How to Request a Creator Greeting: What to Write So It Feels Truly Personal

The creator doesn't know the recipient. Everything they know comes from the few lines you write in the Cow order form, so those lines matter more than anything else. Here is what has to be there:

1. The recipient's name, and how to pronounce it if there is any doubt.
2. The occasion: a birthday, a bar mitzvah, finishing army service, getting well, or just because.
3. Who it is from: “from Mum and Dad”, “from the gang in class”, “from your big sister”.
4. One or two personal details: a hobby, a fresh achievement, something the recipient always says.
5. The tone: touching, funny, encouraging, or a gentle roast.
6. Optional: one sentence you really want said, like “see you at the party on Saturday”.

Writing on behalf of a group? Collect ideas from everyone, but let one person pick the best two. A greeting that tries to please ten people moves no one.

The difference between a weak request and a good one isn't length, it's detail. Same order, two versions:

Every occasion calls for a different detail. Here's what's worth writing for each:

• Birthday: the age, and something that happened this year. “Just started seventh grade”, “started learning guitar”, “moved to a new flat”.
• Bar and bat mitzvah: a hobby, a class or a dream, and a word of encouragement ahead of the party.
• Wedding: how the couple met, a pet name they use for each other, and who the greeting is from. More ideas in the wedding surprise guide.
• End of basic training, a course, or discharge: what was hardest and what comes next, with no details about the unit or location. See also ideas for army milestones.
• Get well: something waiting for the recipient once they're back on their feet, and lots of warmth. Humour yes, but not about the illness.
• Graduation or a degree: how long it took, and what the plans are next.

Nothing deflates a greeting faster than a name said wrong. The creator reads the name from your text, so help them:

• Write the name the way it sounds, with hyphens between syllables: “Lee-AM”, “AY-la, not a-YA-la”.
• Say where the stress falls: “RO-nee, stress on RO”.
• If there's a nickname, say whether to use it: “everyone calls him Bubi, better that than his full name”.
• For foreign names, write how they are actually said: “JOO-lya, not YOO-lya”.

And if you're not sure either, quietly ask someone in the family. Better one awkward question than a wrong name in a video everyone will see.

One inside joke can turn a nice video into a moment everyone quotes. But the creator wasn't there, so they need the context in one sentence.

• Pick one, not four.
• Explain it briefly: not “mention the falafel”, but “he once ordered 7 falafels by mistake, and ever since he's been ‘the Falafel King’”.
• Make sure the recipient will laugh at it, not be embarrassed in front of everyone.

Want to go further and ask for a roast? There are clear rules on what is and isn't allowed, so read the birthday roast guide before you write.

On Cow every request is screened automatically before it reaches the creator, and roast requests are also checked by a person. These won't get through:

• Offensive, sexual, threatening or racist content.
• Privacy violations: addresses, phone numbers, secrets or details the recipient wouldn't want aired.
• Impersonation: asking the creator to present themselves as someone else.
• Advertising for a business, product or service.
• Jokes about looks, body, weight, disability, origin, religion, gender or sexual orientation, even “just kidding”.
• When the recipient is a minor: gentle humour only.

The creator may decline a request, and then you get all your money back. All the rules are on the safety page.

A creator given ten details tries to fit them all in, and the result sounds like reading out a list. A creator given two good details can play with them, react, laugh, and sound like themselves. That's exactly what the recipient wants to see.

So once you've written it, read it again and delete everything that isn't essential. Need inspiration for the wording itself? The birthday wishes guide has ideas by age and closeness. And if you haven't picked a creator yet, all the creators are here.