VervePress -- January 2010

"Twenty-ten" -- it has a Vervaciously upbeat ring to it! If you've stopped scribbling the wrong year on notes and checks, then you're hitting your 20-10 stride! And if that stride has a spring in it, you're not alone. According to a recent Associated Press/GfK Roper poll, a whopping 72% of Americans are feeling optimistic about the year ahead.

Even so, "out with the old, and in with the new" can take a few weeks to kick in. But now we're heading into the shoulder season when "Happy New Year!" is verging on passé, but Valentine's Day anticipation (or dread) is a little premature. (Technically you have until month's end before belated Holiday Thank Yous and New Year greetings are best saved for an early Valentine.)

New Categories

New Year & Valentine's Day -- Some Thrilling News!

We're right up there with all the big guns. This makes our third straight Top 10 About.com ranking, as we were #7 for New Year ecard sites and #6 for Christmas ecard sites! Score 3 for the home team! Their Ecard Expert, Heinz Tschabitscher, is really digging our vibrant color and wit, but also our secure and speedy linkless format. That's what really sets us apart from the pack, so we're delighted he's shining a spotlight on it. Guess who our Valentine is this year?

Writing Super Speedy Thank Yous

As Leigh was cranking out the last of her holiday Thank Yous in record time (15 notes in 10 minutes -- thank you very much!), she had a Verve-related epiphany: "I'm getting them done way faster, but I'm also writing longer and more personalized notes than I would have on paper." Here are a few quick tricks she used for working that magic:

Tip #1 -- Out of the Mouths of Babes -- Writing Thank Yous is an important nicety, but nagging kids to write them can be such a drag -- unless you pump some fun into it! So, let your wee ones of pre-typing age pick their favorite VerveCard; hand 'em a toy mic, and let them wax poetic about each gift as you type what they say verbatim.

Tip #2 -- Repeatable Nuggets -- Copy/paste choice tidbits from one note for use in other notes -- quick updates; plans for the coming year; or an intro that you can customize.

Tip #3 -- More Swift Copy/Pasting -- Copy/paste email addresses quickly from any online address book in lieu of retyping. With certain browsers, email addresses you've Verved before will pop up automatically when you start typing.

Have any tips and tricks for Verving to the max? If so, we'd love to hear from you at Tell Us on the Home page.

Spreading the Verve Word

Expect to see our Recent Media and Raves page getting a whole lot plumper in the coming months! VerveCards.com has signed on with the public relations powerhouse, Inna Shamis of AvantGarde Communications Group, to be the voice of Verve for a special Blog Blitz and consumer magazine outreach. Now the Verve Word is traveling with the wind at its back!

Donate to Haiti's Earthquake Victims Using Your Cell Phone

Our thoughts are with the victims of last week's devastating earthquake in Haiti and those who have suffered the loss of loved ones. Of the many ways to help, this struck us as quite ingenius: simply text "HAITI" to 90999, and a $10 donation to support the American Red Cross Haiti relief efforts will be charged to your cell phone bill. It doesn't get much easier than that! For more information, visit redcross.org.