Buried in holiday e-greetings, I’m finding myself deleting all but a random few. Why? Because the few that I do bother to click on are either self-serving drivel or simply banal. Like yours, my time is precious. If you are going to send a holiday ecard, make sure it is worthwhile. Better yet, send it in November or January when yours won’t be lost in a sea of sameness.
Of course, the same holds true for any kind of marketing. Zig when others zag. And ideally make sure your zig is a service of some kind. If it is, undoubtedly your target will be so grateful they’ll share it with all the friends and look forward to your communications in the months and year’s ahead. Elf Yourself zigged big time and in its third year was sent around a whopping 57 million times. On the odd chance that you didn’t get one, click here to see the one I created starring Pinky.
Finally, I did want to share an email I got from NYS Governor Patterson. It just seemed spot on. Happy Holidays to all. D
My Fellow New Yorkers,
As you read this, I am now returning from visiting our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Germany.
It is a tremendous honor to spend time with our servicemen and women, especially the many that I have met from New York. Each and every solider who I have had the pleasure of meeting embodies the very best traditions of America: a commitment to one another, a commitment to service, and an understanding about the necessity of shared sacrifice.
I am also asking New Yorkers back home to do much of the same. If there was ever a time to work together to make the best of a difficult situation, it is now.
During this holiday season we are reminded that it is the people we spend our important moments with that count the most, not the gifts that we receive. And it is not necessarily how we, as a people, react to the good times, but how we take on our challenges during the tough times, that defines us as a state, and as a nation.
That spirit of commitment is what binds us together, it is why we join with friends and family to celebrate the holiday season, and it is why we optimistically look forward to each New Year. The holiday season is, first and foremost, a time to renew our commitment to one another.
The choices that we make together right now are not easy, but they are necessary. The challenging times that we are facing make it even more important that we come together this holiday season and that we recommit ourselves to our shared values and our shared bond as New Yorkers.
I hope that you are able to spend some time this holiday season with those closest to you, and if you are able, please find some time to support a charitable organization in your community.
I wish every one of you a happy and safe holiday season.
Governor David A. Paterson