a discount on your next purchase, or something like a free accessory.
  • Lawn care – If a customer has been using your service for a number of years, offer a discount, a few weeks of free mowing, or some other additional service that isn’t included in their usual weekly maintenance package.
  • Café – Punch cards for a purchasing food either off your entire menu, or even just from a certain portion of your menu (for example, a sandwich punch card).
  • Garden center or nursery – For an amount of money spent, give a gift card for their next purchase.

9. Buy them lunch Buy their entire office lunch

Customer appreciation pizza party
Throw your clients a pizza party—and include their entire staff.

If you are in a B2B industry, you have to consider not just the person or team you work with, but everyone else they work with.

After all, the work you do with that person or team affects their entire company.

Offer to order pizza, sandwiches, or whatever food they want from their favorite local restaurant, and bring it to their office. Sit down and share a meal, stories, and learn more about them.

This could work as a great ice breaker, or as a way to stop “talking shop” and really connect with your customers.

10. Send a genuine, heartfelt thank you note

Hand written thank you card for clients
Sometimes, all you need to express your gratitude is a hand written note, personalized for your clients.

Choose a thank you card and start writing. While we offer a free stock sentiment and your logo imprint, you can skip that. Gives you more room to write a note to them telling them why you’re thankful.

Why this works: Sometimes, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on client appreciation gifts. Saying thank you—in your own handwriting—might mean more to them than a box of cookies, free home cleaning, or restaurant gift card.

In Dale Carnegie’s timeless book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, he has this to say about people’s desire—and need—to feel appreciated:

“In our interpersonal relations we should never forget that all our associates are human beings and hunger for appreciation. It is the legal tender that all souls enjoy.”

– Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People

We’ll leave it at that.


On The Ball Promotions can help with customer appreciation gifts

Call our team at (800) 475-2255 or send us an email. Our creative team can help you find the best thank you gift for your clients—without breaking the bank

How to write business greeting cards

How to write business greeting cards | On The Ball Promotions

Here at On The Ball Promotions, we LOVE getting greeting cards.

From colleagues, friends, or professional peers, it doesn’t matter who sent it. Picking up that personalized greeting card from the mail cart gives us that warm and fuzzy feeling that we just don’t get from an impromptu email greeting.

So we open greeting card, delighted that someone thought of us, whether it’s someone’s birthday, work anniversary, one of us completed a professional certification course, or Christmas greetings for our entire office family.

Our friends, peers, and colleagues choose beautiful cards to send us. We open our cards with nearly the same excitement as when grandma would sneak some cash into our birthday cards (yes, we really do love greeting cards around here).

And what we see is the pre-printed sentiment and a signature.

Well, that’s awesome, we think, they thought of us, and let us know they were thinking of us.

However.

As happy as we feel for getting that greeting card, it’s like we bought the biggest firework available, and it turned out to be an everyday sparkler. It’s pretty and it makes us smile a little, but it doesn’t have the same emotional impact.

Have you experienced this? Or were you the one who promised a firework but delivered a sparkler?

A big fireworks display next to someone holding a single sparkler
Which creates the bigger “wow” factor… the fireworks or the sparkler? Read on to learn how to make the biggest impact with your business greeting cards.

We’re not here to make you feel guilty about how you send greeting cards. The fact that you’re sending them is GREAT.

We’re here to give you some tips on how to make those business greeting cards have a impactful message and have a more lasting impact on your customers, clients, peers, and business associates.


What to say in business greeting cards

Do: Include a handwritten message.
Don’t: Use just a stock sentiment and your company logo.

Even if it’s a short hello, it’s worth it to spend the extra time to write notes to your greeting card recipients.

People know that receiving greeting cards from businesses is another marketing tactic in that company’s arsenal.

Be that as it may, adding the personalized, handwritten note will soften the impact. Greeting cards are pretty much the perfect soft sell advertising your company could choose.

On a related note, sign your names. While we can foil stamp or print your signatures, unless you’re sending a huge bulk amount of greeting cards at one time, your authentic signature will hold more meaning than an imprinted signature.

Business holiday card with gold foil sentiment and logo imprint with a handwritten note
We encourage adding a hand-written note along with the imprinted sentiment and logo.
Do: Write the message yourself.
Don’t: Have the intern do it.

While it may be tempting to have an assistant write the notes for you, it will be much more meaningful if you write the messages yourself. Your peers and clients will appreciate the sincerity.

Do: Say what you believe.
Don’t: Offend.

If you want to say “Merry Christmas” then say “Merry Christmas.” But unless you’re sending a Christmas card to Christian customers, peers, or colleagues, it’s best to leave the bible verse off.

