Start A Greeting Cards Business - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Start A Greeting Cards Business

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

People use greeting cards to mark births, deaths, graduations, anniversaries, and other parties or events.

If you love helping people celebrate special occasions, starting a greeting card business can be a great business opportunity.

When starting a greeting card business, choose a potential niche and write a business plan.

Then, find an ideal spot to sell the greeting cards.

For instance, you can offer greeting card design and posting services, so customers can choose the best designs and post greeting cards online.

Starting a Greeting Cards Business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell greeting cards, or selling greeting cards online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Want to learn more? You can check out our full guide on how to start a Greeting Cards Business ➜

Key Stats

revenue (monthly)
$50K
starting costs
$35.3K
gross margin
95%
avg product price
$3
time to build
300 days
growth
Direct sales
business model
E-Commerce
time investment
Full time

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Office Space Expenses

$0

$7,000

Employee & Freelancer Expenses

$151

$352

Website Costs

$223

$7,215

Business Formation Fees

$5,600

$20,400

Equipment & Supply Expenses

$66

$700

Retail Business Expenses

$1,250

$11,650

Inventory Expenses

$350

$14,750

Software Expenses

$162

$3,094

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$75

$5,286

Total Startup Costs

$7,877

$70,447

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

Greetings Island

greetingsisland.com

11,709

Group Greeting

groupgreeting.com

17,962

123 Greetings

123greetings.com

26,868

Jacquie Lawson Cards

jacquielawson.com

31,491

Day Spring

dayspring.com

102,073

Greeting Card Universe

greetingcarduniverse.com

184,182

Sign Dreamers

signdreamers.com

249,784

Color Fusion Printing & Carlson Craft

colorfusion.carlsoncraft.com

296,724

Joker Greeting

jokergreeting.com

376,365

Hotcards

hotcards.com

403,820

boomf

boomf.com

436,463

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a Greeting Cards Business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

High margins

The gross margins for your Greeting Cards Business are typically around 95%, which is considerably high and allows you to grow your business and manage costs easily.

Unlimited income potential

With starting a Greeting Cards Business there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make.

Cons Description

Longer Sales Process

A Greeting Cards Business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

High employee turnover

In the Greeting Cards Business, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment.

Taxes

As a Greeting Cards Business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

Niche Market

A niche business is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be the key to your success. However, it can be more challenging and time consuming to find the perfect niche market and target audience.

You may need to charge sales tax

If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article

Churn

In this business, customers can cancel their membership or subscription for your services - which can make revenue forecasting challenging and unpredictable. It's important to focus on your churn rates and trends so that you can prevent this as much as possible.

Marketing Ideas

  • 1

    Direct Sales

    Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.

    For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

    Learn more about direct sales ➜

  • 2

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.

    Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.

    According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.

    Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

    Learn more about word of mouth ➜

  • 3

    Social Media Advertising

    Social media advertising is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience with the objective to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.

    According to Oberlo, approximately 48% of the global population use social media, and the number is ever-growing.

    Therefore, social media allows brands access to cost-effective advertising by enabling them to interact with a large audience.

    Learn more about social media advertising ➜