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05 Jun 16
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22 Feb 12
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Starting a Greeting Card Business
Q. I would like to know how to start a greeting card business, I would design my own cards and envelopes and hand write any personal message they wish to put in, I would even send it off for them if they wish. The problem is knowing where to go to get the ball rolling. I hope you can help. Yours faithfully - Cheryl
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05 Jan 11
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reeting card industry remains very strong. Industry estimates show that over 7.4 billion cards were sold to Americans last year; that breaks down to approximately 235 cards sold per second! T
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freelance to the greeting card industry, or to create your own line of greeting cards.
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two ways to get into the greeting card desi
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Freelancing to the greeting card companies is the easiest (and cheapest way to go)
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u can work in any medium or style that you prefer - pastel or oil, abstract or impressionist, illustrator or photographer, sentimental or serious
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if the company likes your work they'll buy it outright, or possibly assign you a writer.
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nd the companies that look for greeting card artists in the annual publication Artists' Market. It contains listings of companies along with a brief description of their requirements and submission procedures
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For rates and other pertinent information, you can also check out The Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook. Both books are available in most public libraries.
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u can choose to submit your works to the "big guys" where demand is bigger and more diverse, but where competition is fiercest. Or you can begin slowly by submitting your designs to mid-size and smaller companies, allowing you to learn the ropes in terms of working with editors, tackling assignments, and meeting deadline
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the companies (or email if available) that interest you to request for guideline
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Always inquire first before sending samples of your work. Be sure to enclose a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) with your request. Once the guidelines are received, follow what the company wants. Most companies require samples, and you can send a portfolio of four to six pieces. One important reminder: never send originals; instead simply send prints or hi
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d only what the company asks for. Don't waste your time
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ayments and contracts depend on individual companies and their polic
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ng prolific and ability to take rejection. As soon as a rejecti
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wo keys to success as a fre
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d alternative is to design and produce your original cards. As your own boss, you have total control over what you want to create. No guidelines to adhere to, no editor to follow, and no bureaucracy to go along with. There is one important drawback, though - you are not focused solely on the creation aspect, but you need to take care of the
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tart by putting together some samples or prototypes of the cards that you intend to make. Determine what type of gre
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y the various cards on the market. Visit local card shops to find the names of companies whose product line is compatible with the kind of work you do. Then t
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by doing the right research.
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t issue of Artist's Market to find out their submission procedures. You can get ideas from their submission guidelines
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they want you to submit your graphics or verses. Find out what's working for them, then integrate these lessons in y
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ou also need to know about the "technical aspects" of
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s; printingand color; buying the right paper and envelopes; renting spaces and finding a sales rep or distributor.
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ave to experiment on various materials to come up with original designs. The more original your designs, the better alternative you are offering to the market, the greater your chances for success. You also need to have a good writer as your partner or as a business associate to assist you in producing the verses
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vantage that could form an important part in your marketing plan is your ability to customize the cards according to what the customer wants. No matter how diverse the offerings of Hallmark or American Greetings, there are people looking to send special greeting cards not ordinarily found in the stores. They want highly creative and personalized car
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can offer two products: standard set of pre-designed cards and custom-made cards
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icient ways of mass-producing these set of cards. It may look easy and fast when you only have a few to make but if a hundred people order
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he more upscale market, you can create one-of-a-kind cards sold at a premium price. Your clients can request you to create sp
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g your products to your friends and family. Show them to as many people as you can and invite their comm
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e web and create a specialized card service. You can show samples of handmade designs that people may select or customized. You can give the customers the option to select from a set of verses you already have or to write the verses themselves. This will entail the creation of an e-commerce store, which will need shopping cart, secure server for ordering, merchant acco
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