Do: Create a custom sentiment.
Don’t: Rely on standard sentiments.

We know, we’re saying you should do something opposite of what we advertise (we offer standard everyday greeting card sentiments and Christmas card sentiments).

But sometimes, choosing something other than a stock sentiment for business greeting cards can really make it stand out.


What to write in business greeting cards

The possibilities are endless! Here are some ideas we’ve collected both from personal experience and from how our customers have used our personalized business greeting cards.

Say thank you in your business greeting cards—especially in your holiday cards.

Write a heart-felt message of thanks from the CEO, founder, or other leader(s) of your company. Say more thank just “Thank you for being a loyal customer.” Say why you’re thankful.

Here are some ways to use Christmas cards or generic business greeting cards as thank you cards:
  • If your business went through some big staff changes, thank your customers for understanding as your business transitioned to new leadership.
  • If you received a lot of feedback, testimonials, or reviews throughout the year, thank your customers for voicing their compliments—and concerns—to you. After all, those voices are what help your business grow.
  • If you experienced growth, let your customers know they are helping you build your business.

What are some season’s greetings messages for business greeting cards?

We offer many stock sentiments for business Christmas cards. Here are some of the most popular holiday card verses for businesses to send to customers:

  • Season’s greetings and best wishes for the New Year.
  • To our friends and customers, Our warmest wishes for a joyous holiday season and a new year filled with peace and happiness.
  • Wishing you all the best in the coming year.
  • Best wishes for a joyous holiday.
  • Peace and joy throughout the season.
  • Peace on Earth, good will to all
  • We wish you a Merry Christmas and a joyous new year!

More business greeting card message samples for holidays and special occasions

Sentiments for business birthday cards:
  • Best wishes on your birthday!
  • With warmest birthday wishes
  • Wishing you the best on your birthday and always
Sentiments for business thank you cards:
  • With great appreciation
  • With sincere thanks and warm wishes.
  • It was our pleasure to serve you.
Sentiments for business congratulations cards:
  • Congratulations and best wishes always!
  • Congratulations! It’s celebration time.
  • Enjoy your special day.
Sentiments for business employee welcome cards:
  • Welcome to the team.
  • Welcome, it is a pleasure to have you here.
  • Our entire company extends its warmest welcome.
Sentiments for business anniversary cards:
  • Wishing you a wonderful day!
  • We appreciate your contributions to our success the past year.
  • Warmest wishes on your special day.
Sentiments for business sympathy cards:
  • We would like to extend our sincerest sympathy to you and your family.
  • Please accept our deepest sympathy.
  • Our heartfelt thoughts are with you.

All of these messages for company greeting cards are available as stock sentiments in our business greeting cards.


How to sign a business greeting card

By now, we’ve given you some practical ideas on how to write a business greeting card. Now it’s time for your John Hancock.

But before you write your signature, there’s the closing (which is also known as a valediction or complimentary close). You might be thinking, how can I best close a letter?

Here are some of the most popular ways to write a closer in your company greeting cards.

  • Sincerely
  • Kind regards
  • Warm regards
  • Thank you
  • Many thanks
  • My best
  • All the best
  • Best wishes
  • Warm wishes
  • Cheers (perhaps the least formal option on this list)
  • Cordially
  • Best
  • In appreciation
  • With sincere appreciation
  • Respectfully

For holidays or other special greetings, it is acceptable to sign off with the name of event at hand, like any of the below. These sign-offs are less formal than the formal business message closings above:

  • Merry Christmas
  • Happy holidays
  • Happy new year
  • Happy Thanksgiving
  • Happy Easter
  • Happy birthday
  • Happy anniversary
Business Christmas card with holiday sentiment and company logo gold foil stamped inside the card
Sometimes saying just “Merry Christmas” suffices as both the greeting and the sign-off. This is ideal when you don’t personally know the recipients of your business Christmas cards.

Here are some tips on how to sign personalized greeting cards from businesses:

Should I capitalize every word of my closing?

No. It is accepted practice to capitalize just the first word in your closing. For example, you would write “Kind regards,” not “Kind Regards”.

Do I need to sign each card, or can I have my signature printed on my greeting cards?

Though we offer FREE personalization on all of our company cards—and we can print or foil stamp your signature—we recommend you sign the cards yourself.

It doesn’t take much time to scribble out your signature, and it means something to the recipients if you sign it yourself. It’s a truly personalized, human touch.


Need some greeting cards for your business? On The Ball Promotions can help.

We carry a large line of Christmas cards, thank you cards, birthday cards, and more. The designs and sentiments were chosen to cater to businesses who want to send an assortment of greeting cards throughout the year to employees, business peers, customers, or clients.

