Put a fresh spin on Valentine’s Day with this collection of Valentine’s Day card design ideas and messages. Plus, learn where you can purchase and send greeting cards and gifts together for around $5 each — postage included!

Approximately 190 million valentines are mailed out each year in the United States. While this number has yet to rival the number of birthday cards sent during the same time frame, it does provide undeniable proof that romantic love is still alive and well.
 
Are you ready to celebrate but need ideas for making homemade valentines? We have you covered with our large collection of design ideas for both cute and funny Valentine’s Day cards.
 
In addition, we also provide suggestions for Valentine’s Day card messages and quotes for the cards you buy! Personalize your greeting cards using handwritten fonts, your own custom photos, and a tuck in gift to make your valentine cards a unique gift experience.

Valentine’s Day has quite the macabre past. However, it evolved through the 14th and 15th centuries to become associated with romantic love. Handwritten valentines then later became an annual tradition 18th century England.
 
As the holiday became widespread throughout popular culture, it has grown into the custom we know and celebrate today. This includes giving romantic gifts of flowers, candy, and greeting cards as way to express love to someone special.
 
Keep reading to explore our wonderful selection of card design ideas along with suggestions on what you can write inside your Valentine’s Day cards. In addition, you’ll also find Valentine quotes that you can include in lieu of your own personal message. This is especially handy if your wordsmithing skills evade you on this particular holiday.

These ideas for Valentine’s Day cards are perfect if you’re making your own homemade cards. Not only do these suggestions work well for DIY cards, but they also work great as messages inside blank cards with a decorative design.
 
Following are our best ideas for cute and funny cards for Valentine’s Day.

Here are some DIY ideas for making homemade cards for a significant other or someone that you’re sweet on:

• Photo or illustration of Bob Ross accompanied by the phrase, “You make me want to paint happy little trees.”
• A cactus picture with the wording, “You make me thorny.“
• Phrasing that states, “I love your” followed by a picture or illustration of a hot dog or dachshund.
• “You’re one of a kind!” with an illustration of playing cards or a hand that’s difficult to win.
• “Our love was mint to be.” with a gift or photo of mints.
• A wild animal design with wording that states, “I’m wild about you, Valentine.”
• “You’re the bee’s knees.” With an illustration of bee’s knees.
• A card design with a dog that says, “You’re doggone cute.”
• “You’re purr-fect for me.” Accompanied by a photo of a cat.
• Illustration of donuts with the wording “I donut what I’d do without you.”
• “I love you s’more everyday.” With a s’mores graphic.
• “Will you brie my Valentine?” and a picture of a block of brie cheese.
• “You have olive my heart.” Accompanied by an olive jar illustration.
• A card design featuring apples with the words, “I love you a bushel and a peck.”
• “I’m nuts about you.” With a card picturing a squirrel with a nut.
• Pictures of hot peppers with the phrase “You’re so spicy, Valentine!”
• “You stole a pizza my heart.” And a picture of a pizza slice.
• A bee graphic with words that say, “Bee my valentine.”
• “You’re my everything!” followed by an illustration of an everything bagel.
• “You’re the sauce to my nuggets.” With a design showing chicken nuggets being dipped into sauce.
• An illustration of a dripping ice cream cone accompanied by the words, “You make me melt.”
• “Is your dad a baker? Because you’ve got great buns.” with a cinnamon buns graphic.
• “You’re my main squeeze.” Tied in with a juice box.
• For DIY Valentine’s Day gifts for him, you can combo jars or spices with printable “You spice up my life!” gift tags.

Here are several cute ideas for greeting cards that you can make for kids for Valentine’s Day or that they can gift to one another:

• “You’re off the hook.” With gummy worms.
• “I dig you, Valentine.” With a photo of or an actual toy shovel.
• Gift a pair of socks with a card that says, “We make a great pair.”

Once you chosen a greeting card for your intended recipient, the question now becomes, what do I write inside?
 
