Make Money Selling Greeting Cards and Other POD Products

I worked for a major card company for several years, and as I restocked cards, I would read the ones that caught my eye and think, "I bet I could write something better." I looked into selling ideas to major card companies but very few accepted unsolicited submissions.

About five years ago I was looking for greeting card publishers online. I had made some greeting cards by hand, incorporating my sister's photographs with my prose, and they were selling pretty well at a local bookstore. I really wanted an easier way to create them, so I thought I would search the trusty ol' web. And that's when I found a website that would change my life. Greeting Card Universe. You create a store with your uploaded designs. When a customer orders your design, the company prints and ships the product. You receive a commission.

I read through the site information carefully and then started designing cards using my good ol' Picture It! program. My first few cards weren't super fancy, but they were fun and simple to design. I loaded them up and presto! I had my very own card store.

I had checked out the best selling cards on the site, and noticed "Will You be my Bridesmaid?" cards did very well. I found a picture my sister had taken at a quinceanera, and the infamous "hem card" was created.

After five years, we have made thousands of dollars on this card and variations with same photo. We also joined Zazzle, another POD website where you can put photos and text on mugs, T-shirts, lamps, and hundreds of other products. You can see our store at http://zazzle.com/fairygirlbooks*



Here are a few tips for starting your own store:

• Take a look at some of the top-selling products and categories. Try to find card categories that have best-selling cards but only a small selection. This is a good way to stand out and start selling cards right away.
• Keep your finger on the pulse of the trend. Jungle-themed baby showers? Steampunk weddings? Create designs with trends in mind.
• Watch the forums. You can find a wealth of information and ideas just by asking.
• Put your product out there. Start a Facebook page for your cards(you can see ours here) sites pay for referrals even for other people's designs, so start Pinterest pages with themed cards and other products including your own. Don't just assume items will sell themselves, get out there!
• Find a brick-and-mortar store that will carry your cards. Some cards really do sell well as impulse buys, so see if you can find a bookstore, gift shop, bakery or other place of business that will host a small rack or spinner for you.

Create a website and blog with your cards. (You can see ours here)

I hope this is helpful information to at least get you started! Feel free to comment with any more ideas or questions!