June 10, 2015 
Jane 
It’s early June and while most of you are thinking barbecues and lots of fun outdoor activities, we at DGLM are having our annual debate about holiday cards.
Every one of us has, in the past, personally signed each and every card. At one time when there were many fewer cards to send (and fewer of us on staff) this was not so onerous. We began in mid-October and were done in plenty of time. These days, however, we have a staff that is significantly larger (13 by my last count) and we send out over 2,500 cards each year. This necessitates us actually beginning the card ordering and signing process in June.
So, the question becomes what do we do this year? We could send electronic holiday cards, as many are doing. We could also send cards with just the name of our company and a seasonal greeting. We could send cards with each of our names pre-printed on them. Finally, we could continue to do what we have always done with all of us signing each card individually.
There is our quandary and we need to address it quickly given the timing of the alternative that will take the longest. We are asking you, our readers, what you think we should do. If you were us, what would that be?
I look forward to hearing.
Please don’t take this the wrong way because I think everyone at DGLM is wonderful, but what about each agent just sign a card to his or her individual clients?
Jane, as a gay man with a mother from the south, I understand both tradition and decorum. I still hand-write thank you notes, and I really do believe that the thought counts. That said, each year for the past seven, this mailer from DGLM has gone directly into the recycling bin, and with an increasing twinge of regret and sadness. Here\’s why: at the conservative end of the spectrum, I\’m going to guess these cards cost at least each to buy and post. That\’s 00 that could be sent to a worthy charity like the Trevor Project, or Planned Parenthood. You know what would make my holiday merry this year? An email from \”All of Us at DGLM\” wishing me the very best, and letting me know that a 00 donation has been made \”in honor of our clients\”. Your clients know you love us! You work very hard being the best agency in the biz year in and out to make that clear. We don\’t need a signed paper card to tell us. An email will suffice. But that 00? There are some worthy causes who *do* need that money come the end of the year, and I know I\’d love to skip my annual moment of regret at the recycling bin. Thank you for everything you and the DGLM gang do. This year, I suggest adding to that lengthy list that you give your signing hands a break!
So, I posted my original reply from my phone, and the interface did something funky with the numbers. Trying again:
Jane, as a gay man with a mother from the south, I understand both tradition and decorum. I still hand-write thank you notes, and I really do believe that the thought counts. That said, each year for the past seven, this mailer from DGLM has gone directly into the recycling bin, and with an increasing twinge of regret and sadness. Here’s why: at the conservative end of the spectrum, I’m going to guess these cards cost at least $1.00 each to buy and post. That’s $2500 that could be sent to a worthy charity like the Trevor Project, or Planned Parenthood. You know what would make my holiday merry this year? An email from ”All of Us at DGLM” wishing me the very best, and letting me know that a $2500 donation has been made ”in honor of our clients”. Your clients know you love us! You work very hard being the best agency in the biz year in and out to make that clear. We don’t need a signed paper card to tell us. An email will suffice. But that $2500? There are some worthy causes who *do* need that money come the end of the year, and I know I’d love to skip my annual moment of regret at the recycling bin. Thank you for everything you and the DGLM gang do. This year, I suggest adding to that lengthy list that you give your signing hands a break!
Not surprisingly, what a great comment by Aaron!
I think you all should take a staff photo, the funnier the better, and send it out digitally. Some will print it out, others will delete. Voila! To switch it up, send a personal card every few years.
Hi Jane! (remember me?)
The idea of everyone at the agency signing a card appeals to Traditional Little Old Me, but I can see how time-consuming an effort it is. How about a compromise:
Have everyone sign a blank piece of card-dimensioned paper. Take a high-resolution photo of it. Order the type of card (I like TinyPrints) that allows you to insert images. On the inside blank page, put in the JPEG of the signature photo. Voila — a nice personal touch without eleventy-million actual signatures on it.
And, for the record, I never toss Christmas cards into the recycling bin. I use them as decorations.
My two cents — hope it’s of use!
Christina
I got sent two cards last year, so you can just send one to me this year. That’ll help with the workload, I think.
I have a terrible confession to make. Although I LOVE your card, which sits on my bulletin board all year, it never occurred to me that it was PERSONALLY signed. I guess I just assumed you used an auto-signature program that captured each authentic signature. (And I never looked close enough to check.) The idea of you busy people laboring over 2500 individual cards, quaint and lovely as it seems, sounds oppressive to me. I’d rather see you spending your very limited free time going to baseball games, drinking wine and reading books. So I vote for one auto-signatures card or a great staff photo.
Aaron, thank you for this thoughtful and heartfelt response. Much appreciated.
I\’m practically Aaron\’s twin here…except, you know, I\’m a woman married to a Southerner and probably a lot older than him, but as for the whole personal thank you card and all that…yep, we do those too. And I do appreciate your efforts (although, I didn\’t realize they were all signed until a couple of years ago when we had a twitter discussion about it). I too have, with regrets and a bit of guilt, recycled your card every year (except, remarkably this year! It\’s hanging in my writing cabin and I\’ve used it a lot, but that\’s just because I never bothered to buy a proper calendar).So while it\’s nice of you all, the sentiment really could be covered with an electronic card. And I love the idea of a donation if you\’re game.
Unlike Aaron, I didn’t post this on my phone, but my computer. However, whenever I leave a comment lately it’s been messing up all my punctuation and characters when I post. I had to laugh because Aaron posted his again even though we could essentially read it, but now I’m doing it too because being a writer I want the world to know I know how to punctuate (except maybe commas). What’s up with that?
Okay, I am new here…so I never got a card (and it would really be great to get one). However, if in the past you have sent out real cards by the real mail…why not figure out how much you spend each year on this and make a donation to a good cause, and the let us know about it through your sites and an e-mail. Sorry if I am not up on things…but so very happy to be part of your team.
I just say Aaron’s post and I think we are saying the same thing! Good luck.
That\’s what I was thinking. Have each person sign a \”master\” card and have the printer reproduce it. Personal signatures on that many cards is insane.
I loved the card – it’s hanging next to my desk. But I think it’s insane for all of you to have to sign so many. I like a lot of the alternatives suggested here, including each agent signing only his/her own clients’ cards, or using digital signatures, or sending greetings via e-mail and making a donation (to a literacy project, maybe? I think that’s a cause we could all agree on.)
I will say, I\’m not a saver but a thrower out and the DGLM card with all the signatures was the only one I saved open on my writing desk through last month! I really treasured getting it and it really hit me how cool it was to have a card like that signed by so many top agents in the business. Not saying you have to do it again! Just wanted you to know that it was actually appreciated! wven
Huge people are using canon printer and sometimes facing issues so we provide canon printer support. You can call our canon printer support number +1-844-625-0605 and talk our good technician than we provide the solution to instant solve your issues. If you are facing many difficult issues about canon printer and we solve your problems via canon printer support phone number.
Huge people are using the samsung printer and sometimes facing issues so we provide samsung printer customer service +1-844-625-0605. Our samsung printer support is solved printing jam issue and wifi connectivity, we solve many issues about the printer. You want 100% resolution in your problems to contact our samsung printer customer care.