Our promise to readers
Away Notes publishes greeting card designs, message-writing guides, and occasion-specific etiquette. Everything we publish should be useful, honest, and free of filler. If a sentence on this site could appear on a competitor's site word-for-word, we treat that as a sign we wrote it lazily and rewrite it.
Card illustrations
- Illustrated by hand. Every card on Away Notes is drawn by hand by a contributing artist. Designs are original to the site.
- Original work. We don't pull from stock photo libraries. Each card is made for the specific occasion it's meant for.
- Artist attribution. Illustrators are credited internally and compensated per-design. We're working on a public credits page that lists each contributor alongside the cards they drew.
- Cultural sensitivity. Cards for holidays specific to a culture or faith (Diwali, Hanukkah, Eid, Lunar New Year, etc.) are reviewed by contributors who celebrate the holiday before being published.
Writing and blog content
- Edited by a person. Every blog post, occasion-page guide, and message example is written and edited by a member of our editorial team before it goes live.
- Named authors. Blog posts list a real author byline (currently Casey Brennan, founder — more contributors as we grow). We're not an anonymous content farm.
- Original message examples. The card messages we publish as inspiration are original. We don't copy from existing card sites, Pinterest boards, or Wikiquote.
- No filler. We don't pad articles to hit a word count. If a topic needs 200 words, the article is 200 words. We won't pretend you need 1,500 to get the point.
Etiquette and how-to guidance
Our etiquette recommendations (when to send a card, how much money to include, what to write for different relationships) are based on three sources: established etiquette guides (Emily Post Institute, Miss Manners archives), published reporting from outlets like The New York Times and The Atlantic on changing card norms, and our own customer feedback over time. We don't cite sources inline for every assertion — this isn't an academic site — but the guidance is grounded in real conventions, not invented for SEO.
Corrections and updates
If you find an error — factually wrong etiquette advice, a broken link, a card design that has an issue, anything — email hello@awaynotes.com and we'll review within a few business days. Substantive corrections will be noted at the bottom of the affected article with the date of update.
Advertising and affiliate disclosure
- Ad placements. Some pages on Away Notes display ads via Google AdSense. Ads do not influence what we publish or which cards we feature. We don't accept payment to promote specific cards on the home page or in editorial roundups.
- Affiliate links. Gift suggestions attached to cards may use Amazon Associates or similar affiliate programs. We earn a small commission when a recipient buys through a link, at no extra cost to them. We only recommend products that fit the occasion.
- Sponsored content. We don't currently publish sponsored articles or paid card placements. If that changes, every sponsored item will be clearly labeled.
Data and privacy in editorial decisions
We use anonymized aggregate data (which cards get sent most, which occasions are searched for, which blog posts get the most reads) to decide what to publish next. We do not read individual users' card messages, search histories, or recipient lists to inform editorial coverage. The full policy is on the privacy page.
Who's behind this
Away Notes is a small independent team based in San Diego, California. Editorial decisions are made by Casey Brennan, founder, with contributions from a rotating bench of freelance writers and illustrators. We're not part of a larger media company. We don't have investors pushing growth targets. The standards on this page are the ones we hold ourselves to.
Read more about the company on the About page, or reach out via the contact page.