Art Licensing Tip: Create a greeting card from a square pattern.

(Article is an excerpt from 20 Steps to Art Licensing on how to license art for greeting cards and gifts.)

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Here is an example of how I converted a 7 x 7 inch piece of art into a 5 x 7 card, which was eventually licensed and published.  If your art is a square pattern, select an element to be the central focus, and remove remaining details. Here is the art I started with. It is a textured background with poppy style flowers.

Then I cropped it to 5x7 and removed many of the flowers, and added a large open space for text.

I thought the white space needed to be framed, so I added a border.

I stepped back and evaluated the mood of the card. I thought it might be appropriate for a sympathy card, so I added text to express that sentiment.

Some companies don't request text because they want to write their own. But I tend to offer text anyway to help them visualize a possible message that might go with the image. Sometimes it is good to create a version of your card that is “ready to go” just in case they don't have time to write the text but need an extra card to add to a catalog.

I also tend to include optional inside text, and perhaps additional imagery, such as the following example.

Here is what the card looked like after the company published it.

   

They changed my font, edited the text, and adjusted the design. I think these were all great improvements. Their font feels more comforting than my playful bubbly font. Mine font would be more appropriate for birthdays or celebratory messages. Many companies evaluate cards all day, so I trust their keen sense of skill in deciding what a card should communicate before they print it.

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New Greeting Card Business Resources

20 Steps to Art Licensing
Get Royalties for Designs
2nd edition 2017, 150 pages, Paperback





Get Your Cards Into Stores:
Find and Work with Sales Reps
2nd Edition, 2017 100 pages, Paperback

Should you license or self-publish your designs?

A lot of card designers ask me this question.  Based on my experience of self-publishing for 15 years and licensing for about 5 years, I can say they are completely different ways of working in the greeting card industry. Here are the main differences I've found between the two. My opinion comes from running a full-time, self-supporting business in both industries.

Studio Space
The amount of space you need to run your own self-publishing business is dramatically larger than licensing.  When you manufacture cards you need a large space for storage, packing, shipping and possible staffing. In licensing, at bare minimum, all you really need is a computer for sending digital images.

Decisions Over What Gets Published
When you self-publish, you have complete control over what gets published. If you want to create edgy, bohemian cards, you can do it. It is easy to design, print and sell a new design in as little as 2 weeks.  If you try to license those same designs, you might not be able to get a publisher to take a chance them, especially if the topics are controversial. Also it might be 18 months before the card ends up on store shelves.

Costs
When you manufacture cards you take a financial risk.  It’s possible you could spend several thousand dollars printing your own designs and not be able to sell them (that’s why you should start small with local stores), whereas in licensing there are very few costs other than buying a computer and a graphics program (which you probably already have).  I do not count trade shows and advertising as an expense because I have not found them to be a very significant factor for success in either businesses.

Time Investment
Manufacturing cards is very time consuming.  If you are successful, you will find most of your days involve the movement of card stock and packing boxes.  In the evenings you will probably be doing paperwork, paying reps, tracking orders and other details. Also, employees, sales reps and stores depend on you, so you can’t just stop working and take a spontaneous vacation. In Licensing, you can work as much or little as you want, but the less you work, the less you will make. Also, when you submit cards for licensing, you don't know how many will be selected, so you may spend time creating several designs that are never published.

Income
I found self-publishing to be a more profitable and reliable income, mostly because I could respond to trends and steer the direction of my business. For example, the odds of my cards selling good one day in 2,000 stores, and then suddenly failing the next day was pretty slim. I could rely on those accounts, and I could add sales reps slowly as my business expanded. In licensing, an artists does not have control over what gets published or how long cards will stay on store shelves. Therefore, it is hard to predict income.  The upside is that it is satisfying to create one piece of art and continue to get royalties from it several months or years later.

What is your experience licensing or self-publishing? Share your comments below or on the Greeting Card Designer Facebook Group.

Art Licensing Book

  

   

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Venues for Selling Greeting Cards Online

As the greeting card industry changes, I've noticed a dramatic expansion of cards being sold online in a variety of ways: through apps, crowdsourcing, Print-on-demand, and eStores.

