Book on How To Get Your Cards into Stores

 

Finally, a book about selling your cards!

If you want to learn how to get your greeting cards into retail stores, you will want to read this book called "Pushing the Envelope."

Meryl Hooker, one of the authors, was one of my top selling reps for several years and she has also written an article on social media and the stationery industry for this blog.




This book is geared towards newcomers in the stationery industry for the small manufacturer and it covers many topics, including:


-How do I find sales reps?
-What do I pay reps?
-How do I know which sales reps are right for me?
-Recommendations for keeping your line fresh.
-Dealing with territories and orders,
-Places to find reps,
-What reps expect from a manufacturer, and
-How to keep the rep and manufacturer relationship healthy and profitable long term.


AUTHORS:


Meryl Hooker is a nationally recognized, award-­‐winning sales rep, writer, speaker and all-­around sales rockstar. She has served the Mid-Atlantic as a greeting card and gift manufacturer’s representative for nearly a dozen years where she specializes in working with independently owned greeting card and gift stores. Meryl is a highly sought rep in large part because of the uncompromising standards of excellence to customer service, account development and manufacturer relationships she brings to the table.

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As the writer of, “Road Rage: The Blog”, Meryl chronicles life as a road rep and sales lessons learned while driving miles of highway. She is a contributing columnist to numerous industry publications and blogs and is the co-author of the newly released book, "Pushing The Envelope: The Small Greeting Card Manufacturer’s Guide to Working with Sales Reps". She can be reached via www.merylhooker.com

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Rob Fortier is the owner and creative director of Paper Words, which manufacturers greeting cards and personalized stationery. His card designs have earned him write-ups in industry magazines such as Greetings etc, Gifts & Decorative Accessories, Art Buyer, Giftware News and Stationery Trends, and have been featured on the HGTV cable network.

For additional information on Pushing the Envelope, you can contact authors Rob Fortier or Meryl Hooker at info@CenterAisleGroup.com or visit http://www.CenterAisleGroup.com

You can also order it on Amazon.com



Here are books I own or recommend for learning about the card business. Some are out of print, but used copies can be found online.  They cover themes such as starting a card business, writing text, designing cards, technical skills, copyrights and marketing your work.

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The Greeting Card Business

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Get Your Greeting Cards Into Stores: How to Find and Work With Sales Reps (Updated 2017 paperback) If you like to make greeting cards, this book explains how to get your cards into stores and sell them nationwide.  Learn about changing trends in the indie card market and niche opportunities available for artists. Book includes detailed guidelines on pricing cards for a profit, getting professional feedback on your designs, finding sales representatives, pitching your card line to them, approaching stores, and the industry standards you should follow. Information is also applicable to gift items, such as magnets, journals and calendars.






Start and Run a Greeting Card Business From a British author, whose country has a long history of greeting card design, she takes you step-by-step through the process of starting and running your business with lots of useful practical advice to help you, including: - Deciding what type of cards to produce - Finding your market - Dealing with printers - Copyright and licensing - Pricing and profit. Kate's note: Some specs are different (card sizes) since it is UK standards.



Greeting Card Design This volume features a vast array of fun, elegant, simple and imaginative greeting cards designed by internationally-known artists, illustrators and calligraphers. With over 300 full-color photographs of creative, popular, and inspiring greeting card designs, this invaluable sourcebook showcases the very best of what is happening in the industry today. Accompanying text explores the history of the greeting card industry and examines the major contributions from the leading innovative companies.





Pushing the Envelope Things the small greeting card manufacturer needs to know about finding, recruiting and retaining a winning sales force can be found in this easy-to-read handbook. Written from both the manufacturer and sales rep perspectives, this nuts and bolts guide is full of industry information, sales tips and guidance for building successful and profitable rep relationships. Kate's Note: This book was written by my top selling sales rep in the country.


Greeting Card Design and Illustration 12 step-by-step demonstrations show how to create successful greeting cards Samples of 130 actual greeting cards Twelve step-by-step demonstrations by professional greeting card artists show you how to combine basic illustration techniques with the eight most popular mediums. This art technique book is a comprehensive and practical guide to all aspects of designing and creating professional greeting cards.Samples of 130 actual greeting cards.leads you through every stage of the design process.


Painting Greeting Cards for Fun and Profit The author and a group of other successful greeting card artists offer friendly and practical business advice on all aspects of producing, publishing, pricing, packaging and marketing greeting cards


By the Batch Innovative new ideas for creating fabulous cards (and envelopes, tags, and bookmarks) in batches, with impressive results. The wide range of techniques presented includes everything from the tried and true (rubber stamping) to the unexpected (polymer clay), from the spontaneous (smudge-and-smear) to the whimsical (shaped cards). And author Judi Kauffman shows precisely how to put pedal to the metal and create whole batches of cards in just one sitting. Kate's Note: See my book review here with photos and information.


Mary Engelbreit: The Art and the Artist This book is about her path into art licensing and greeting card design. She is now a successful licensor, her career spans over decades, and she was awarded "best art license of the year" by LIMA. Kate’s Note: See my book review on "7 things I learned from Mary". This book is one of the more encouraging and practical books I've read in awhile. She confirmed my inherent belief that if someone tries to impose rules and prerequisites on entering this career, someone else will come along, break all the rules, and become successful.


The Very Best from Hallmark: Greeting Cards Through the Years. This collection of 750 of Hallmark's best takes readers through seven decades of birthdays, births, trips, holidays, get well wishes, graduations, and more. The story of this remarkable company is as fascinating as the cards.