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