Selling Greeting Cards

 

Have you ever chosen a greeting card off the shelf and thought ‘I can do that’? Well, the time for you to act is now. The greeting card industry is a multi billion dollar industry with opportunities in both freelance work as well as employment.

With the use of modern technology, many artists have already begun to produce their own high quality cards and are selling them on etsy and in craft fairs. Well, why not take your creative skills one step further and seek to license your art.

 

Working with a publisher to make thousands of copies of your design for sale across the nation not only will potentially earn you a royalty on every sale (if you don’t agree on a fixed fee, of course), but selling cards is a great launching pad for other creative endeavors. For instance, some greeting card publishers put a bio of the artist on the back of each card. What great publicity for your art! Direct card purchasers to your website and sell all of your other products there. Additionally, once published, greeting cards make an excellent calling card to hand out as publicity materials. 

Occasions

 So many greeting cards are circulated each year because there are just so many occasions to send one, including:

  v     Anniversaries

v     Birthday

v   Bon Voyage

v     Christmas

v     Communion

v     Congratulations

v     Easter

v     Father’s day

v     Friendship

v     Get well

v     Good-bye

v     Good luck

v     Marriage

v     Mother’s day

v     Romance

v     Sympathy

v     Thank you

v     Thanksgiving

v     Wedding

Greeting Card Publishers 

 

Four of the main greeting card publishers are Hallmark, American Greetings, Papyrus, and Recycled Cards.

 In the likes of the larger companies, it is often easier to find employment in their creative department rather than freelance work because they use an in-house team to design their products.

Smaller companies such as Papyrus and Recycled Cards actively seek new ideas and encourage submissions. To help you get started, some information on each of these four companies will be described below.

 

Hallmark

 

What started as a couple boxes of postcards has grown into a $4.4 billion company. (So what’s stopping you?)

Hallmark is one of the world’s largest suppliers of greeting cards and has been around as a family business for almost 100 years. They sell products into 100 countries around the globe, including 43,000 stores in the US alone. Not only do they sell beautiful cards, but they also produce party wear, gifts, gift wrap, ornaments, photo frames, photograph albums, scrapbooks, e-cards, magazines, and even have a cable television channel.

 

 Employment Opportunities

 Hallmark employs over 1,400 creative professionals to design their products. The creative department is divided into four studio areas: Design, Visual Arts, Writing & Editorial, Marketing and Ventures. Most of what Hallmark sells is created by their in-house talent.

 

 Design & Visual Studios

 The Design & Visual Studios group is the largest of the four studios and includes all design areas such as graphics (these are the people who create the greeting cards, party supplies, gift wrap, etc), interior design (they create appealing stores to attract customers), and multi-media (they’re responsible for the website, e-cards, and animation).

 To produce such high quality products, Hallmark has its own in-house photography studio, lettering artists whose sole job is to create cool new typography, stylists, art directors, and even sculptors who produce the Christmas Keepsake ornaments.

 

Creative Writing & Editorial Studios

Studies have shown that although consumers pick up greeting cards based on the cover, they buy greeting cards based on the words. Hallmark strives to send just the right message with its 100 strong writing and editing team that form part of the Creative Writing & Editorial Studios.

 

Marketing and Ventures Studios

The people who work in Marketing & Ventures are the individuals responsible for creating Hallmark’s advertising and maintenance of its brand. Typically, there are designers, art directors, copywriters, and editors who work to find ways to keep customers happy and coming back to buy more.

If you are interested in learning more about career opportunities, go to: www.hallmark.com, scroll to the bottom and click “Careers” on the left.

 

 Where to Find Hallmark

 Hallmark’s corporate headquarters are in Kansas City, Missouri. The building even has an interactive visitor’s center which over 150,000 people a year visit. 

 Hallmark

2501 McGee Street
Kansas City, MO 64108

Phone: 816-274-5111
Fax: 816-274-5061    Toll Free: 800-425-5627

American Greetings

 

 

American Greetings is one of the US’ other largest greeting card and giftware supplier. American Greetings’ brands include Carlton Cards, Gibson, and Plus Mark. They produce cards, gift wrap, stationary, craft kits, calendars, ornaments, and other party ware.

 The company also holds the licenses for Holly Hobbie, Strawberry Shortcake, and Care Bears. (Have you created a character that might be suitable for licensing? If so, think of American Greetings. How great would that be to see your little creations marketed all across the country!?)

 

 Employment Opportunities

 Similar to Hallmark, American Greetings typically works with its own in house team. Most of their creative positions are located at their world headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. At the time of writing, some of the creative job opportunities being advertised were for an art director, graphic designer, web designer, creative developer, and a writer/editor.

 More information on employment opportunities may be found at:

 http://careers.americangreetings.com/

www.amgreetings.com

Where to Find American Greetings

American Greetings Corporation
One American Road
Cleveland, Ohio 44144-2398
216/252-7300
Fax: 216/252-6778

Papyrus

 

 

Papyrus was born in a family kitchen in 1950. And you thought kitchens were just for cooking! Over 55 years later, Papyrus has grown into over 150 stores and products similar to the other companies, i.e. cards, gifts, wrapping, party wear, but its style is thoroughly elegant and modern.

 In addition to the typical employment opportunities, Papyrus also gives freelance artists the opportunity to present their work for submission.

 

Submission Guidelines - Artists 

Much of the art produced by Papyrus is purchased from freelance artists and photographers. They are always looking for fresh new ideas and welcome submissions.

