The third advantage of a handmade card business is that you can take advantage of market trends.
Handmade cards can take advantage of popular market trends faster then printed card companies. If you see a trend in the marketplace, you can respond to it in a month or two. In comparison, large companies can take over a year to publish a design. At large companies, writers, artists and editors work to develop cards that may take as long as 18 months to reach the consumer.
During the early days of German reunification, when the Berlin wall was coming down and spirits were high, I designed and marketed a Christmas card with a quote from Gorbachev that read "For all that separates us, we have one planet." It was an immediate hit, largely because of my ability to get it on the market at the right moment.
Since handmade cards can be put on the market quickly, political humor, new trends in the market, changing attitudes in the buyer, elections, musical hits or any subtle societal change are good opportunities for a hand-crafted card maker.
See Other Advantages of a Handmade Card Business:
Handmade Card Business Part 1: Financial Investment
Handmade Card Business Part 2: You Change Designs Quickly
Handmade Card Business Part 3: Take Advantage of Trends
Handmade Card Business Part 4: More Designs & High Quality
Handmade Card Business Part 5: Higher Retail Price
Handmade Card Business Part 6: Homebased
Handmade Card Business Part 7: Easier for Beginners
Handmade Card Business Part 8: Card & Gift in one
2 comments:
Greetings Kate!
You brought up an issue about using a quote from a famous person on one of your cards. Did you have to get permission to use it? When is it ok to use a quote and when is it not? How can we tell the difference and how would we go about getting permission?
That's an involved topic that is discussed on linkedin here in the art of licensing group: http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=149470&type=member&item=24695014&goback=.gna_149470
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