Critique Clinic – July 8-July 10, 2011
This week’s clinic is now closed! Thanks everyone for participating.
From today onward, we will keep the Clinic open for three days (Friday-Sunday midnight). Any number of artists may submit cards for critique, HOWEVER I reserve the right to close the day’s clinic if the submissions become overwhelming. ONE card per artist. You may submit a card even if you’ve previously submitted one for critique.
Yes? Okay? Good! Not let’s get started!
_________________________
How does it work? For three days a week (Friday-Sunday midnight), I will open the clinic to any artist who wants an honest peer review and critique of a card which gets plenty of clicks but no sales, so something’s probably not quite right, or you’ve got a new design you want to test drive. Or perhaps you’re a newbie who isn’t sure if a recently submitted card is up to a marketable standard. Anyone is welcome to participate. In fact, I encourage everyone to at least look at the cards in question and read the critique comments – you may learn something. The purpose of the clinic is to help artists improve the commercial appeal and marketability of their cards.
THE RULES
- ONE card per artist only.
- Card must be for sale at Greeting Card Universe.
- We will take an unlimited number of artists, including those who have submitted recently, HOWEVER I reserve the right to close a clinic for the day if the submissions become overwhelming. If the clinic has been closed, and you submit a card, your comment will be deleted.
- To submit a card for critique, post a link to the card’s details page at GCU in the comments section of this clinic post.
- Any artist is free to comment and/or give a critique of a submitted card. HOWEVER, post-and-run comments like “great card” or “you suck” will not be tolerated, nor will abuse. Criticism should be constructive, not destructive. Play nice or you will be banned.
- I also won’t tolerate temper tantrums if you decide your “artistic integrity” is being stepped on because you asked for a critique, and someone told you the photo you’re using isn’t in focus. If you can’t take honest criticism, don’t submit. Once gets you a warning; twice and you’re banned from submitting in the future.
- Artists who critique may do so by giving their opinion, posting an example of another card, or pointing the submitter to a video, on-line article, or other helpful suggestion.
- Don’t forget that artists who are giving you tips and helpful advice are volunteering their time and trouble. Be nice. A link back to their store on your website or blog is appreciated (but not mandatory).
- You are free not to take any advice offered. There’s no guarantee any card will be a bestseller, so don’t come into the clinic with unrealistic expectations.
- Rules may change as we go along and we see how things turn out, okay?
So without any further ado, I declare this week’s Critique Clinic open!
GCU Community 
Not sure how this works.. I’m new…How do I post a card to be critiqued?
You post the URL of the card at the GCU site in this comment thread.
Corrie
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/designsbydonnacollins
This is my site on GCU.. I’m new.
My immediate reaction to your cards was a smile. I think they are really special!
Welcome to GCU, You’re gonna do great here. Can’t wait to see more!
Awwwwwww. Trish, Just what I wanted to hear.. My cards made you smile…Thank you so much for such a great complement.
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Miss+you,+Girlfriend-greeting+card-831023?pid=831023&ref=cb_card_title
I hope I did this right Corrie… I’m still so new at the computer…
You did it perfect, Donna! Congrats!
Now – being a newer storefront (I like your cards, by the way!) – it’s hard to tell if you have any that will get a lot of clicks but no sales, so I’ll critique this as a general, new card posting. Your card title looks spot-on to me. I’d add “coffee” and “let’s do coffee” to the keywords – maybe also add the media used (I don’t know my art media – watercolor? colored pencil? along those lines). The one glaring thing I see that is being underused is your artist notes. You can talk about the design, talk about the importance in your life of staying connected to friends, about why you like using the media you do – there are a lot of directions you can go in for the Artist Notes … choose whichever feels right for YOU for this card and go for it! For example, on this card of mine, I talked about the holiday (I never heard of it before I designed for it, so I thought others might want to know some trivia – AND it makes the Notes section keyword rich for the search engines).
http://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Friendship+Day+card+featuring+a+Weimaraner-greeting+card-834147?pid=834147&aid=137160&ref=cb_card_title
Over all, I think the design is strong, just can use a little beefing up in the marketing (text fields) department for maximum exposure!
Peggy,
Thank you sooooo very much… I love to be critiqued, because it helps me understand what others see in my work..
I will have to go back in and added some artist notes also.. I wasn’t really sure what to put there. I think I do now.
