6 Things For you to Consider:

1. Decide what your product will look like. Choose your paper carefully. Find your own sense of style and make certain that style resonates with your potential customers. Initially, stick with standard sizes (A-2, A-6, A-7). By using standard sizes you’ll find it much easier to find envelopes and fixtures to fit your new product.

2. Find a good printer! There is no shame in using a quality home printer to test your product. You can learn a tremendous amount about what sells before you spend the big money on a commercial printer. When you are ready to expand, choose a commercial printer you trust. Look for the technology (digital, offset, letterpress etc…) that best fits your product and your budget.

3. Devise a plan to market your product. Will you sell your cards in stores? Will you work with distributors? Would you utilize a website? It’s a great strategy to pre-sell your greeting cards before they are actually produced. When I started my first greeting card line, I had orders from 30 retail stores before the cards were ever printed.

4. Set the right price for your greeting cards. The price should be one that gives you an adequate margin while also being inline with your competition. Of course, your customer must be comfortable with the price that you choose.

5. Find a mentor. Someone with experience in the greeting card industry can save you a tremendous amount of money and frustration. Your new greeting card business can still thrive if you make a few little mistakes, but do your best to avoid making big ones!

6. Once you have produced your new greeting card line, be ready to adapt. What happens when only a few of your designs are successful? Can you produce enough new card designs to keep going? Things will almost certainly not go as you expect. You are a creative person. Be tenacious and find a way to make it work!

Good Luck!

Jim Byrne

Raspberries/Art Tree Greetings