A pretty good trade

In scriptwriting, “Save the cat” is an expression that basically means “make your characters likeable up-front by having them do something nice”.

Blake Snyder named multiple books by that expression, to represent remembering the small details.

I think “Save the cat” should make its way into other areas too:

Restaurant? Have the chef introduce himself to guests, and bring out goodies gratis while people review the menu. Knowing the head chef cares connects you to the place.

Newsletter? Have the writer send a little personal welcome email to each subscriber, with a gift based on something unique about that subscriber.

Ecommerce store? Leave hand-written notes in your deliveries, complimenting them on their purchases, and what may go well with it. Maybe even include a tiny gift.

Are these things hard? Not really. They take some effort to do, sure, but they’re not “hard”.

Do they make all the difference in the world to recipients? You bet they do.

Seems like a pretty good trade, doesn’t it?