Unless you have something really important to express to your recipient, you can keep your communication short and sweet. Following are some easy, one and two sentence ideas for what to write inside Valentine’s Day cards. Here are our favorite messages to use inside a valentine greeting card or gift note:
 

• You’re as awkward as a fork at a soup convention. But I still love you.
• Our love is like peanut butter and jelly.
• You give me butterflies.
• You’re the icing on my cake.
• You hold the key to my heart.
• You’re the apple of my eye.
• Be mine.
• I love you more than coffee.
• You’re my favorite. (Second only to wine!)
• There’s no love story like our love story.
• You’re the king to my queen. Happy Valentine’s Day.
• In a perfect world, I’d choose you over winning the lottery.
• You’re all I need in life. (Well, and an endless supply of wine and chocolate.)
• I’m sweet on you, Valentine.
• I shaved. Happy Valentine’s Day.
• I only have eyes for you.
• You take my breathe away.
• I may have stolen your fries, but you stole my heart.
• Te Amo.
• There is no end to this love.
• I love you more than tacos.
• Your love is magic.
• I’m sweet on you.
• Take to me to wonderland.
• You’re my one and only.
• Forever ever.
• You’re awesome sauce.
• Today’s the only day you’ll get me into a dress.
• Valentine’s Day is fake news.

If you still can’t find the right sentiment to write inside your Valentine’s Day cards, you use a valentine quote instead. Here are some of our favorite quotes to use for Valentine’s Day:
 

• Life is the flower for which love is honey. — Victor Hugo
• To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides. — David Viscott
• If I know what love is, it is because of you. — Hermann Hesse
• Love doesn’t make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile. — Franklin P. Jones
• You are my greatest adventure. — Mr. Incredible
• All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt. — Charles Me. Schulz
• Falling in love is so hard on the knees. — Aerosmith
• The best thing to hold onto in life is each other. — Audrey Hepburn
• There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart. — Jane Austen
• Your flaws are perfect for the heart that’s meant to love you. – Trent Shelton
• You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. – Dr. Seuss
• Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet. – Katharine Lee Bates
• A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. – Mignon McLaughlin 
  
• It’s better to have loved and lost than to have to do forty pounds of laundry a week. – Laurence J. Peter, Educator
  
• Without Valentine’s Day, February would be…well, January. – Jim Gaffigan
• What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork. – Pearl Bailey
• This fire that we call Loving is too strong for human minds. But just right for human souls. – Aberjhani
  
• And suddenly all the love songs were about you. – Unknown
  
• Where there is love there is life. – Mahatma Gandhi
  
• Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. – Emily Brontë
  
• The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. – Victor Hugo
  
• Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.  – Maya Angelou
  
• Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction. – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
  
• Most people are slow to champion love because they fear the transformation it brings into their lives. And make no mistake about it: love does take over and transform the schemes and operations of our egos in a very mighty way. – Aberjhani
  
• Each time you love, love as deeply as if it were forever. – Audre Lorde
  
• Romance is thinking about your significant other, when you are supposed to be thinking about something else. – Nicholas Sparks
  
• A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. – Ingrid Bergman
  
• Love is being stupid together. – Paul Valery
  
• Love is a condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. — Robert Heinlein
  
• Anyone can be passionate but it takes real lovers to be silly. – Rose Franken
  
• Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves- alone we find it with another. – Thomas Merton
• You stole my heart, but I’ll let you keep it. – Anonymous

Learn how you can improve your real estate marketing strategy with these tops tips for agents.

Like most entrepreneurs, agents wear many hats and have to multi-task a variety of responsibilities. Not only do you help clients buy and sell homes, but a large part of your job is also marketing. Without new leads and referrals, your business can’t grow.
 
Unfortunately, there are only so many hours in a day to make things happen. While advertising sometimes gets pushed aside, it should remain a primary focus. However, that doesn’t mean it has to be time-consuming. By focusing on key components of your marketing, such as branding and website optimization, you can set yourself up for success without taking on a constant barrage of yet more work.
 
Following are our best real estate marketing tips to help you streamline your advertising. So, it’s both more efficient and highly effective.

Our top real estate marketing tip focuses on branding. Real estate branding is vital to your success as a REALTOR®. Your brand reflects both you and the services you offer. It’s also what makes you stand out in a crowd.
 
Your brand should cover all aspects of your business. From your own website and social media to the real estate marketing materials you send out. You should also have your own logo.
 
If you don’t already have a website for your real estate business, then it should be a priority for the New Year. NAR (National Association of REALTORS®) indicated that 82% of agents who had their own website made $150K or more in 2019. So, it does make an influential difference.
 
