The greeting card industry rakes in billions of dollars every year, making it a goldmine for creative entrepreneurs. While several familiar names tend to dominate the industry, there is still plenty of room for creative, artistic individuals who want to strike out on their own and create their own unique mark as a greeting card publisher.
Instructions
Become a Greeting Card Publisher
1. Identify what niche, if any, you want to fill. Do you want to publish a full spectrum of greeting cards, from sentimental to humor, or do you prefer to focus on one particular genre, such as inspirational?
2. Once you’ve identified your niche, you must consider how you’re going to produce your greeting cards. While you’re still building your greeting card business, you’ll likely be able to print your greeting cards on high quality stock paper from home. However, be on the lookout for affordable printers to print your greeting cards once your business takes off.
3. Decide if you will write and design all of the greeting cards yourself, or if you will hire freelance writers and artists to help you. To find freelance writers or artists, simply post ads online or in your local newspaper.
4. Have a website designed, so you can sell your greeting cards online in addition to selling them to stores that sell greeting cards. Your website should be professional and encompass your vision as a greeting card publisher.
5. Set your pricing. Research what other greeting card publishers charge then create your own pricing list, remembering to figure in the cost to actually produce the greeting cards.
6. Offer a free card to those who visit your website. Seeing a greeting card online and actually holding it and looking at it are two vastly different things, so offer each prospective customer a free card to allow them to really get a feel for your work.
7. Sell your greeting cards to those stores and other organizations (i.e. a charity group) that sell greeting cards. Create an aggressive sales campaign that includes such selling methods as direct sales letters, phone calls and meetings with those who purchase merchandise for the store.
