Archive for the ‘Greeting Cards’ Category
E-Card vs. Traditional Greeting Cards
Source: Suite 101
Electronic Greeting Cards (“E-cards”) are a by-product of the explosion in electronic technology. E-mail and social networking enhance communication with friends and family and expand relationships. Surprisingly, however, growth of technology has actually increased traditional greeting card sales. Experts surmise that technology provides the connection, but traditional greeting cards strengthen the emotional relationship.
Greeting Card History
The custom of giving cards is traced back to the Chinese who wished good will for the New Year and the Egyptians who scripted on papyrus scrolls. During the1400s, greeting cards were exchanged in Europe with Valentine and New Year’s wishes.
According to the Greeting Card Association, Louis Prang a German immigrant, is credited with starting the greeting card industry in America. Mr. Prang started a small lithographic business near Boston in 1856 where he perfected the color lithographic process. In the early 1870s he began publishing and distributing Christmas cards to England and in 1875 introduced his card line to the American Public.
The humorous “Studio Card” appeared in the 1950s, becoming a staple in the business. Alternative or “non-occasion” cards made their debut in the 1980s.
Personalized Photocards and E-cards arrived late 1990s, providing new opportunity for traditional and electronic publishers alike.
Greeting Card Statistics
The Greeting Card Association states that U.S. consumers purchase approximately 7 Billion greeting cards, generating $7.5 Billion in retail sales. They provide additional annual details:
- Women purchase 80% of all greeting cards
- Men spend more on a single card than women
- Average retail greeting cards range from $2.00 to $4.00 (specialty cards higher)
- The average person receives 20 cards
- 90% of American households purchase greeting cards
- The average household buys 30 cards
Red River Paper estimates the average cost of a printed inkjet greeting card under $1.00, with the most expensive option $1.25. This includes paper, ink and envelope. So, using these statistics, the difference between the high-end of average retail greeting cards ($4) and a computer printed inkjet printed cards ($1.25), a savings of $2.75 per card is possible, with annual savings of $19.25 Billion if all cards were inkjet cards.
Photo Cards and E-Cards
American Greetings is one of the largest greeting card publishers, their biggest competitor Hallmark Cards. American Greetings’ 2008 Annual report outlines their entry into the online photo sharing and personal publishing business through acquisition of Webshots and PhotoWorks, which they recognize as a “highly competitive and emerging market.” They state, “The introduction of digital services and products that use technologies could render existing services and products obsolete.”
There are numerous E-Card sites. Some offer one free month with annual fees, others are “free” for a portion of their cards, but require membership to expand the selection.
- American Greetings – 1 month free, $15.99 annual membership
- Blue Mountain – 1 month free, $29.99 annual membership
- E-cards – Free, with $12.00 annual fee for expanded features
- My Fun Cards – Free – (Toolbar install required)
- 123 Greetings – Free
- Smilebox – Free (Proprietory Software download required)
- E-Greetings – Free
- Dayspring – Free (Christian messages)
Most sites require registration and a download of Adobe Flash or Java Shockwave for animated cards.
E-Card Phishing
The Greeting Card Industry and FBI warn of E-Card phishing scams, with legitimate-looking emails claiming to contain an e-card from a generic “friend” or “classmate”. When clicked, the link can introduce a computer virus. If a suspicious e-card is received, they advise going directly to the publisher’s website pickup area. If retrieval is incomplete, that email is likely a scam and should be deleted. A complaint can be filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
How to Make Money Writing Greeting Cards
Freelance writers often wonder how to make money writing greeting cards. Is this a lucrative writing venue? For many who have found success, the answer is “Yes!”
Know Your Cards
If you seriously want to know how to make money writing greeting cards, then you need to take a walk through the greeting card section of any store near you. Take note of the types of cards available. Read the greetings in a variety of cards, from sentimental to humorous, birthday classics to unique congratulations. The more familiar you become with the market, the better you’ll be at determining what sells. Greeting cards can be slick and witty or sweet and sappy, and you may only excel at writing one particular type of card. However, you won’t know until you try, so don’t rule out a particular category until you’ve tried writing for it.
Card Categories
While of course, everyone knows there are general greeting card categories, such as birthday, anniversary, congratulations, sympathy, and thank you cards, there are actually more particular card genres that you need to familiarize yourself with.
