Freelance Greeting Card Submissions

Freelance greeting card submissions can be a great way for writers to earn extra cash. If you walk into any grocery store or pharmacy, you'll see racks of greeting cards. The printing and selling of greeting cards is a large industry. Someone has to write the card copy and provide the artwork. You can be part of this. Greeting card companies are always on the look out for talent.

Greeting cards usually contain the following:

• Artwork, photo, or design on the cover
• A line or two of verse on the cover
• A verse (sentiment) inside the card (one to three lines)

Greeting cards can be serious, funny, or somewhere in between. There are hundreds of manufacturers of cards.

You can find a greeting card for just about anything occasion.

• Birthday
• Get Well
• Sympathy
• Graduation
• Christmas
• Retirement
• Anniversary
• Wedding
• Baptism/Christening
• Missing You
• Congratulations on a baby, new job, or job promotion
• Bon Voyage
• Thank You
• Friendship

Are you humorous? Are you a romantic, able to pen prose about anniversaries or weddings? Get a feel for what you like to write. Ask yourself if you are able to add a photo or graphic design to the card of if you will only write the copy that goes inside each card.

Have you written any greeting card copy before? If so, place this in your portfolio. A portfolio shows a potential employer a sampling of the work you have done in the past.

• Recycled Paper Greetings does just what its name indicates--creates greeting cards on recycled paper. Their Web site has job openings listed as well as instructions on how to send samples of your freelance greeting card submissions.
• Comstock Cards specializes in adult humor and has guidelines for submissions. They pay $50 to $100 for every idea they accept. This would include a line or two on the cover and the inside written copy.

You can bring smiles through your creative cards.

What if you decide that you would like to start your own greeting card business? You enjoy writing card copy and either can do the artwork for the cards or have someone else able to do it for you. What should you do?

Perhaps starting out with a small selection of cards that look professionally designed is the way to go. Circulate the cards amongst your friends and family. See what their reactions are. Are people willing to pay for your cards? How much?

Consider how to market your cards. Do you have a reliable computer? Have you created a Web site? Could you showcase your greeting cards at your site and provide a way for customers to order and pay for them? Think about your local card shops. See if the owners would consider letting you place your cards there for sale on consignment.

There are many aspects of your own business to keep in mind. Weigh all the pros and cons wisely before investing a large amount of revenue into a potential business.

Take some time to read greeting cards. Go to a Hallmark store or your local pharmacy and check out the cards. Spend some time getting to know what is on the market. If you find some cards you like, jot down the name of the company and later, at home, search for that company on the Internet. They might be in need of freelancers.

Even if after research you decide not to pursue freelance greeting card submissions, there are plenty of other ways to earn money by freelancing. There are other opportunities on the Web and a wealth of information on becoming a freelance writer. Don't give up!

• Freelance Writing for Greeting Card Companies by Patrisha Stauss

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