Is it worthwhile pursuing a career in greeting cards? How do you get involved in the greeting card industry? What are the options?
The UK greeting card industry is a world leader, a home-grown fashion industry. New publishers start up all the time and existing publishers are always looking for new designs. It is a vibrant multi-skilled industry with people entering from many different backgrounds, including fine art, graphic design, textile design, font and calligraphic design.
This section pulls together the relevant resources on this website, to help you decide whether to make greeting cards your chosen career path or part of your portfolio of interests.
The UK Greeting Card Industry
The UK leads the world in greeting card innovation and design, with other countries looking to us for the latest trends. We export our cards all over the world.
In 2019 we spent £1.7 billion on greeting cards in the UK. This provides income for artists, writers, publishers, printers, retailers and many others.
Card sending remains a strong a British tradition; we send more cards per capita than any other nation. Cards are a good tangible way of keeping in touch and mean more than a social media message which are sent all the time.
Fascinating fact: 18-34 year olds are sending more cards than a generation ago. This trend is being seen in USA too – Millennial’s were responsible for the 44m more cards sent in 2018 according to the USPS.
Researching the Industry
There is lots of information for would-be card publishers about to enter the market. A good starting point is the GCA’s free online resources, which are open to everyone and include sections on starting up such as this link. Also visit greeting card retailers, trade shows and read the trade press as below:
GCA Resources
A good starting point are the GCA blogs which are open to everyone https://www.gca.cards/blog/ which are open to everyone. Particularly useful for new comers to the industry are:
- How can you become a greeting card artist https://www.gca.cards/becoming-a-greeting-card-designer-a-guide-for-artists/
- How can you become a greeting card writer https://www.gca.cards/the-gca-guide-to-becoming-a-greeting-card-writer/
- To work in the industry visit https://www.gca.cards/jobs/ to find companies looking for artists or writers.
- Learn more about protecting your designs: https://www.gca.cards/licensing-and-copyright-uk-laws-governing-ownership-and-rights-to-material/
- Do speak to a legal expert if you are entering into an agreement, there are some specialist legal companies who are members of the GCA https://www.gca.cards/directory/?_sft_supplier_service=legal-services
- Learn about preparing your artwork for a printer https://www.gca.cards/preparing-files-for-print-introduction/
- Learn about photographing greeting cards https://www.gca.cards/how-to-photograph-greeting-cards/
- Visit the GCA Members Directory to find companies you may want to approach, and to find new cards to buy! https://www.gca.cards/directory/
- And lots history of card sending e.g. https://www.gca.cards/valentines-day-history-stats-and-facts/
- More about the card industry can be found on the Thinking of You Week site https://www.thinkingofyouweek.cards/the-greeting-card-community-keeping-in-touch-during-lock-down/
Cards are an important way of expressing emotion, particularly when isolated from loved ones. See film made by GCA members early in the COVID-19 2020 lockdown, Send a Card, Deliver a Smile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzve-3OvL-c
Trade Fairs
These are the perfect place to immerse yourself in the industry, see the latest range releases and meet card publishers. This is a very friendly industry and people are generally very happy to talk. However, for students it’s a good idea to visit on the last day of a show when publishers’ stands are less busy. There is an etiquette – it’s important be aware that publishers have invested money in their stands to exhibit their wares and their reason for being at the show is to meet retailers and sell cards, so be mindful of this and step back if customers come onto the stand.
Our Exhibiting at Trade Fairs section lists the main UK trade fairs for greeting cards. Entry is generally free, but you will need to register online in advance.
Trade Press
Read the trade press such as Progressive Greetings and Greetings magazines, use it to help build your database of retailers. Take advantage of the opportunities for free marketing to the trade whenever you launch new ranges. Always send a high resolution image with your press release. Also subscribe to the online magazine https://www.pgbuzz.net/news/
Competitions
Some GCA members run competitions to find the next generation of card designers. This can be the perfect way to gain experience and win your way into having your designs stocked in shops around the country.
Internships and Work Placements
Internships are invaluable way to gain experience of how card publishing companies work. You can search our jobs section for greeting card publishers offering internships or work placements.