Thanks so much.,
Donna
Peggy is correct…whatever text you put on the inside of your card should be reflected in the keywords. You have girlfriend as all one word which is fine but there are other ways of spelling it: girl-friend and girl friend with a space. There are web dictionaries that can help identify other correct spellings:
http://www.dictionary.com
http://www.thefreedictionary.com
http://www.google.com/dictionary
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
These are just a few. The reason that artists place different spellings in the keywords is so that it will show up in the search engines.
Donna, do you want to know if the card is marketable? Maybe. The audience is limited. The main criticism I have is that her arms are almost the same color as the background, so they kind of disappear, but since this looks like a watercolor, there’s nothing you can do about it. Apart from that, the composition is balanced, and it seems okay.
Corrie
Corrie,
Thank you..It is a watercolor. I see what you mean about here arms too.. I am learning to correct that in all my new work…I really appreciate your advice…
Donna
What a cute card! I can see you are very talented. And like the others said they only thing I see is the arms blend with the background a little. I wish I had talent like that!
Tracie,
Thank you…. I can take the image in photoshop and lighten the back ground I think.. I just have to remember when painting to keep colors different…I do appreciate everyone’s help. Thank you so very much.
You do!!!! Just express it differently, Tracie.
Here I go again….looking forward to hints and sugestions, thanks Mary.
http://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/community/gcu_product.asp?pid=817251&return=/community/my_cards.asp?page=5
Mary – can you get a better link for us? This one takes us into edit the card …
http://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Love+hearts+tree+and+bird+red+heart+leaves-greeting+card-817251?pid=817251
There’s the link to Mary’s card …
Thanks, Peggy!
Mary, nice birdie! I find the card a tad overwhelmed by the big red border, which really serves no purpose. It’s confusing the eye so your central design – the hearts tree and bird – are obscured. Also, I’m not sure about the mix here… the tree is outlined, but the hearts (some of which are distorted) and bird are not. It looks a bit odd.
The main thing is that your card serves no purpose, and we all know that cards with a definite purpose sell better than blank note cards. Please tell me you’ve also got this as a Valentine’s Day card, or an Anniversary card with text like “Bless Our Nest” or “Family Trees Begin with the Seed of Love” or something like that.
Corrie
I’ll agree with Corrie – the large red border is distracting. The title does seem a bit wishy washy – put some effort into the title esp since there is no verbage inside. Sometimes I just jot something down for the title and then submit for review and if something better comes to mind later I just update it. Same holds true for the inside message.
Not sure what the card was supposed to be but when I saw the hearts on the ground it made me feel a bit sad…just something to think about.
Hi Mary – me again! Cute card – I’m on a roll with the text support of the cards, so I’ll concentrate on that.
Card title – I’d love to hear input from others – I personally don’t like card titles that are just a string of keywords – but I don’t know how shoppers feel.
Artist notes – see my post above for Donna – the same applies here for you. The field is there – use it! Search engines don’t see your great image, they “see” text – and that’s how they’ll lead shoppers to you.
Keywords: I’d separate out “love hearts” to be “love” “hearts” (two keywords instead of one). It looks like instead of red, whimsy you typed a period where the comma would go – fix that little typo to make them effective in that field. Maybe also add “tree of hearts”.
Congrats on reaching 1000 cards!
Shoppers like titles that speak to the purpose of the card, not just a string of keywords. That’s what the keywords box and Artist’s Notes are for. Important for everyone to remember that search engines (like Google) give greater weight to titles, so you want them to be unique and relevant but not too long, either.
Corrie
Yes Peggy, I’m with you and Corrie. Titles should be a relevant, descriptive title not a string of keywords.
Gosh, thanks Corrie and Peggy……such good tips …will attend to this immediately.Yes I have it in the Valentine section.I will whip up a family tree version. sorry, i am a bit addicted to red!
I just wanted to thank those that took the time to critique my card a few weeks back!
I have sooooo many hits on this but no sales. I am told it may be because of the wording on the front……..
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Heard+Herd+About+Family+Reunion-greeting+card-647543?pid=647543&aid=136241&ref=cb_card_title
It is a picture of my husband with all our foals one year. I painted it to look richer.
Ready, set , go!
I looked at your card and thought it was great the way it was. Then I realized you had already made the improvements. Great job! I love it–it just cracked me up!!