- Sentimental cards-When you first think of greeting cards, this is probably the type of card that comes to mind. These sentimental cards have been around forever, and they are often filled with heartfelt rhymes that focus on expressing a syrupy message. These are often more generic in nature, and while they may not require quite as much imagination on your end, they still must be believable or companies just won’t buy them. Sentimental greeting cards are typically on the lower end of the pay scale.
- Studio-The most lucrative greeting card category is the studio cards, which are the long, slim cards that are written for virtually any reason, be it friendship, apologies, holiday wishes, and more. These cards are usually shorter and to the point. Many are subtle in nature, although the majority of them are also humorous as well. Wording is often witty and imaginative. In other words, you want to pack a punch without being too wordy.
- Humorous-Humorous cards are very similar to studio cards, although they are usually shorter and wider in size. When you submit a humorous greeting card idea, the editor will decide whether it fits in the humorous or the studio category.
How to Make Money Writing Greeting Cards: Facts
When you consider that hundreds, even thousands, of people submit greeting card ideas to companies throughout the year, getting a company to purchase your idea can be somewhat daunting. However, if you keep the following ideas in mind, you might just be successful, and although you may not be able to quit your day job, you may find that those small checks you receive begin to add up.
- Submission guidelines-Find out how each company prefers greeting card ideas to be submitted. In many cases, this involves writing the greeting on a 3X5 card, along with your name and address.
- Greeting Card Association-If you haven’t already joined the Greeting Card Association, it’s time to do so. Here you can find tips and advice on writing and submitting your ideas as well as a list of publishing companies.
- Writer’s Market-If you consider yourself a freelance writer and you don’t own a copy of or subscribe to the Writer’s Market, you are missing out on one of the most valuable resources known to freelancers.
- Schedules and requirements-Once you’ve narrowed down the list of publishers you want to contact, find out if they have specific schedules and requirements regarding submissions, such as seasonal greetings, etc.
- Messages-As you write your greetings, pay attention to the message you want to send. In most cases, cards should be directed to the recipient, and those cards that could be sent from one or several people often work best. Focus on sending “to you”, more than “from me”. This way, a card could be purchased and sent with several people’s names signed on the card if necessary.
- Focus-Focus on writing greetings that are new, not repeats from countless other cards. Funny doesn’t mean ridiculing or insulting either.
- Payment-Finally, payment can vary significantly depending upon the size of the company and the type of greeting you are attempting to sell. Obviously, large companies like Hallmark usually pay better than smaller companies, but every card you sell adds to your portfolio and gets you another check in the mail. You can make as little as $10 to as much as $200 per greeting card idea, so this form of freelance writing could be a great venue for you to try!
Using the Internet to Crack the Greeting Card Market
By Greg A. Knollenberg
Source: Writers Write
Is writing for the greeting card industry a quick path to riches? Looking over the cards in gift shops, one might think so. “Hey, I could have written this,” you tell yourself. However, while there are possibilities and open markets in the greeting card industry there is no free lunch. You have to study the markets, learn about the industry and compete with other writers for your portion of this lucrative market.
The greeting card industry is a 7 billion dollar industry. There are three companies that command a staggering 85% of the marketshare; these companies being Hallmark, American Greetings and Gibson Greetings1. Keep in mind that only a small portion of this 7 billion dollars is the amount paid to freelancers. A large portion of the seven billion goes to paper costs, printing costs and artists’ costs. Furthermore, those figures include winter holiday card sales figures. Many of the greetings on holiday cards are the same from year to year; no new writing was involved. Unfortunately, it is unlikely you will sell a freelance card idea to one of these big three companies in this industry. American Greetings and Hallmark do not accept unsolicited submissions and competition is fierce in the larger and higher paying markets. If you want a role in writing cards for these companies you might be better off considering a staff position at the company. Each of these companies’ websites contains job pages that you might consider watching if this is what you are interested in.
However, there are many other greeting card companies, most of which do accept some freelance work. This creates some interesting opportunities for the creative writer. A majority of the greeting card industry’s spending is for the artwork for the card rather than the writing, so if you have artistic abilities you may have even more opportunities. According to the Greeting Card Association (“GCA”) there are over 1500 greeting card publishers — a considerable number. An interesting development in the industry has been the use of the internet to send cards. With some electronic cards the user selects animations, pictures or sounds and then writes his own message, while others come with a pre-written messages that the user can amend or “personalize”. The electronic greeting cards include both paying and free distribution models.