If you need help developing your brand, then we’ve provided a helpful guide on branding for real estate agents here.

You can create the most beautiful website in the world. However, if pages load slowly, especially on mobile, it’s going to result in a high bounce rate. What that means is that prospective clients will click onto your site, but then leave immediately if it doesn’t load quickly.
 
If you have large images on your site, they will quickly slow it down. These days, google not only looks at SEO to determine your rank, but website optimization and load times also play a part. If you aren’t resizing images so the file size is small and loads quickly, then it will have a negative impact on your traffic.
 
Luckily, you don’t need to be a tech guru or graphic design professional to resize images. Canva Pro allows you to resize images and choose the quality and file size. You can also use websites, such as TinyPNG, to compress your images.
 
Alternately, if you want to retain your original photographs (and spend less time editing) Cloudflare Pro will automatically resize your image files or serve them in web-friendly formats such as a WebP image across your entire domain. You simply configure the settings once and forget about it.
 
There are other services that resize images as well, especially if you’re using a self-hosted WordPress platform for your website. However, for any host, Cloudflare is the easiest, quickest, and most efficient option.
 
Additionally, 50% or more of web users are using mobile devices to visit websites. Therefore, you also want to make sure your real estate website is optimized for mobile. No exceptions. Otherwise, you are likely to lose a potential customer to someone else.
 
Most website themes are now mobile friendly. If yours isn’t, then redesign your site with a new theme that is.
 
In addition to these key website changes, here are other aspects of your site you should focus on:

• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Professional quality videos and photos
• A strong call to action on landing pages
• Complete information on the localities or areas you work in
• An aesthetically appealing web design
• User friendly navigation and search bar
• Compelling property descriptions
• A newsletter sign-up form
• Free resources for those seeking to buy or sell real estate
• Highly visible contact information and social media links

Whether we like it or not, social media is a huge part of most people’s daily lives. It’s also here to stay.
 
Even if it’s not your favorite platform for your business, it is a great way to find new clients and keep your existing customer base engaged. Best of all, the only thing it costs you is time.
 
To create effective social media posts, however, you do need to have a strategy in place. You can discover some great tips for utilizing social media for your business along with real estate social media post ideas here.

If you aren’t using real estate videography to market your business, then you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. Recent data indicates that 73% of homeowners are more likely to list with an agent who uses video to sell their properties. Additionally, it’s been shown that 70% of buyers watch video tours before choosing an agent.
 
Here are other ways video marketing helps real estate agents:

• It helps put a face to your brand.
• Real estate video marketing has proven ROI (return on investment.)
• Video grows revenue an average of 49% faster than without.
• Videos get shared 1200% times more than static images and text.
• It can help boost your search engine ranking.
• Consumers spend more time on a site that has video than those that don’t.

 
In short, video is a great way to increase your client base and make your services more attractive to sellers.
 
Need help getting started? You can find real estate video marketing tips here to assist you in the creation process. Plus, discover ideas on where to share your videos to drive the best results.

Marketing with magnets is another great real estate marketing tip. Magnetic marketing has been proven time and again to generate referrals and nurture lifelong relationships.
 
Whether you send out promotional calendar magnets or branded bottle openers, you’re providing your customer base not just with products they can use, but also ones guaranteed to get constant exposure.
 
The best part about this advertising strategy is that it provides the repetition that keeps you top of mind all from a single product. This makes magnet marketing economical as well as persuasive.
 
Explore the various products you can brand to promote your business. Plus, learn how to use magnets for marketing here.

This marketing tip for real estate agents will save you exactly what you need more of — time! Automating your direct mail marketing is great way to reach new and existing clients. It’s cost-effective and it frees up time for you to do what you’re best at!
 
Industry studies show that direct mail works! It has a higher ROI (return on investment) than both paid search and online ads. You’ll gain 10% more new customers using this method. And with the right media, you’ll also make sure you’re not forgotten.
 
Discover how a full mailing service can give your real estate business the boost it needs inside this informational post!  
 
Alternately, if you prefer to be more hands on, you can also utilize self-mailers as a viable way to increase revenue.

Are you still using the exact same headshot from 5, 10, even 15 years ago? Then you need a refresh!
 