Freelance Designing
If you’re an aspiring illustrator/card designer, good way to start out into the industry is to submit designs to publishers. This industry thrives on new design, so publishers are always on the lookout for new talent. Visit the GCA members’ directory and use the search functions to find companies you may be interested in approaching, such as our members offering support to artists who may be able to help.
Publishing Your Own Artwork
A publisher pulls together everything that goes into the making and selling of greeting cards. The great news is that, with the advent of digital technology and print on demand this can now be more easily than in the past.
A publisher’s roles include: product development – the artwork/designs themselves, the selection of the board (or substrate), the organisation of printing, which is normally carried out by a specialist print company, the sourcing of envelopes and cello bags, and the marketing, sales and distribution of the product. Read our Insiders Guide to Publishing blog for more information on. Our Starting Up resource gives detailed information on how to start up a card publishing business.
Top Tips for starting out
- Do your research (see above)
- If you are designing your own cards – do not ask family and friends for feedback (they love you, so of course they are slightly biased!). Ask the retailers who will be your customers. Test your cards by selling them at a local craft market before launching to the trade.
- Keep your risk and costs low: print a small amount to start with, perhaps working with a digital printer who can do small runs and source the board, envelopes and cello wrap for you. Use the drop down boxes in the GCA Members Directory to help you find printers https://www.gca.cards/directory/?_sft_member_type=supplier
- Talk to GCA members offering services to support artists wanting to sell or license their artwork to companies.https://www.gca.cards/directory/?_sft_supplier_service=design-services
- Read the greeting card trade press such as Progressive Greetings and Greetings magazines, use it to help build your database of retailers. Take advantage of the opportunities for free marketing to the trade whenever you launch new ranges. Always send a high resolution image with your press release. Also subscribe to the online magazine https://www.pgbuzz.net/news/
- Visit the trade fairs for free to research the market and with an eye to exhibiting when you launch your business. https://www.gca.cards/popular-trade-fairs-for-greeting-card-publishers/
- Good luck! And do think about joining the GCA as you will then have access to additional resources and networking events. https://www.gca.cards/join/
Q&A
Despite being such a huge industry with lots of opportunities, very few colleges promote this industry to students. Here are the answers to the questions most frequently asked by students
- My lecturer has put me off entering the industry saying it is oversaturated. Is it worthwhile pursuing?
In the UK we buy more greeting cards per person every year than any other nation and this industry thrives on new design. It is a mature and very compeitive market, but there is always strong demand for new designs. - Would working within the greeting card industry be enough to support me financially?
This depends on how good you are! There are plenty of artists who are making a good living from greeting card design. - What are the people in this industry like?
This is a very friendly industry. Even though everyone is competing against each other in a crowded market, it is also a supportive community where people talk and share information. - I want to start up a publishing company of my own, but am unsure of how to begin.
Our Starting Up section provides in-depth information and advice, including information on the Ladder Club Seminar, a very reasonably priced one day crash course in greeting card publishing.
- As a new publishing company, how can I promote myself?
All GCA members have their own page in the Members’ Directory on this site, which is used by retailers to source new products. - Progressive Greetings is the industry’s leading trade. Published monthly, the magazine’s Innovations section showcases the latest ranges and products and artists are featured in the Art Source section. These sections are both free publicity for publisher or artist being featured. Do register to receive their online version which is free https://www.pgbuzz.net/
- As a publisher, how many designs should I ideally have when launching my company at a trade fair?
To exhibit at a trade fair, you should have between 50-60 designs in total across a number of card ranges. This gives retailers a wide range to choose from and enables them to cherry pick designs.
- I have some ranges that are very different in style from each other, would this be a problem?
Your ranges should sit well when placed together, for example you wouldn’t place a very rude range next to a cute one.
- What is the best way to gain better knowledge and experience of the greeting card industry?
Internships, work placements and trade fairs make for the perfect glimpse into the industry.
- Are companies like Clintons and Paperchase classified as publishing companies?
Generally publishers produce and retailers sell, but just to confuse the issue, in this increasingly hybrid world some of the multiple retailers also publish their ‘own brand’ ranges. However, the independent card and gift shops will be unlikely to do this and will purchase products from publishing companies to sell to the general public.
- How do I protect my designs?
Please see our section on copyright.