 When submitting, the following guidance is given: 

v     Submit according to Papyrus’ standard card size is 5" x 7" single-fold;

v     Vertical cards are preferred;

v     Slides and printed art are preferred, but high quality color copies and color photographs are also welcomed;

v     The color in the submission should match the original as closely as possible;

v     For photography, send slides or color prints;

v     Don’t send originals;

v     Don’t send more than 12 samples of work;

v     Make sure to organize all work into a neat, easy to scan format. Art Directors are busy people;

v     Papyrus also produces 3D cards, so are also interested in pop-up, die-cut, and multi-panel;

v     List any relevant experience in your cover letter (if you’ve already sold 1,000 of your designs on etsy, include it here);

v     Do not send final artwork;

v     Include a self-addressed envelope with sufficient return postage; and

v     Typically, a response is given in six-to-eight weeks.

Usually, Papyrus seeks to purchase exclusive world rights to reproduce artwork as greeting cards and other products. Royalties, advances, and flat fees are the method of payment and dependent on the type of rights and product sold.

Original artwork remains the property of the artist.

Address submissions to:

Papyrus
Attn: Portfolio Review
500 Chadbourne Road
Caller Box 6030
Fairfield, CA 94533

Submission Guidelines – Writers

 When submitting written text, the following guidance is given: 

v     Greeting card texts should compliment the type of card, i.e. Christmas, get well, etc.;

v     Sentimental or traditional text is often used in seasonal cards such as Christmas;

v     Texts are often best if they are fresh, short, simple and convey feelings in a new and interesting way;

v     Avoid clichés;

v     Wit, silly, cute, and simple gags are always welcome in Papyrus’ humorous range, but off-color humor is not;

v     Poems and long verse are typically not used, nor are rhymes;

v     Type all copy. Do not send handwritten text;

v     Don’t send electronically;

v     Submit text on 3” x 5” index cards, one idea per card and include your name and address on the back of each card;

v     Dummy card mock-ups may also be sent, but limit quantity to 10. On the front of the envelope, categorize the type of card, i.e. Get Well;

v     Responses are typically given in six to eight weeks; and

v     Include a self-addressed envelope with sufficient return postage.

Address submissions to:

Papyrus
Attn: Text Editor
500 Chadbourne Road
Caller Box 6030
Fairfield, CA 94533

 Standard compensation for all written material is a flat fee.

 

Employment Opportunities

Current job opportunities posted on their website are as a production artist.

Where to Find Papyrus

www.papyrusonline.com

Its corporate headquarters are listed in the above section.

 

Recycled Paper Greetings

 

 

Recycled Paper Greetings was founded in 1971 in Chicago by a pair of college roommates. Theirs was the original idea to sell greeting cards on 100% recycled paper and it has grown into the third largest greeting card company in the US.

Submission Guidelines - Artists

 All Recycled Paper Greetings are designed by freelance artists. In a typical year, 3,000 new cards are added to its already large line. In addition to the submission guidance given above, a few other points are worth noting: 

v     Ensure copies of artwork represent the original as much as possible;

v     Standard greeting card format is 5” x 7”;

v     If a dummy is sent, text and art should appear on the front of the card and the greeting on the inside (make it look as much like a greeting card as possible);

v     Text submissions alone are not accepted;

v     Do not send more than 10 ideas, labeling each with your personal details;

v     Do not send slides, disks, tear sheets, or originals; and

v     Electronic submissions are not accepted.

 Address submissions to:

The Art Department
Recycled Paper Greetings
111 N Canal St, Suite 700
Chicago, IL 60606-7206

Employment Opportunities

There are creative employment opportunities in its Chicago head office, as well as in sales. Please see its website for up to date postings.

Where to Find Recycled Paper Greetings

 www.recycled.com               

Phone Number 1-800-777-9494

Other Resources

Greeting Card Association

If you are serious about freelancing in the greeting card industry, an excellent source of information is the Greeting Card Association. From their website, download a free PDF copy of their Artist and Writers guidelines which provide information such as marketing your work, developing your portfolio, how to charge, preparing artwork, getting started, and tips of the trade. Also find information about the US’ industry’s Oscars, the Louies here.

Greeting Card Association
www.greetingcard.org
1156 15th Street NW #900, Washington, DC 20005
877-480-4585

In the UK, the greeting card association’s site is found at:

www.greetingcardassociation.org.uk.

This is an excellent source of information for freelance artists that is applicable to both artists in the US and UK. Includes the story behind the Henries Awards, the industry's 'Oscars'.

National Stationary Show

Want to go to the Cannes film festival of the greeting card world?

The National Stationary show is held annually in mid-May in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Over 1,300 exhibitors and 15,000 stationary purchasers from around the world come together. This is where buyers and sellers meet to decide what will be on sale in shops around the country in the coming seasons.

Although this isn’t an artists’ market, it is a place where artists can meet the industry decision makers. This will also give artists exposure to latest trends/products and see first hand how the industry works.

If you’re lucky enough to be able to afford your own booth, fantastic, you’ll have everyone coming to you. Even if you’re just starting out, go anyway with a copy of your portfolio, a bunch of cards/samples to hand out, and try your luck! Wear comfortable shoes and make as many contacts as possible.

For more information, see www.nationalstationeryshow.com or contact George Little Management at 914 421 3200.

Best of luck!

Extremely Crafty – Creating Happiness through Craft

p.s. – Extremely Crafty would love to hear about all your successes. If this e-book has inspired you to start your own business or helped point you in the right direction of your first card deal, we’d love to hear about it and possibly even feature you in an upcoming issue of Extremely Crafty Ideas e-zine.

Contents

Earn Money Making Cards

Index of Card Companies

Babushka Cards

Bee & Dee's Cards

Josefa Laura's Cards