You shouldn’t still be using an outdated image of yourself to market your real estate business. While you may not quite be ready to embrace your new look, it doesn’t mean you’re old! Today headshots are a lot less formal.
 
Clients love modern portraits that are casual and fun! Consider taking a new photo outside in front of historic landmark or recognizable hotspot in your area for increased interest.
 
Once you have a fresh look that represents your image, use your photo on business cards as well as other branded marketing products.

Relationships are one of the biggest assets for any REALTOR®. You can connect with potential clients and grow your bonds with existing customers in a number of ways. These, in turn, mean more sales and referrals down the road.
 
Here are just a few ideas to help you build relationships:

• Participate in or sponsor local or charity events.
• Use a business greeting card service to send referral thank you cards, closing day cards, real estate thank you notes, thinking of you cards, and housiversary cards.
• Save time while still making connections with mailable pop-by gifts.
• Give custom client gifts to your top customers to let them know their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed and are appreciated.

No matter what type of marketing you use to grow your real estate business, it should provide value. Whether you gift marketing products that consumers can use, provide informational articles, or build relationships through social networking, the best way to make an impact is to provide something of value to your target audience.
 
We hope that these real estate marketing tips and tricks help you make more knowledgeable choices when determining your advertising strategy. By employing these techniques, you can grow your business faster, establish the relationships that are the core of your industry, and increase your year-over-year revenue.

For more estate marketing tips and tricks, be sure to subscribe to the Magnets USA® newsletter. We our home to the original magnetic tear-off calendar for REALTORS® and have the experience and knowledge to help you succeed. In addition,  you can also follow us on Facebook or Instagram for more ideas to help you get more leads.

Send out thinking of you cards as a strategic way to grow your real estate business, build solid relationships, and gain referrals.

Sending cards to clients is an important aspect of real estate marketing. As REALTORS® depend on relationships to grow their business, something as simple as a thinking of you card can make a big difference toward gaining customer trust and loyalty.
 
Greeting cards are meaningful way to let someone know that you have them on your mind. They say, “you matter.” Agents should send out cards on regular basis as part of a both habit and a business strategy to remind customers of their importance.
 
Keep reading to discover why agents should take the time to send a card. Plus, get ideas for messages you can include inside thinking of you cards in addition to the best place to buy your personalized, handwritten cards to save both time and money.

Lots of real estate agents send out cards to their prospective and existing client base. While there are many reasons to send out cards for your business, we were curious what types of greeting cards our customers mailed out the most.
 
Therefore, we surveyed the real estate agents who use our products and services for their real estate marketing about when they send greeting cards most often. The results showed that our customers are primarily sending out thinking of you cards as part of their real estate advertising strategy.

REALTORS® send out real estate note cards to nurture business relationships with past clients in order to generate new leads. They also send greeting cards as a personalized way to reach new prospects.
 
Personalized cards can be use as business advertisements for services or to simply stay top-of-mind.
 
Here are some of the primary reasons that REALTORS® send handwritten greeting and note cards:
 

• To welcome a new client or let someone know it was nice meeting them
• To wish a client happy birthday
• As thank you cards for referrals
• To wish homebuyers a happy closing day or after a sale
• As real estate thank you notes
• To send REALTOR® Christmas cards
• For happy home anniversary wishes
• Just to say thinking of you as a reminder of your services
• For other special occasions such as anniversaries or graduations
• To announce new listings or house that just sold
• As open house invitations

Regardless of why agents mail cards, the important piece of this puzzle is that they increase customer retention. When REALTORS® retain at least 5% of their existing client base, they can increase profits by 25% to 95%.

​They also have an impact on word-of-mouth marketing and referrals. Referral marketing has been shown to improve results by as much as 54%. So, if you have no better reason to send out a card than “just because,” then a thinking of you card is the perfect addition to your marketing strategy.
 
Beyond that, thinking of you cards are an easy and meaningful way to connect and reengage with existing and past clients. They help you sell not only your services, but also forge the relationships you want to retain those clients for a lifetime.   

Whether or not you’re a business or real estate professional, greeting cards have a place in everyday life. People mail out thinking of you cards for the sentiment — to let someone know that they are important and matter.
 