Select a holiday or occasion below to buy business greeting cards online:

Need some help choosing the right greeting card for your business or message? We’re happy to help. Call us at (800) 475-2255.

What are the different types of promotional calendars?

Types of promotional calendars | On The Ball Promotions

Want to buy promotional calendars? As a small business who sells promotional calendars, we think that’s a great idea (though we’re little biased on this one).

You know promotional calendars are a practical branded giveaway and can really help promote your business or service.

But how do you pick the right one?

Let’s start by looking at all the different types of promotional calendars. In doing so, we hope to help you choose the right logo calendar for your business.

And if we make your head spin from presenting so many calendar design ideas, we are truly sorry. What can we say? We get a little excited about calendars.

Ok, here we go.

Desk Calendars

This one is simple: it’s a calendar that sits on a desk.

Reference Calendar with Company Logo
Desk calendars are often large enough to jot down small notes, but small enough to not eat up too much of your valuable desk space.

There are a few different styles of desk calendars. We offer small cardboard desk calendars with easel backs that pop out. This calendar style has a small footprint, making it an ideal desk or counter calendar.

However, when many people hear “desk calendar,” they think of something like this:

Desk pad calendar

This large, over-sized desk calendar pad is popular for businesses; it gives you a lot of space to write down appointments, meetings, and other notes.

The downside? These things take up quite a lot of desk real estate.

Another type of desk calendar that is used more in public spaces are table tent calendars. Similar in design to counter cards, table tent calendars are used in many different places, including:

  • Sports Centers & Athletic Arenas (the calendar often incorporates the team’s schedule)
  • Libraries
  • College & Universities

Reference Calendars

The thing about reference calendars is that they come in any size or shape. They can be a daily, monthly, or yearly calendar.

However, there is one that reigns supreme: the humble desk calendar.

Designed to fit perfectly on a reception counter or by the phone on your desk, branded desk calendars are highly practical because you can view an entire month at once, and the next month is just a page flip away.

Branded reference desk calendar | On The Ball Promotions
This small reference desk calendar has a memo pad large enough to jot down appointments. Great for customer service or inside sales to keep next to their phone. Shown: 991 Charter Desk Calendar

Who uses reference calendars?

  • Dentists and Orthodontists
  • Doctor’s offices
  • Optometrists
  • Village Halls & City Buildings
  • Library reference desks
  • College and University admissions offices
  • Banks & Credit Unions
  • Insurance Agents
  • Inside & Outside Sales
  • Receptionists, Secretaries, & Check-in Personnel
Reference calendar for dentist office
A reference calendar on a dentist reception counter helps patients look ahead to plan their next visit.

Mini Sticky Calendars

Our most economical calendar also happens to be the most popular in our product line.

Mini sticky calendars are small-sized calendars with an adhesive back that adheres to any surface. We don’t recommend sticking them on wooden surfaces, though.

The calendar pad has tear-off months that are stapled to the top. The calendars from On The Ball Promotions come with 13 month calendar pads, starting with December.

HVAC stick-on calendar | On The Ball Promotions
Mini adhesive calendars are popular with HVAC pros because they stick them on the furnace. That way, customers know who to call if something goes wrong.

If you’ve never seen these calendars before, you might be wondering who uses these… and how they use them.

Here are how some businesses use stick-up calendars
  • Logistics companies: Calendars are given to truck drivers so they have contact information for the right people within their company. Calendars are also given to customers to stick in their vehicles or on shelves or cabinets.
  • Pilot car businesses: truck drivers stick the calendar on their dashboard for convenient reference of both the calendar pad and contact information for the pilot car company.
  • Automotive & Motorcycle businesses: Car, truck, and van owners might attach this stick-up calendar to the dashboard, or even inside the glove box. Motorcycle owners might stick them to a shelf or tool box in the garage or shop.
  • Manufacturing: Since adhesive calendars stick to anything, this calendar is a safe bet when your customers or clients have different work environments. Even if they don’t want to stick this calendar on anything in their workspace, they could even use a pushpin on a corkboard.
  • Garden Centers & Wholesale Nurseries: Stick-up calendars can survive the great outdoors, as long as they aren’t exposed to rain, snow, sleet, or any other type of precipitation that mother nature throws your way. These can be stuck on any type of garden shelving, including metal or plastic.
  • HVAC Pros: When completing a service call, put the stick-up calendar on the heater or nearby ductwork. That way, customers know who to call if there are any problems. The benefit of a calendar versus a magnet is that you mail calendars each year, keeping your business fresh in mind. With a magnet, you give it once, and they only see your business info if they check their heater. (Psssst… read some more HVAC marketing tips)
Small adhesive promotional calendar with logo
Mini stick-up calendars are often put in the garage or workshop, as this one for a local barber is. Shown: #602 Traditional Value Stick Calendar

But here’s the question we know you’re dying to ask:

Do mini sticky calendars leave any adhesive after being stuck there for a year?

