meddygarnet/Flickr

Do you think that the majority of greeting card messages are bland and that you could write better, given the chance? There could be loads of cash to be made out of writing greeting cards. It is a very competitive market so you may not want to make a career leap just yet, but it can provide a outlet for your creativity that will earn you some extra cash. It doesn’t take much – a punchy pun could earn you up to £150!

• Research, research, research
• Be organised
• Finding publishers
• Contacting publishers
• Getting into e-cards
• The waiting game
• Cashing in

Research, research, research

It is vital that you research the greeting card market before you start. Trawl round the shops and look at cards on offer and the wording inside them.

This can’t be stressed enough. It’s time consuming but it is critical. It will also end up saving you time in the long run. Many publishers don’t even get past the first few lines or words in a proposal because so many applicants don’t research before submitting.

The first thing to note is that not all cards are created equal – there are various genres.

The three main types are:

• Traditional cards which use metered, rhyming poetry.
• Contemporary prose cards, which tend to be the sentimental cards.
• Humourous, pun-filled or clever cards, which are by far the most popular.

Traditional cards are the most technical and are therefore mostly written by in-house staff. However, both prose and humorous cards are written primarily by freelance writers.

Pick your style – but whatever style you choose make sure that you’re pitching to the correct publisher! Don’t send pitches of your funniest work to publishers of blank cards.

Be organised

You need to keep your research organised, so when you start submitting your work you can keep track of what level of contact you are at with each publisher. Create an Excel spreadsheet with these details:

• Publisher’s address
• Website addresses
• Type of cards published by the publishing company
• Their guidelines
• Dates you may have submitted guideline requests or work
• If you received an email or written response keep track of dates and the name of person who may of contacted you
• You may need to send follow up emails tracking the status of your submissions or thanking editors for feedback. Keep track of follow up dates. This is your opportunity to establish a rapport with someone and place a personality with a name.

Keeping organised records requires effort, but it will save you time and potential embarrassment later on. Research and contact is needed on a continual basis since publisher’s requirements change all the time. If you are going to be submitting seasonal cards remember they produce them months in advance so Christmas card submissions may be needed in July. Check in periodically with publishers to see what seasonal submissions are currently required.

Finding publishers for your greeting card messages

The best place to start your research is at a high-street card shop. Go in and take note of the types of cards available, read them, get an idea of what types of cards are popular. Take down the publisher name, which can be found on the back of the cards. You should write down as many publishers as possible.

Finding smaller publishers will give you access to a market with less competition. Smaller companies will pay less, however they are a great place to get your foot in the door as competition is fierce in bigger firms. These may be a bit harder to find but again the initial research will pay off.

Visit niche shops like craft stores, restaurant gift shops, book stores and pet shops. Check out unusual places, such as home furnishings stores who sometimes sell greeting cards. Investigating these types of shops will give you some smaller publishing company names that you may not have found at your high-street greeting cards shop.

Another great place to find publishers is at greeting card trade fairs. You can meet all sorts of publishers all in one go and get an idea of which ones you want to pitch to.

Some trade shows include:

• Home and Gift, Harrogate – July
• Spring fair, Birmingham NEC – February
• Autumn fair, Birmingham NEC – September
• Top Drawer, Earls Court – January and September
• London International Card Show, Business Design Centre – May

Be aware that some publishers won’t be willing to discuss your ideas at their stands. If they are too busy to speak to you though, don’t throw in the towel just yet – it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re not interested at all. You should still make sure to make a note of their details and try to contact them at a later date.

Contacting publishers

Now that all your research is complete you can start contacting publishers. Most publishers nowadays have their guidelines online which makes research and tailoring your pitches easier than ever. Just get the publishers’ names you have gathered and start visiting them online. Remember that countless pitches aren’t even reviewed because they don’t follow the guidelines.

If you were not able to view their submission guideline forms online you must write to them requesting one. Do not submit any work or ideas without first reading their submission guidelines.

Remember to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your request. Some companies will send their guidelines via email, others will send you a package in the post. Remember to follow their guidelines closely, submit electronically if that is what is requested. If they would like you to post your submission make sure your name and contact details are on every sheet as pieces of paper can go astray.

Include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you would like your work returned. Make sure that your envelope is large enough for your work and that it has the correct amount of postage. You need to make the editor’s life as easy as possible.

The most important thing to remember is follow their instructions explicitly! If it asks you to send a self-addressed envelope and to keep your submissions to under 100 words, do it. You need to be creative, as it’s a competitive market, however keep in mind they get tons of applications and need a quick way to weed people out. The fastest way is to get rid of those who can’t follow instructions.

Getting into e-cards

A booming sector of greeting cards is of course the e-card. Like card publishers most of these companies have their guidelines listed on their sites. Carefully review their content and guidelines before submitting any of your work.

Clicking on the contacts section is usually where you will find submission details. Here is a list of online greeting card companies to try :

• E-cards
• Friends of the Earth – this is an eco-friendly company
• E-cards 4 Me

The waiting game

Rome wasn’t built in a day, writing requires practice, so keep at it and you’ll get better. It may take a while for publishers to get back to you, but be patient. Keeping on top of your follow up emails will also help this process along, but remember don’t be a pest! You want to have your name in their heads, but you don’t want to be known as the one who doesn’t stop pestering!

Be willing to accept rejection if an editor is kind enough to provide feedback on your work. Take their advice and be open – it will only help make you a better writer. Just because you are rejected the first time you submit work doesn’t mean you should never again submit to a publisher. If the editor did send you feedback, take their advice as it will help make your future submissions better and get them sold!

Cashing in

The amount of money earned varies from publisher to publisher, but generally punchlines can make up to £150 per idea, while verses tend to go for around £25. Payment varies greatly from company to company, and like all freelance work, it sometimes takes a while to receive payment. So initially this isn’t a good option for steady income, however, with steady contact building many people make a career out of greeting card writing.

Great research reads

Amazon has some fantastic books to help with the research process:

• Freelance Writing for Greeting Card Companies is a fantastic little book that teaches you ways of getting into the greeting card writing business.
• How to Write and Sell Greeting Cards, Bumper Stickers, T-Shirts and Other Fun Stuff – This one has some great ideas to get you started and expanding your writing skills to other markets
• Finding the Right Words: Perfect Phrases to Personalize Your Greeting Cards is another great read to help motivate you.

The magazine Progressive Greetings Worldwide offers great information on publishers, news products and industry issues. Publishers advertise for freelance writers in the magazine, a monthly publication that is available through annual subscription of £50. With your subscription you also receive special annual supplements like the ‘Words and Sentiment’ supplement and a ‘Focus on Humorous cards’.

Art Source, an editorial feature in the magazine to promoting the talents of artists has now been extended to covering verse writers. This publicity is a free service to writers – so if you wish to be featured, send information covering your style, subject matter, and inspiration together with examples of your verses and your contact details to Emma Cain at emmac@max-publishing.co.uk.

The Greeting Cards Association website is also another great place to find freelance work.

Another good site to visit is Greeting Card Writing’s tip sheet. Although the list of companies is American, she has been a greeting card writer for over 20 years and has some great writing tips to share. She also offers online courses.

Visiting the website Writers Write will give you an extensive list of publishers, great books to read, electronic card publishers and websites, tips and message boards where other writers discuss and share tips of the trade.

Have you had a particularly witty greeting card message published? If so, why not share your ideas and experiences on our facebook page:

Useful links

• E-cards
• Friends of the Earth
• E-cards 4 Me