This simple act of kindness lets a person know that they are on your mind, whether it’s to offer warm wishes or express sympathy after a loss.
 
Here are some of the reasons to send greeting cards:
 

• To let someone know you hope they are recovering well after an illness.
• Simply to remind a person that they are an important part of your life.
• To bring joy to someone’s day.
• As encouragement for a situation a person may be going through.
• In order to reconnect with someone you’ve lost touch with.
• To let a person know that you miss them.
• As a reminder that no matter how much time passes, you’re still there for someone.
• For motivation.
• To let someone know you hope to see them soon.

Whether you’re reaching out to someone you haven’t spoken with in a while or simply want to say hello, a thinking of you card is a meaningful way to reconnect. But what do you say in thinking of you cards?
 
If you need ideas for thinking of you greeting card messages, here are some sentiments and ideas for what to stay instead of thinking of you.

Here are some sentiments for thinking of you cards for people you know well:
​

• Things have been tough with all the changes happening in today’s world. Even though it’s been while, I wanted to reach out and let you know I’ve been thinking about you!
• I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve been struggling lately. So, I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that you’re in my thoughts and I’m here if you need anything.
• You’ve been on my mind a lot lately! Here’s a little note to just say hello and send some positive vibes your way.
• Just sending a quick note to let you know you’ve been in my thoughts. I hope you have a wonderful day!
• I thought you could use a hug. So, here’s a little card and gift to get you through your rough patch until I can be there in person.
• It’s your story! Don’t let anyone dictate the direction it takes. Can’t wait to hear about your next plot twist. Thinking of you.
• Tough times don’t last, but tough people do. Here’s to you sticking things out and rising to the top!
• While painting happy little trees may be outside of my skill set, a card and gift is not! Hope they bring you as much joy as PBS did in the way back.
• Life is crazy sometimes. Even though we haven’t been in touch recently, I just wanted to send a shout out reminding you that you’re STILL awesome! Can’t wait to reconnect soon.

Following are some ideas for messages for business clients you've worked with:
​

• While it’s been a while since we last spoke, I just wanted to let you know that I’m thinking about you. Enclosed you’ll find a small gift that I hope brightens you day.
• Working with you has always been such a pleasure. I hope this card and gift find you well and bring a small spark of joy to your day.

If you’re not sure what to say in your own words when mailing out greeting cards, then you may simply include a quote along with your signature. Here are some great quotes for thinking of you cards.
 

• “In case you ever foolishly forget; I am never not thinking of you.”– Virginia Woolf
• "I just wanted to let you know that I feel very lucky to have you in my life.” – Ann Lynn
• “May brooks and trees and singing hills join in the chorus too, and every gentle wind that blows send happiness to you” – Irish Blessing
• “I just hugged you in my thoughts; hope you felt the squeeze” – Unknown
• “Maybe I can’t stop the downpour, but I will always join you for a walk in the rain” – Unknown
• “We are in each other’s life for a reason. Thank you for showing up” – David Avocado Wolfe
• “If it’s the thought that counts, then I’ll be counting a lot today.” — Unknown
• “When I think of you, I think of kindness, wisdom, and love. Thanks for being you.” — Sam Crow
•  “This is a hug from me to you, to let you know I am thinking of you. And although I have nothing to say, you know I have thought of you today.” — Anonymous
•  “Sometimes me think, ‘what is friend?’ and then me say, Friend is someone to share the last cookie with.” — Cookie Monster
• “If I have a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.” — Claudia Adrienne Grandi
• “One day I caught myself smiling for no reason, then I realized I was thinking of you.” — Rahul

While you can buy thinking of you cards pretty much anywhere, from big box stores, groceries, and card shops, we love using Minute Mail gifts to purchase greeting cards.
 
Not only does Minute Mail Gifts allow you to shop for and create personalized cards online from the comfort of your home, but you also have the option of sending a card and gift together for an affordable, low price! How amazing is that?
 
Here are some examples of the thinking of you cards Minute Mail Gifts offers.

To learn more about this amazing greeting card service for business and consumers, visit Minute Mail Gifts here. Or explore this helpful overview of this greeting card service before you get started.

​Branding is an important part of marketing real estate. Discover how to brand yourself as a REALTOR® to build client trust and gain leads with this informative guide.

