I snail-mail about 275 of these every year – to anyone who asks (send me your birthday and address and I’ll send one to you).

I write them in batches (usually on a Friday) and drop them in the mailbox when I get home.

Yesterday, I saw one poking out from under the passenger seat. It must have fallen off the seat while I was driving home. It was from about a month ago – too late to send now.

The good news? Since nobody is really expecting these (let alone paying for them), if one gets lost, it’s not a problem.

This is one reason why I like marketing so much: it’s extremely “error tolerant.”

Unlike client work or paid subscriptions, marketing doesn’t need to be perfect:

You send a newsletter and not all of them arrive safely? Fine.

You keep in touch with key relationships but some people get missed? Do it anyway.

You send birthday cards but some get lost under the car seat? Most of them don’t.

As someone once said (I wish it had been me), marketing is about being “vaguely right.”

Some people find that lack of precision troubling. I’ve always found it encouraging.