Hi Trish,
It sure is a great idea! The first thing I’d suggest is that you make this a Landscape vs Portrait card. Though negative space is great, on this card because of the blue background and the fact that you centered everything it just doesn’t work for me. The next suggestion I have is that you give it more of a ‘western feel’. Look for a western font and maybe instead of that blue background, you could use something with an old-barn kind of feel to it.
I think it’s also possible that many people click on this card not knowing the occasion (people don’t always read titles before getting a bigger view). They are drawn in by the humor and in a thumbnail can’t tell what is going on in the image. Changing rotation will allow the image to be larger which may help a bit.
I’d agree with Doreen – landscape would be better – the picture would be larger and the blue of the card blends into the sky so there is no clear distiction between foreground and background. If you’re using Photoshop maybe use ‘Giddyup’ font for the verbage on the front. Maybe add a ‘stroke’ effect around the photo. The western/rustic background imagery is also a great idea.
Hope this helps…
I took your suggestions, changed it quite a bit.
See what you think now….I need a shorter title, but not sure how to accomplish it effectively.
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Heard+Herd+About+Family+Reunion-greeting+card-647543?pid=647543&aid=136241&ref=cb_card_title
I hope it makes folks laugh,
Much better than the original! Now you can see the picture properly, and I like the “butts together” line.
Corrie
Hi Trish –
I’ve been a fan of yours for awhile now, but haven’t seen this card before! I am arriving late to the party – viewing the card after your edits … I like what you did with it!
Keywords: I would add: foal, foals, baby horses, man with horses. (you never know WHAT people will be searching for! – do you have a statcounter on your site? One of the options is to see what keywords brought folks to YOUR site. Also, you can browse thru the GCU stats to see what keywords are being used. Of course, only take inspiration from the ones that apply to this card).
Artist Notes: You currently have:
A photograph I took of my husband communing with our Morgan horse foals. It’s edited to look like a painting. Front says “Reunion It’s time to get our butts together”
I used to include the front of card/inside text just like this in my artist notes, but have learned to wean myself away from this practice. This info is already listed in other fields and you can re-tweak the words for the artist notes to be SEO friendly and keep the buyers’ attentions. Also, the first sentence in your notes isn’t actually a sentence.
Play with it … here’s a sample to (hopefully) inspire you: This Reunion Greeting Card is based on a photograph I took in XXXX year of my husband communing with our herd of Morgan Horse foals. It has been digitally enhanced to simulate a painting and is a perfect image to celebrate your upcoming Reunion Gathering – get your butts together and enjoy the celebration!
So, my suggested wording says the same thing, but has complete, grammatically correct (I hope!) sentences and is keyword rich for the Great Search Engines. You now call it a “reunion greeting card” (a likely search term for someone just starting their search). You tossed in a year (folks search for things by year – ok, so they may be searching for something else, but this is a proper use of that year and the card may be remembered a few months later when it is time for their reunion). You have described the foals as a herd, another appropriate adjective. “edited” (boring!) has been changed to “digitally enhanced” (more likely to be a term searched for, rather than edited … digitally enhanced lends itself to art, edited usually applies to text). No longer does it “look like a painting” but is now, sophistically “enhanced to simulate” a painting. Oooh! You are a real artist now, and not just playing around with a paint program (I’m thinking like a shopper … you know *I* already have that respect for you!). And you’ve made it personal to the viewer – it’s now the “perfect image to celebrate” their “upcoming Reunion Gathering”. And you’ve used a different variation of the wording (butts together) as a call to action. Heck, *I* want to plan a party now! LOL.
Sorry for such a long post – it would let me add this final thought (and I can’t take a hint, so I’m posting yet again) …
Card Title
I’d likely just shorten it to
Funny Reunion Invitation
The “get your butts together” will be picked up in searched in your artist notes, keywords and inside text fields. I think it’s a clumsy overkill in the title too (sorry if that sounded harsh, I didn’t mean it that way!).
Your improvements already should help, I think making use of the text fields and “marketing” your card thru SEO will give a bit more of a boost for you!
So much better Trish! You really get the feel of what the card is about now! Good job!
That sounds very logical! Thanks as always Doreen!
I am not fully awake this morning and already giggling because of your enthusiastic writing.
“Ooooh, You are an artist now” and so many more. You guys aren’t too hard on me, you are reallllly a big help and I appreciate the support. When I can focus my eyes better, I’ll go back in and make the tweeks. I am very happy to have help from people who know what seo and people are looking for, heeheeheee. Thanks so much!