You aren’t just a sales agent, you’re also a resource for your clients. However, to establish trust that leads to conversions, you need to build authentic relationships with your base both off and online. While traditional marketing is one aspect of this, you also need to commit time to establishing an online identity as well. A great way to do this is to create a real estate brand.

​Your real estate brand is your business identity. It represents who you are, what you do, how get you the job done as well as where you conduct business. Not only does your brand identity give an overall sense of the services you provide, but it’s also an important piece of credibility as an agent.

Person to person connections are an important part of real estate marketing. In today’s market, clients are looking for human connection and trust. In fact, trust was voted the #1 quality in REALTORS® by those who use their services.
 
By building an authentic brand for your business, you help to establish the values that consumers are looking for.
 
Following are the top reasons why real estate branding is an important part of your real estate business:
 

• Relays you values, vision and mission to your audience
• Leads to conversions and helps to build a referral network
• Establishes rapport and builds trust
• Gives you credibility
• Sets you apart from the competition so you stand out
• Creates connections
• Creates consistency
• Highlights your expertise
• Offer brand recognition among potential and existing clients

Your brand goes beyond a visual presentation of your business. It also communicates your message to potential clients in a clear and concise way that is easily recognizable and sets you apart from other REALTORS®. Similar to other types of businesses, brand recognition makes you quickly and easily recognizable. This in turn helps you forge relationships and gain both new and repeat customers.
 
This makes having a strong brand an important part of any real estate marketing strategy.  Whether you’re an agent or broker, your brand should incorporate the following elements:
 

• Logo
• Tagline
• Brand colors
• Quality design
• Strong mission statement

You can absolutely have your own logo as a real estate agent. In fact, it’s advisable that you have your own logo as it’s a key part of your branding. Generally, the branding process starts with your logo and then expands from that point.
 
We advise that you incorporate you name as part of your logo in addition to choosing an icon that best represents your image. In addition, it’s important that your logo translates well in both color as well as black and white. You should also save your logo as a vector image so it can be reproduced at any size without loss of quality.
 
If you are new agent, however, you may want to use your broker’s logo for the recognition and associated trust it has already established. You can then build your brand alongside your broker’s logo. Then create your own logo down the road once you’re better established.
 
Creating your own logo as part of your brand is extremely important. It’s not uncommon for agents to change the brokerage they work with. This will prevent you from losing potential clients and taking a loss when and if you switch. As well as when you reach the point that you embark out on your own.

Your brand and real estate business plan go hand in hand. Both reflect your core values as an agent as well as your mission statement. By incorporating the two you remain consistent and send a stronger message to those you want to work with.
 
Here is how to build your real estate brand.

The first step to building a successful real estate brand to is define what your personal branding as a real estate agent is. Focus on three qualities that set you apart from other agents and aid in your achievements. These may be incorporated into your brand story.

Your brand story helps to create the connections that build your business relationships. This story is built through your REALTOR® bio as well as your social media posts. It should represent your brand’s visual image in addition to telling your story.

Once you’ve done this, you also need to identify your client base. Consider defining your brand by a niche market that you flourish in. Determining your target audience and demographic will offer a clear route to helping you create real estate branding that reaches the clientele you want.

Consider your values to form a strong mission statement and determine your advantages over the competition. Focus on your differences and how they help you excel in certain areas where others have not.

How you want clients to view you is another important consideration. Your real estate branding reflects both you and your work. Think about how the different aspects of your branding will translate to your target audience.

Once you’ve defined your brand and created a logo, it’s time to put it into action. Use your brand colors, logo and mission statement on your website and across other forms of digital real estate marketing, including social media posts, which are designed to make connections.
 
In addition to your digital marketing, you should also incorporate your brand into your business cards and other physical marketing materials such as promotional calendars, custom magnets, and direct mail marketing.

The market is always changing and evolving. As it does, you may need to adapt your real estate branding to keep up with these changes. Lots of companies rebrand their products or business after time to reflect new views or challenges. Likewise, don’t be afraid to let your brand and transform as needed down the road.

Now that you know how to brand yourself as a REALTOR®, don’t forget to also focus on your website! Not only should your branding be reflected on your site, but your about page is also deserving of the same attention.
 
