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How to createbest selling
greeting cards
How to create best selling greeting cardsJeremy Corner - Blue Eyed Sun
20:00 Tuesday 24th March 2015 The Marlborough Theatre, Brighton, UK
Brighton illustrators Group
• Brighton bedsit start up launched in 2000
• Specialised in handmade cards
• Now a leading UK publisher of cards
• Stocked in design-led retailers
• Sold millions of greeting cards to date
• Since 2012 have grown in 15+ countries
• Designed primarily in-house
• Licensed artwork in and out
Who are Blue Eyed Sun?
How to create best selling greeting cardsJeremy Corner - Blue Eyed Sun
The Evolution of Blue Eyed Sun designs
How to create best selling greeting cardsJeremy Corner - Blue Eyed Sun
The UK Greeting Card Market
• Cards invented in UK by V&A Founder Sir Henry Cole in 1846
• £1.29 billion spent on single cards in the last year
• 31 cards being sent on average per person each year
• 85% of all cards are bought by women
• Average retail price of a card is £1.44
• There are over 1,000 card publishers in the UK
• One in six UK retailers stock greeting cards
How to create best selling greeting cardsJeremy Corner - Blue Eyed Sun
How to create best selling greeting cardsJeremy Corner - Blue Eyed Sun
What is a
greeting card?
?• A way of connecting
• Strengthens relationships
• Has emotional resonance
• Tactile and sensory
• Tells a story
• Personal Expression
• A celebration
• Extra special in our digital age
• It’s a piece of paper folded in half
What is a greeting card?
How to create best selling greeting cardsJeremy Corner - Blue Eyed Sun
How to think like a greeting card designer
How to create best selling greeting cardsJeremy Corner - Blue Eyed Sun
• License or self publish?
• Think in ranges
• Text, colour, phrase
• Make it easy to buy
• Design with a publisher in mind
• Consider production costs
• Try to cultivate your own style
• Have the next range in mind…
What makes a good seller?
• Design it as a greeting card
• Would you actually send it?
• Could you sell it in your shop?
• Sentiment is important
• Position text wisely
• Square or Portrait
• Does it spark joy?
How to create best selling greeting cardsJeremy Corner - Blue Eyed Sun
The BestSelling CardIn TheWholeWorld
How to approach the market
• Is your artwork different enough?
• Don’t blanket approach publishers
• Make collections or stories (ie ranges)
• Have enough designs: 24 minimum
• Minimise repetition of artwork
• Open birthdays are most popular
• Cover key card sending occasions
• Track mags, awards, blogs & shows
How to create best selling greeting cardsJeremy Corner - Blue Eyed Sun
Useful resources for UK market knowledge
• Trade Magazines
• Trade Fairs
• Trade Associations
• Networking
• The Ladder Club
How to create best selling greeting cardsJeremy Corner - Blue Eyed Sun
What to do next?
• Choose between licensing and publishing
• Assess your work to make it best selling
• Buy and send more cards to understand the market
• Join the Greeting Card Association
• Subscribe to Progressive Greetings and Greetings Today
• Book a place on the Ladder Club Seminar
• Visit trade shows like Top Drawer, PG Live and Spring Fair
• Read my blog at www.blueeyedsun.co.uk/blog
How to create best selling greeting cardsJeremy Corner - Blue Eyed Sun