I wouldn’t be up now but my Chihuahua thinks he has to eat on some kind of regular basis.
I finally got the suggestions implemented and sure appreciate all the help. I really learned alot! It is kind of exciting, to be honest! I have alot to learn, but it is fun learning.
Thanks again.
Hi Corrie – re your comment about Mary’s card serving no purpose, I wonder whether, now that GCU is distributing from the UK, it would be as well to take in the UK point of view in things like that. There are publishers here who specifically want designs to be ‘multi-purpose’, ie as non-specific as possible because that’s what sells.
Some of you may be interested to read one of my blog posts from last Autumn about whether cards need a verse inside at all: http://judyadamsonartanddesign.blogspot.com/2010/09/do-greeting-cards-need-verse-inside.html. It also contains a link to a small survey I did of UK greeting card buying habits, the results of which non-Brits might find quite surprising.
I understand what you’re saying, Judy. Let me give you a little more food for thought – Americans tend to buy cards with a sentiment in it (the greeting card rule of thumb is that a shopper is attracted by the design, but buys the card because of the verse). If it’s the exact opposite in the UK, I suggest that UK buyers can always delete the verse when they customize the card, whereas an American buyer may take a pass on a blank card and go on to something else.
Corrie
I agree, that’s always a possibility. But I still think it’s worth considering whether a design is able to stand alone as a general greeting card, without a verse, or being made for a specific occasion.
I know the UK population isn’t as big as that of the US but apparently we buy more cards per head than any other nation and the tendency is towards far less specific cards, just cards that are lovely in their own right.
I like cards with no sentiments, but also buy them with. Sometimes the sentiment ruins the card, but then you find the one that says just what you feel, and it hits the ‘spot’. I know my mother in law buys alot of cards just because she likes them, they are humorous or attractive, and I think that is good enough for me.
OK – the one I really want criticism on is ‘in review’ – dammit – so here’s another one I recently made…let me know what you think – thanks in advance:
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/shopping/zoom.asp?pid=822551&w=1&ref=details_large_view
Robert, you’ve got a problem with the title – the ampersand doesn’t come out that way, so you might want to change that to “and.” There’s also a typo in your Artist’s Notes – “circle” is spelled “cirle.” Your category choices are spot on.
As to the card itself… I think you’ve got a pretty strong design going on, and I see where you’re going with the whole “HB” thing. I just can’t help wishing instead of “happy birthday” on the front, you had “tough guys don’t age”, then “they ride!” and “(H)appy (B)irthday!” on the inside. That might make it a bit stronger.
Corrie
The only thing I might mention is the speckled ‘noise’ seem slightly too colorful (it could be my computer screen). If the magenta specks were toned down just slightly it would look more metallic rather than speckled–unless, of course, that’s the look you are going for. Other than that- great balance.
Hey Corrie – thanks for the suggestions – I corrected the technical points – you know – there was no ‘motorcycle’ category other than ‘motor cross’ – and I wondered why there wasn’t a ‘general’ motorcycle category…maybe it’s not necessary… I will take the other suggestion under advice…hmmm – will be fun to tweak that one – thanks!
Robert – I like the take off on the Harley Davidson design – nice! I’d get rid of the watermark tho – even tho I KNOW it’s a watermark, it was way too distracting for me (and my first thought was that it was a part of the design!). I have a personal “problem” with repeating patterns – I’d tweak the flames to be differing sizes and maybe flip on in a horizonal mirror image as well. Unless the uniform repeating pattern is what you were going for – it may just be a difference in what we like : )-
Keywords: I’d add: tough guys, tough guys don’t age
If someone saw your card elsewhere (at a friends, or previously online) then they are likely to search by those terms – and we want them to find YOUR card! Also add: silver flames
Artist notes: repeating what I said above in another critique, I used to describe the card like this in my notes. But a lot of this is already covered in the keywords (or should be). Maybe this will inspire something in your own words, from your own point of view?
Sure, everyone has birthday. Even the tough guy in your life. But really, we all know: Tough Guys Don’t Age. They RIDE! Celebrate your tough guy with this motorcycle themed greeting card on his birthday.
NOW you have a Harley tie-in without using “harley” anywhere to be seen (which would likely make the card decline, due to copywrite). You’ve finally used the work Motorcycle : )-
Hope this inspires!