Your real estate bio is the 3rd most viewed page on your website. It can also be the determining factor for gaining new leads or clients.
 
You can easily tie in your brand in with your REALTOR® about page for a cohesive user experience. Learn how to write a killer real estate bio here.

As indicated, real estate branding is an important aspect of your marketing. It’s also a significant first step when formulating a marketing strategy for your business.
 
Once you’ve established your brand, you can move incorporate it into your advertising. Here are some helpful posts on how to market yourself as a REALTOR® once this is done:

• Best Real Estate Marketing Ideas
• How to Create Real Estate Marketing Videos
• Social Media Marketing Tips for Real Estate Agents
• How to Generate Open House Leads
• Marketing Yourself as a REALTOR®
• How to Use Magnets for Marketing
• Magnetic Marketing for Real Estate Agents
• How to Design a Business Card

Now that you’ve tackled branding in real estate marketing, be sure to subscribe to the Magnets USA® newsletter. We offer branded real estate marketing materials with a proven track record for success. You can also follow us on Facebook or Instagram for more ideas to help you get more leads.

Around the holidays, we love to give luxury hostess gifts that last. Keep reading to discover our top suggestions for hostess thank you gifts, etiquette for gift giving, and other answers to common questions you may have about what to bring, when to gift it, and how much to spend.

As the saying goes, you should never arrive empty-handed. Etiquette dictates that if you attend a holiday or dinner party that you need to bring a gift for the host. While the gift doesn’t need to be expensive, it should show your appreciation for the invite and the planning that went into the event.

Hostess gifts are presents you bring for the person hosting a dinner party or event. Typically, these gifts are items that the host or hostess would use when entertaining guests. These gifts are used to show your appreciation for the host’s or hostess’ hospitality.

As hostess gifts are a way to thank a friend or family member for their invite, you want to make sure you follow proper etiquette when choosing a gift.

You should bring a hostess gift for most occasions including brunch, informal dinner parties, and cocktail parties.

Ordinarily, you should not bring a hostess gift to a large, formal dinner party or a black-tie event. This is especially true if you don’t have a close relationship with the host. Instead, opt for sending a thank you card the following day.
 
(We love using Minute Mail Gifts to send out thank you cards to our favorite hosts! Not only do they mail it for you saving you a trip, but you can also send a card and gift together for around $5 or $6 total!)
 
Another exception is if you are bringing a salad, side dish or dessert for dinner. Your contribution to the meal will qualify as a gift in lieu of something for the host or home. However, don’t bring food for the meal unless asked. Food items that don’t need to be consumer right away such as a bottle of wine, a specialty coffee blend, or a box of chocolates are still fine to bring.
 
Other occasions where a hostess gift isn’t required are recurring social events, such a casual game night, and events such as birthdays, showers, graduations, or weddings where the guest of honor receives a gift.

If you are attending a dinner party, cocktail party, brunch, or holiday event, you should either send a gift ahead or give your host a gift upon arrival.
 
In situations where you are an overnight or weekend guest, you have several options. You can give gift upon arrival, the same as you would for a holiday or dinner party. Alternately, if you aren’t overly familiar with your host, or it’s your first time in their home, you can wait to buy the gift during your stay once you have a feel for your host’s personality and taste. You can also send a gift by mail after your trip has concluded.

The best hostess gift idea for a dinner party is one that is personalized for the recipient in some way. It may be related to their hobbies or passions. You can also bring a lasting gift for the home.
 
Typically, this item is specifically for the home or entertaining. It may be home décor, such as candles or a houseplant. Alternately, it may be that new cookbook by the hostess’ favorite author, personalized coasters, monogrammed cocktail napkins, flavored olive oil or vinegar, or a bottle of wine.
 
Whatever you decide to give your host, make sure your choice is sincere and thoughtful in addition to being personal to the recipient.

While flowers seem like a great hostess gift idea, you want to avoid bringing a bouquet. Without knowing whether the host or guests have allergies, it’s just a bad idea unless you know the person very well.
 
If you do bring flowers, make sure to gift them already in a vase. Otherwise, dinner preparations can be interrupted and send the host into a frenzy hunting down a vase and arranging flowers as guests are arriving.
 
You also want to avoid regifting items. This is generally in poor taste, especially if there’s a chance that you’ll be found out. If you do regift something you’ve received from someone else, it should be in its original packaging and free of any personalization.
 
