Using the Birthday Card System

Never miss a birthday again! With Handwrytten’s Birthday Automation system, you can send handwritten birthday cards automatically to friends, clients, and colleagues—on time, every time. This guide will walk you through How to Set Up Birthday Card Automations so you can stay consistent, save time, and make every birthday feel personal.

Navigate to the Campaign Manager

Start by logging into your Handwrytten account.

Click your name in the upper right corner.
From the dropdown menu, select Campaign Manager.
Under Birthday/Anniversaries, click the Select button to begin.

📝 Pro Tip: You can run multiple birthday automations at once—for example, one for clients and one for family and friends

Add a New Automation

Click the Add New Automation button.

You can create different campaigns for different groups. Each campaign can have its own card, message, and gift settings.

Choose Your Recipients (or Set as Default)

There are two ways to define who receives this automation:

Manual Selection: Choose specific contacts from your address book. You’ll only be able to continue if those contacts have birthdays saved in their profile.
Default Campaign: Toggle the Default Campaign switch (top right). This option works a bit differently.

Default birthday card automations go to all contacts in your address book who have a birthday saved, except any contacts already included in another birthday automation.

For example, if you’ve created a campaign for your business contacts and selected them manually, and you also have a separate campaign marked as “Default,” that default campaign will go to everyone except the business contacts already included in the first automation.

📝 To add or update a contact’s birthday, click the pencil icon next to their name.

Once your recipients are selected or you’ve marked the automation as default, click Continue to proceed.

Select a Birthday Card

Choose a card from any category in Handwrytten’s catalog—not just birthday cards. This includes your saved favorites, seasonal cards, and even your custom-branded cards.

Once you find the card you’d like to use, click Select Card to proceed.

📝Pro Tip: You can update your selected card anytime by editing the automation—great for keeping your outreach fresh and relevant.

Write Your Message

Now, craft your birthday note.

Use the Merge Fields dropdown to personalize your message with the recipient’s first name, last name, or company name.
You can also include your signature, if you have one uploaded.

Once your message is ready, click Continue.

Sample Birthday Card Messages:

Friendly: Happy Birthday, {{first_name}}! Wishing you a joyful day filled with laughter, love, and cake!
Professional: Wishing you a fantastic birthday, {{first_name}}. Thank you for being a valued part of our community.
Client-Focused: {{first_name}}, happy birthday! It’s a pleasure working with you. Here’s to another great year ahead!

Finalize Your Automation

Set the final campaign details:

Return Address – Add your return address for each card.
Gift Cards – Choose from our available gift card options to include with every birthday card.
Schedule –
- Start Date: The first birthday to include (cards are sent 14 days before the birthday).
- End Date: Choose a date range or select No End Date to run the campaign indefinitely.

When everything looks good name your automation and click Save Automation.

You’ll return to the main automation page, where you can view and manage all your birthday campaigns.

Pro Tips for Birthday Automations

✔ Segment your contacts – Create separate campaigns for clients, leads, friends, or team members for better personalization.

✔ Keep messages simple and timeless – Since cards are sent two weeks in advance, avoid messages that reference real-time events.

✔ Check birthdays regularly – New contacts without birthdays won’t be included. Keep your address book up to date!

✔ Use gift cards for added impact – Adding a $5–10 gift card can turn a nice gesture into a memorable one.

✔ Update your campaign message every few months – Keep it fresh, especially for recurring annual automations.

With just a little setup, birthday automations can become one of the most meaningful and consistent touchpoints in your outreach strategy. Remembering someone’s birthday with a handwritten card shows appreciation, builds loyalty, and keeps your brand top of mind in a way emails and text messages simply can’t match. And with Handwrytten handling the writing, addressing, and mailing, you can create personal connections automatically—without adding more work to your plate.

Still have questions? Our support team is happy to help you set up or optimize your birthday campaign.

📧 Email: contact@handwrytten.com

Frequently Asked Questions

💬 Can I include a different gift for each recipient?

No—each automation uses one card and one gift card option for all recipients in that campaign. To vary gifts, create separate automations.

💬 What happens if I add a birthday after an automation has started?

As long as the contact’s birthday is within the campaign window and not part of another birthday automation, they’ll be included automatically.

💬 Can I edit an existing birthday campaign?

Yes. Go to the Campaign Manager, find your automation, and click Edit to update the message, card, recipients, or schedule.