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Ecards were once only sent for fun and as special greeting cards, but now online users are finding many creative ways to maximize the benefits of ecards. Ecards are practical, easy to send, and even free or very low priced. So what exactly are ecards? Ecard is another word for "electronic card" and describes any digital postcard or greeting card that is sent by e-mail.

While many e-card services are free, some providers offer custom e-cards for a small fee. Both free e-cards and paid e-cards are created online using sophisticated, interactive graphic software. Let's explore 10 creative ways to use e-cards.

1. E-card Memos for Companies

Companies once delivered memos in print or by fax, but today many are turning to the use of e-mail, especially those with an intranet system in place. Employees each have their own company e-mail. E-cards can be used to send out creative memos to employees. These creative ecard memos can boost morale, remind employees of an event, instruct employees on a daily task, or even give praise for a job well done. The good news is employers can customize the ecards and send them to all employees at once or to only a select few.

2. Birthday E-cards

Birthday e-cards are great for sharing a surprise "Happy Birthday" message to your friend or loved one. You can create a custom e-card for their birthday based on their personality and you can even set the date for the e-card to be sent on their birthday in advance so you won't forget! Birthday e-card messages can be personal, humorous, lovely, or romantic. They can even play music.

3. E-cards for Weddings and Anniversaries

For weddings and anniversaries, there are a number of e-cards to fit your style. These can be sent on the wedding day to the bride or groom as a relaxing gesture. They can be customized with unique themes to reflect the type of relationship enjoyed by the couple. Anniversary ecards can be customized with the date of the wedding and number of years married.

4. E-cards for Holidays

Holiday e-cards can be customized with themes for Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Halloween, and so forth. You can find musical ecards that play Christmas songs or romantic Valentine's Day themes. For Halloween, send a spooky one! For Thanksgiving Day, send a "thankful" ecard with fall colors, pilgrims, turkeys, or harvest themes.

5. Mother's or Father's Day E-cards

For Mother's and Father's Day, customize e-cards with your own photos. You can also create e-cards with your own special designs. If you sign on for paid e-card services, your recipient will be able to print the card as a keepsake. If you have kids, get them involved in creating these special keepsake ecards.

6. E-cards for Kids

With adult supervision, kids can create e-cards of their own with puzzles, special effects, images, and photos. They can send these to their grandparents or other relatives, or even to their friends. Puzzle ecards are usually included in paid packages, but there are also many special effects and images to choose from with free e-card services.

7. Invitational E-cards

E-cards can also be used in place of mailed invitation cards. You can send printable e-cards to invite friends and loved ones to birthday parties, holiday parties, weddings, company parties, summer grill-outs, and other special functions. They're much cheaper than mailing out invitations, and you can always mail a few to those who don't use e-mail.

8. Friendship E-cards

Send an e-card just to say a quick "hello" to your friends. You can send notes of encouragement, funny ecards, and a variety of themed e-cards to let them know you're thinking of them. Some of the themes to choose from include animals, congratulations, friendship, missing you, love, flowers, cute animations, destinations, landscapes, and many others.

9. Note of Thanks by E-card

E-cards can also be used to send a note of thanks to friends or loved ones. Perhaps you received a gift and want to return thanks. You can also create e-cards as a "thank you" note to clients if you own an Internet business or a business with e-mail contacts.

10. New Baby E-cards

E-cards also come with great themes for new babies. Send a boy or girl themed e-card or unique themes such as animals with their younglings or storks carrying a baby. You can write a message of congratulations to the new mother and customize the card with love.

With e-cards, you can send messages quickly through e-mail for almost any occasion. Best of all, you'll save time and money. You won't have to spend countless hours writing out cards and envelopes. You won't have to pay for postage, and you'll avoid numerous trips to the post office! Free e-cards and paid services are definitely worthwhile for greeting cards, messages, memos, and more!