Any adhesive product worth its salt is going to leave a little adhesive goo behind. But we guarantee it will be infinitely easier to remove that tiny bit of adhesive than trying to remove all the goo when taking a label off a peanut butter jar.

Other types of adhesive calendars

Though not as popular as they once were, computer calendars were once kind of a thing. These long, strip-like calendars fit on a PC or Mac monitor.

However, since desktop computer monitors are smaller than they used to be, this calendar design has quickly become a thing of the past.

Dashboard Calendars

A dashboard calendar is simply a small calendar that adheres to a dashboard in a truck or van (typically used in service vehicles or delivery trucks)

Our popular Value Stick Calendars and Easy Stick Calendars are often used as dashboard calendars because they are small and have strong, adhesive backs.

Once the truck or van driver sticks the calendar on the dashboard, it’s going to stay where they stick it. We’ve even tested these calendars at colder temperatures—and they stay put.

One thing to note: dashboard calendars stick better on clean, dry surfaces, so if you haven’t used an interior cleaner on your dashboard lately, now might be a good time.

Here’s an extra tip: giving these mini dashboard calendars to your drivers, vendors, or clients? If your budget allows, give them a can of cleaner with the calendar. It’s a small touch that won’t go unnoticed.

Wall Calendars

This is one of the most popular calendar styles for home and office use. Why?

The average wall calendar comes with a different picture each month, and has plenty of space to jot down appointment times, meetings, practices, rehearsals, outings, vacations… you get the idea.

It’s not just aesthetically pleasing, but it also highly practical.

That being said, we don’t sell wall calendars. At least not the typical wall calendar.

Yes, there is more than one kind of wall calendars.

You might have seen three-month calendars or even full-year wall calendars before. For our wall calendars, we went the  other way: we offer daily wall calendars.

What are daily wall calendars?

Daily date wall calendars have a page you tear off every day. These types of calendars are ideal in places where people simply need to reference the date of that day, like when signing forms at a medical office or putting a date on contracts.

Wall calendar with daily pages you tear off
This wall calendar has pages you tear off daily, making this an excellent reference calendar at reception areas and appointment desks. Shown: Daily Date Calendar

Greeting Card Calendars

It’s a holiday card and full year calendar in one convenient design. An example of a greeting card calendar is our trifold calendars.

Trifold calendars—or z-fold calendars—have the greeting card portion on the top section, with the calendar on the bottom two panels, and the ad imprint on the very bottom.

Promotional z-fold calendar cards | On The Ball Promotions
Trifold calendar cards are one of our most popular promo calendars because you can add your logo and branding in full color. Shown: Custom tri-fold calendar

Magnetic Calendars

Similar to stick-up calendars in size and design, magnetic calendars just have a magnetic back so they can stick to magnetic surfaces like metal file cabinets, shelving, or some refrigerators.

On The Ball Promotions does not offer magnetic calendars. Here’s why we don’t offer magnetic calendars: adhesive calendars are the same size and shape of small magnetic calendars, but sticky calendars can go just about anywhere.

Planners

Designed for busy moms, sales people, or anyone who just needs a little help keeping their schedule organized, planners are organized by month, and often extend to 13 or even 18 months.

Promotional planners are either foil stamped on the front cover, or are printed in full color. Some even come with a protective plastic cover to keep your schedule a little bit safer (at least from the weather and the contents of your pocket or purse).

On The Ball Promotions does not currently offer promotional planners.

Wallet Card Calendars

Wallet card calendars are a business card on one side, full-year calendar on the other. Typically the same size as a business card, these mini promo calendars are probably the most economical calendar design you can find.

The problem is, they are also the least visible, as they will be put in a wallet and only taken out when the consumer thinks to look at it. Unlike desk or wall calendars, this wallet card calendars don’t provide as much brand visibility for you throughout the year.

Pocket Calendars

These are any type of calendar that fits in your pocket. You will typically see planners and wallet card calendars listed as pocket calendars.


Let’s pick the right calendar for your business.

We’re On The Ball Promotions, and we’re here to help you promote your brand, business, or service. Not sure which of these types of promotional calendars is right for your giveaway? Help is just a phone call away: (800) 475-2255. Or send us an email with your ideas.

Let’s start your promotion.