These are venuse for card designers to sell cards, and others seek out submissions from designers. This list is a result of recommendations by people who have used them.

*Please note:  Website links can often change. If a link does not work, do a simple search on Google for the Venue

eStores: Artist to Consumer Venues

These companies usually allow an artist to post their cards on their site and then when a customer orders, the artist makes and ships the cards.

Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/
 Artist sets price and ships product. Artist pays fees for website usage and sales commission.

Lilyshop
http://www.lilyshop.com/
Artist sets price and ships product. Artist pays site a sales commission.

Bonanza
http://www.bonanza.com/
Artist sets price and ships product. Artist pays site a sales commission.

Written Cards
www.WrittenCards.com
Submission Guidelines: http://www.writtencards.com/how-it-works.html

LOL Cards
http://www.lolcard.co.uk/index.php
Submissions: http://www.lolcard.co.uk/submit-card_design.php 
10% Commission.

Print on Demand Card Venues (POD)

These companies allow artists to post card designs on their website.  When a customer orders, the POD company makes and ships the cards.

Greeting Card Universe
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/
Submit: http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/about/questions.asp
Artist is paid percentage of units sold.

Cafe Press
http://www.cafepress.com/
Submit: http://www.cafepress.com/uploaddesign
Artist receives profit after manufacturing cost.  Some fees apply for premium memberships.

Zazzle
http://www.zazzle.com/ 
Submit: http://www.zazzle.com/sell
Artist receives royalty from sales. POD that sells everything you could think of. Free to set up and sell, Set your own pricing, and return policy. Had good results with very little work.

Zoggin
http://www.zoggin.com/index.php

Society6
www.society6.com
iPhone cases, tshirts, art prints, notecards, tote bags

Fine art America
www.fineartamerica.com
Allows one to sell originals or prints. You can also use their marketing services and POD.

Moo
http://us.moo.com/
Allows you to print different greeting cards on every card in the run (starts at 25)

Red Bubble
http://www.redbubble.com/

App Makers

These companies usually sell cards through apps on mobile devices. Designs are usually curated and selected by the app makers. Many companies allow the customer to write card text and pay to have it mailed, stamped and sent to the recipient. Many of the app makers also have a companion website for ordering.


Felt
http://www.feltapp.com/
Send an email to design@feltapp.com
Your email should include: 6 card designs and a short statement about why your creative genius and why Felt app is a good fit for you.

Thankster
http://www.thankster.com/
submit: http://www.thankster.com/contents/view/submit_yours

Just Wink
https://www.justwink.com/app
Submit to American Greetings http://corporate.americangreetings.com/contact.html

FStop
http://www.fstopimages.com/
License: http://www.fstopimages.com/pages/license-images/
Submit: http://www.fstopimages.com/pages/submit/



Additional Card App Companies  (Guidelines Not Available At This Time):

Sincerely http://sincerely.com/contact
Red Stamp https://www.redstamp.com/
Artogram http://www.artogramapp.com/  
Ecard Express http://www.ecardexpress.ca/
Bucketlabs http://www.bucketlabs.net/  
Cartolina http://www.cartolinaapps.com/
fStop http://www.fstopimages.com/fcardsinfo/

Call-Outs

These companies post projects by clients who are looking for a designer. Theses companies have greeting card and stationery categories.

* Design Crowd
http://www.designcrowd.com/
Submissions: http://designers.designcrowd.com/stationery
Has a stationery category.

99 Designs
How to submit your designs.
Connecting designers to freelance work.

Crowdsourcing

These companies usually curate what designs they promote.  They often have design challenges for artists and will feature, print and sell a design based on what their website fans vote for.

Minted
http://www.minted.com/
Submissions: http://www.minted.com/contest
Cash award plus 6% royalty.

ModCloth
Type in "cards" in the search bar.
http://www.modcloth.com/
Submissions:http://blog.modcloth.com/category/news-contests/

Threadless
https://www.threadless.com/

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Greeting Card Books

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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.

