How to not to reach out to your network over the holidays
A MasterClass from my friend Ramon Ray on authentic communication—Year-round.
Ramon wrote the Facebook post linked below about getting sent generic Happy Holidays greetings from business contacts. A highlight:
“But I know that they know that I know that they know that it's not even to "me"….They just went through their contact list and carpet bombed the entire list. Zero thought to me!…It’s like at New Years, in a few days, when every company in America sends a lame "Happy New Year" to the client and lead list that they didn't email all year long.”
Ramon’s post really resonated with me for a couple of reasons:
- I’ve gotten more “Happy Holidays from [Company name]” graphics texted to me in the last 24 hours than I can ever remember. It has felt impersonal-on a gated medium as I protect my # more than my email.
- I preach reaching out to your network to extend holiday greetings (See: My first article for The Muse more than a decade ago where I wrote it’s a top strategy to reach out to an old boss). so to see it not be a net positive flags for me.
The takeaway for me is this: It is a magical season to reach out to people you’ve lost touch with.
But no one wants to feel duped, even if that’s wrapped in holiday paper.
My favorite way to reach out with the spirit of the season in mind is *genuinely.* Want to reconnect with someone? Send them a 1:1 note with holiday greetings and an invitation to connect in the New Year (I’ve done this with success).
Or if you want to mass email your list or community, go for it—clearly. But I would advise against a copy-paste approach that looks 1:1 but feels automated.
And as Ramon advises, stay in touch with your list in other months as well.
So no, Ramon, you’re not a grinch. You’re a marketer who knows when you’re part of an automated campaign, and being part of of automated campaign to “reconnect and send heartfelt holiday wishes” absolutely can feel misaligned.