A recent development was Yahoo!’s incorporation of Hallmark’s electronic cards into its massive website. Also, a new company called the Outpost Network offers a service where the user selects a greeting (or writes his own), stationery, and addressee all online. The final card is then distributed by the postal service to the chosen recipient. Another interesting company is Greet Street, an electronic card distributor, who has been in the news often in the last year. Greet Street recently entered into a financial agreement with Gibson Greetings in which Gibson Greetings will become a content provider for Greet Street’s E-greetings line of electronic greeting cards. In the long run, electronic cards could have significant impact on the greeting card industry and shift some of the opportunities for writers from the standard print format to electronic cards. It could also possibly change the standard submission format from sending in a batch of index cards containing verses to submitting them by email. However, the majority of greeting card submissions are still handled the old-fashioned way.
Submitting Greeting Card Verse.
Greeting card publishers have different ways they want ideas submitted to them; some require the ideas sent in on index cards, one idea to a card while others want the ideas all on one piece of standard 81/2 x 11 paper. To find out the correct format you need to mail in a SASE to the publisher and request the writer’s guidelines.
Many greeting cards publishers request that your ideas be submitted as a batch of index cards of up to as many as ten ideas per batch. Each verse should be typed, double-spaced, on the index card, with your name and address in the upper left-hand corner. Your should always enclose a SASE with your batch, as with any kind of submission. Notes and suggestions about artwork may be typed at the bottom of the card containing the verse, but are not required2.
Publishers’ requirements differ so it is wise to request guidelines for each publisher in order to meet their individual requirements. The Writer’s Market contains brief market listings of about 40 commercial greeting card markets. Pay rates by publishers in their listings varies from as little as $20 per idea to as much $150 per idea.
What Can I Find Out Using The Internet?
The Internet can give you advantage in cracking the greeting card market. Using the Web you can look through the publishers’ catalogs online (to get ideas and see what they are publishing), find addresses for requesting guidelines, and learn more about the company by reading its history or recent press releases. Writers Write® has created a new section where you will find links to many of the greeting card publishers at http://www.writerswrite.com/greetingcards/. The Greeting Card Association also has pertinent information including statistics on the industry and links to publishers at http://www.greetingcard.org/.
The leaders in the industry, American Greetings, Gibson Greetings and Hallmark each have large websites. Employment opportunities for Gibson Greetings and Hallmark can be found on their websites. Hallmark notes that they often hire creative types with backgrounds in fields like advertising, creative writing, journalism and theatre. The job area for Hallmark can be found at http://www.hallmark.com/ourcompany_bin/careers/careers.asp and the Gibson Greetings job area is at http://www.gibsongreetings.com/careers.html. American Greetings does not currently have a job section, but they do have a large corporate information site at http://corporate.americangreetings.com/ where you will find out company information. American Greetings and Hallmark each have large card catalogs online where you can read verses and see what is popular in these successful commercial brands. If you want to watch what they are up to, you might regularly visit their press release sections as well.
Smaller companies (which are more apt to pay freelancers for greeting card verse) also have websites, some of which are more open to writers. Blue Mountain Arts, for example, is currently running a poetry contest for writers through its website with prizes of up to $300, available at http://www.bluemountain.com/esub/contest1/, but it expires on Feb 20th so you’d better hurry. However, it is a tri-annual contest so they may run it again in the future. One interesting note: winning entries may be sent as electronic greetings. It is likely that many of the publishers will eventually have guidelines for freelancers available on their websites, however their first priority is selling. Until then, you can obtain the publisher’s address online and then request the guidelines by mail.
The Internet offers a great opportunity for writers of greeting card verse to stay on top of trends. Each publisher with a site usually has at least samples of its line and many have a large catalog online. For example, The C-ya Greeting Card Company, a publisher of relationship closure greeting cards has more than enough samples online for the writer to get a feel for its cards. In addition to the publisher sites you may want to take a look at the Outpost Network’s site which offers cards for a variety of occasions and seasons. Another site where you can view cards is Greet Street at http://www.greetst.com.
The Internet may make changes for the better like making it easier to submit card ideas to publishers and easier to find out about small niche markets we may never have found out about. It already is creating an advantage in learning about a publisher’s card line without a trip to the card store or requesting a catalog. Unfortunately, it could also tighten the industry and allow the big publishers to increase their market share and shrink the portion that goes to writers. The greeting card industry is certainly an opportunity for writers, but it requires attention like every other kind of writing market. Still, some people just have knack for writing short catchy phrases. If you think you do and you are looking for a writing career, you may want to give it a shot.
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