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Getting into the Greeting Card Business: New Online Class

I have collaborated with skillshare.com to create an online course on Getting into the Greeting Card Business.  The content is based on my experience of working in the industry for over 20 years, and from publishing over 1,000 cards.


When: 
Anytime. Class is self-paced with student/teacher feedback on your final project in the skillshare gallery.

How to Register: 

Register here. 

Cost:  $20

In this class you will learn:

• The fundamentals of professional card design.
• Transforming art into a greeting card.
• Writing sentiments.
• Making designs "market-ready" according to industry standards.
• Top selling occasions.
• How to turn one card into a larger "collection".
• How to make a card out of any image.
• Handmade cards.
• Where and how to sell cards (including online).
• Licensing art on cards.
• Manufacturing and distributing nationally.

The class includes:

• 8 Units
• 14 videos
• 39 steps
• Final project
• Feedback

Are Trade Shows Dying?

It's no secret that over the last decade gift shows are declining, both in exhibitors and attendees. It's not just in the gift industry, but in almost every product industry.  So what is the future of trade shows? 

I believe if trade shows are expected to survive, they must incorporate more technology in functional ways, such as:

• Open the show to end consumers for crowdsourcing. Allow people to vote and rate products in real time (like Threadless did to develop an estimated 30 million dollars T-shirt company) which will generate outside buzz. It also allows wholesalers to get feedback directly from the public before manufacturing a product. Instead, they can gauge popularity, which will also help buyers and reps predict what will sell.

• Divide vendor booths into "themed" sections of the show, and create a circular seated "lounge" area in each section. Have snacks, seating and a kiosk of product powerpoint presentations in the background. This allows for relaxed social interactions among buyers and sellers.

• Plan daily free "events" and demonstrations in the booths, instead of having a static display. Have the show organizer coordinate all the events on eventbrite. Then attendees can register for the events ahead of time. Popular events can add more sections as needed. 

• Use Ustream to broadcast the event as if it were a TV show.

• Do podcast interviews on the floor with key attendees, and post them on itunes.This way, anyone subscribed to the RSS feed will get it both now and in the future.

• Invite people to the show who cannot physically be there. Include them by:

-Using Google hangouts for small group meetings.

-Using Google helpouts for one-on-one consultations.

-Using Ohours to auto-schedule a series of virtual meetings.

-Offering live educational webinars for remote attendees.

-Allowing them to register for events which are streamed live.

• Create Youtube videos of product demonstrations in the booths. Post all videos in one location on a youtube channel.

• Use your badge QR code to download preformated digital-friendly catalogs that can be delivered to your tablet on the spot.

• Don't force buyers to take home paper that might end up in the hotel trash can. Instead offer to send documents to a person's kindle app where they can read it in leisure time or on the airplane. Optimize digital product images for mobile devices so buyers can download them, take them home and mull over products without having to go from website to website.

I think the future of trade shows might be like the annual tradeshow in Boston called "Inbound." It has grown from 1,000 to 10,000 attendees in 3 years.  They avoid using rows of booths.  Instead, they have lounge gathering areas.

What are thoughts on tradeshows?  Leave your comment below or on my Facebook page.

Greeting Card Association Convention this September!

The Greeting Card Association is extending an invite to greeting card artists and designers to attend the GCA's 72nd Annual Convention, taking place September 18-21 at The Westin Savannah Harbor in Savannah, GA.

Themed "Turn It On," card artists/designers can attend informational sessions at this year’s Convention – including guest experts on:

• Generational Behavior 2.0
• Licensing
• Design and Color Trends
• Paper and Process Trends
• Youtility:  Why Smart Marketing is About Help not Hype
• Retailing 

There’s also an option to "Ask the Experts" on several topics relevant to card artists/designers, including "Licensing 101" and "Small Business Ownership."

There will also be fun, food and networking opportunities. For more information and to register, visit their conference website page at http://www.greetingcard.org/AbouttheGCA/MeetingsEvents/2013AnnualConvention/tabid/272/Default.aspx.  or for a pdf of the event click here.