Finally, while luxury hostess gifts are appropriate in certain situations, you don’t want to go overboard. Something too extravagant can make the host feel uncomfortable, especially if their financial situation varies greatly from your own.

Many hosts and hostesses will tell you to bring nothing but yourself when you’re invited to dinner. However, it’s poor party etiquette to come empty handed. Hosting a holiday or dinner party can be quite costly. By bringing something for the hostess, you can help offset some of these costs. It’s also just a wonderful way to thank the hostess for her efforts.
 
Therefore, you should also bring a gift for the hostess when it’s appropriate — even if the invitations states otherwise. In this instance, you can give a small token of your appreciation such as home baked goods, a bottle of wine, olive oil or vinegar, chocolate, a book, a potted plant or herb pot, or a candle.

It is not necessary to wrap a gift for the party hostess. However, you may want to avoid handing it to your host in a grocery bag. You can either hand your present directly to the host, unwrapped, or you can wrap in a simple gift bag with tissue paper and a small tag or card.

How much you spend on a hostess gift ultimately is determined by the type of event and how well you know the host. It’s also subjective based on your budget.
 
If you’re attending a dinner party, then consider how much you would spend if you were to go out to dinner. If your typical entrée runs $35-$50, then use that as a guideline when budgeting for your gift. Alternately, we advise spending 1/5th of the cost for the food provided by the hostess, assuming you have an idea of what will be served.
 
When bringing wine for the host, we recommend that you spend at least $20 on your selection. If you know that the wine will be consumed at the party, and not afterwards by the host, then bring an extra bottle or two to be shared.
 
For showers, such as baby or bridal showers, where you also give the hostess a gift, we suggest giving a luxury gift in the $50-$100 depending on how well you know the host. This is also true for holiday occasions.
 
Of course, at the end of the day, you don’t want to gift something outside of what you can afford. If you don’t have extra money to spend, then consider a small token of gratitude that your budget allows, such as home baked goods.

Following are our top suggestions for luxury hostess gift ideas for holidays and dinners parties. These impressive gift ideas are sure to guarantee invites to future events and ensure your gracious gesture won’t be forgotten.

Go beyond the traditional bottle of wine and gift a quality wine with a wooden wine box. Each of these keepsake wine boxes can be personalized and comes with a selection of five stainless-steel wine tools.

The heritage chest is another wonderful wood wine gift box. This durable box makes for a gorgeous gift presentation. It also includes a set of wine tools and can be customized with your message for the recipient. As a bonus, this personalized wood keepsake box doubles as a storage chest after the wine is gone.

Personalized wood keepsake boxes are a beautiful way for recipients to store their favorite recipes, mementos, jewelry, and photographs. (You can find memory box ideas here.) Delicately engraved with your custom message, these wooden memory boxes come in your choice of carefully crafted walnut or cherry.

This acacia wood caddy is the perfect choice any hostess. With so many uses, it’s hard to go wrong with this personalized gift. It can be used as a bath or wood desk caddy as well as a storage organizer for just about anything you can imagine.

Every hostess can use a serving tray! Whether it’s used for serving guests or as an elegant, holiday charcuterie board,  this acacia wood serving tray is a kitchen staple for entertaining and everyday use as a cutting board. Featuring unique scalloped edges and a characteristic wood grain, this serving board looks stunning when engraved with your personalization.

This cherry wood serving tray with handles is another wonderful gift option for your favorite host. Featuring a variety of designs with the option for additional customization, these rectangle wood serving trays have a comfortable grip and are ideal for serving drinks, desserts, and snacks. Crafted from beautiful American cherry, this natural wood product also looks stunning when displayed on a cutting board stand.

We hope you love our suggestions for luxury hostess gifts! For more custom gift ideas, be sure to check out our other gift guides for clients, friends, and family.
 

• Personalized Client Gifts
• REALTOR® Christmas Gift Ideas
• Best Closing Gifts
• Personalized Kitchen Gifts
• REALTOR® Closing Gift Ideas
• Ideas for Holiday Gift Baskets
• Holiday Client Gift Ideas
• Kitchen Tools for Hostess Gifts
• Personalized Cutting Board Gifts