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My Greeting Card About Doing Chores

Here is another one of my cards published by Leanin' Tree:

How to Succeed in the Handmade Wholesale Greeting Card Business

Here are some articles to read if you are seriously considering making and selling handmade cards nationwide.

For 15 years I did this as a full time job and it was a wonderful, rewarding (and busy!) experience.  I had over 2,000 accounts including national chains, and up to 50 independent sales reps who carried my line.  I wrote these articles to offer tips to artists considering this business:






1. How to make a living in the Handmade Card Business

2. How to Set Up a Handmade Card Factory

3. Making Cards: Questions to Ask

4. Simplify Card Making for a Profit

5. Paying People to Make Your Cards

6. Advantages of the Handmade Card Business

7. Interview with Former Greetings etc. Editor, Kathy Krassner

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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.



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.

Graduation Card for Techies

Here is a sample from Leanin' Tree of my new graduation card.

My New Check Designs

Just received proofs today of my check designs today.  They are now live at CheckAdvantage.

Publish Your Own Children's "E-Book"

If you have designed a children's book and can't get the attention of a publisher, consider publishing it yourself and selling it in an eBookstore (Amazon, Apple iBookstore, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, etc). 

If you want to see what an ebook looks like on an eReader, download some free children's books and see what others are doing. 

If you don't have a Kindle, all you need to do is download a free app so you can read them on almost any other device (tablets, cellphones, desktop computers). 

These are the top free children's books today on Amazon.  Since they are free, it is a good way to preview how other people have designed and published children's ebooks. To see a list of the top 100 free Children's books on Animals, make sure you look at the list on the RIGHT that says "Top 100 Free." Then download them.

Note: Free book listings change daily.  

 How to Download a free children's ebook:

1. Go to the page with free listings on the right side.. 

2. Click on a book you like, and then select where you want it to be delivered.  In this sample, I can choose where I want to read it (on a variety of multiple devices and on my computer).  In this example below, I'm selecting my Kindle.

4. If you don't have a kindle or any of these listing available, then download a free app to read on multiple devices.

Learn more about self publishing ebooks

1.check out this free guide:

2. Read article about Patti Gay publishing her first children's ebook:

Artist Publishes Children's book for E-Readers (Kindle and Nook)

New Pizza Greeting Card

Here's a card I designed for Leanin' Tree that was published recently.

My favorite pizza is at Zachary's Pizza in Albany, California.  What's yours?

Please Steal This Art #3

Instead of a "bad hair" day, have you ever have a "bad art" day? Here's a little inspiration when things feel frustrating.  Feel free to  print out, pass on, edit, or put on your website or blog.
: ) -Kate

Follow Me Through the Papergirl Art Show (1 minute)

Follow me through the Papergirl art show at the Incline Gallery in San Francisco (I'm in the green jacket with backpack).

This will give you a sense walking through three stories of art held up with clothespins on inclined walls amidst fans who like to ride bicycles (1 minute).

Papergirl Art Show Expresses Wit and Humor

Many of you may have read my prior blog post about two friends and I participating in Papergirl, a community project that distributes art by bicycle, freely and at random, to people in the streets of San Francisco.

Well, before our ride next week, we had the opportunity to participate in the show at Incline Art Gallery in the Mission district of San Francisco. Here's a taste of the unusual, humorous and subversive art on display. The event was sponsored by the local de Young art Museum and bicycle stores.

The sidewalk entrance to the Incline Gallery:

3 Stories of art hanging by clothespins.

Words on these three say "Ex-Girlfriend #1" , Ex-Girlfriend #2", Ex-Girlfriend #3."  

Wonder what the story behind this?

I like this mysterious clock!

These made me smile.

Nice!

Awwww!

 I say this to myself too much!

Cool Keypad.

I'm chatting with the lady who made the cookies and cakes for the opening.

 Lots of art on each floor.

Here's my piece.

Here's Marie Jensen's piece:

Lesli Zephr's pieces:

 

 

 They even made the envelopes as part of the exhibit (the art was mailed in).



1 minute video of what it was like to walk through the 3 story Incline Gallery Show

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