Hi Robert…
Really like the little tweaks you’ve been given as suggestions. As a woman with a husband who is rides (not Harley’s), let me first say that I LIKE the HB ‘logo’ on the front because that will catch the eye of those bike fans, though adding the Tough Guys Don’t Age to the front and leaving the they Ride on the inside is a great idea.
Keywords. If you want to find the right folks, add these: bikers, ryde (yes I know it’s spelled wrong but lots of bikers use it), biker guys, motorcycle, motorcyclist, bike enthusiast, motorcycle enthusiast
May you have many sales!
Thanks for all the feedback -folks – if you follow the link to the ‘tough guy’ card it should reflect the changes…
I wish I rode motorcycles but I’m too chicken ;P
I just wanted to say that I am so glad for this clinic. I’m only 3 months in to the card business and have so much to learn. Here is a card where I like the picture, but it really seems flat and boring. I’ve tried to fix it a couple of times and can’t get it right: http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Encouragement+-+Need+A+Hug+-+Siamese+Kitten-greeting+card-818946?pid=818946&aid=152843&f=1&ref=cb_card_title
I like the photo, it’s very sweet. The only suggestion I’ve got is perhaps there’s not quite enough contrast… what looks like a fluffy blankie in the picture is almost the same shade of pink as the card’s background color, so the picture in the center with the kitty doesn’t really stand out for me.
Corrie
Thank you, Corrie…its funny how such an obvious answer is staring you right in the face and you can’t even see it until someone else points it out. I will definitely try that.
Hi Tracie –
Cute kitten (I’m partial to the animals, however)!
I agree with Corrie – maybe try to pick up some of the blue shades from the kitten’s eyes and use that in the border? It might bring out the eyes more too.
Inside text: If I were purchasing, i’d likely want to change the inside to “send a little comfort” or “send a little support” or “encouragement” or “send a little hug”. I just don’t see “cheer” with “encouragement”, but that might just be me.
Keywords: I suggest adding “encouragement” If I were searching for a card, I’d likely enter “encouragement” as a search term over “encourage” (but don’t take that word out). If you keep the inside text as you have it, include “cheer” in your keywords. I’m not sure that “sad” applies tho I see where you were coming from.
Artist notes: your notes are an ok end to notes in general, but you have room and opportunity to add more (I’d add before what you have). Suggestion: When a little encouragement is needed, this Siamese kitten is ready to deliver a hug to brighten a friend’s day! (then thank you for visiting…..etc)
You have a nice selection, overall!
Thank you, Peggy. The artist notes and keywords are where I struggle the most. I keep looking at other artists cards trying to figure out how to do it. And thank you for the help with the inner verse. I’m amazed at how stumped I get writing a one line sentiment in a card, yet 20 pages of a novel can just flow from my mind!
Hi Tracie,
I’m just once again not a fan of the black border line. This is what I see first and it seems to ‘sink’ the photo rather than let it pop. I took your card to see how it would look simplified and with a font that is a bit more ‘sweet’ or ‘childlike’ and liked it very much. The kitten is soft, the colors are soft…keep the design soft. Rather than the black border, set the photo on a slightly lighter pink background and add a drop shadow to raise it off the bg. Then add your message with a handwritten, gentle font. See if you like it. Just a thought 🙂
Thank you to everyone for their help. What a balancing act this was trying to keep it soft and sweet without washing out the writing or drowning out the kitten. I changed the inside verse too, but not sure if it works… http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Encouragement+-+Need+A+Hug+-+Siamese+Kitten-greeting+card-818946?pid=818946&aid=152843&f=1&ref=cb_card_title
I’m popping in late… but I’ve got to say that I actually liked the front of your card better the way you originally had it, Tracie, although I only have the tiny original picture on my blog to go by (so I can’t see it in large view anymore). I just remember when I was picking my kitten cards for the Lightening Round, that one really pulled at my heart and quickly became one of my favorites. 🙂 So, other than that, no critique from me.
Hi Tracie…I’m so sorry if I did not get my ‘simple’ thoughts across clearly and caused you some frustrations…then not being at the computer most of the day to participate.
Here is want I was trying to suggest, soft and simple. Don’t worry this is in a private section of flickr, only those with this link can access. It’s a before and after concept.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34356472@N04/5920611366/in/photostream/lightbox/
I have to agree with Cindy, the original is more pleasing than the purple. Again my apologies for anything confusion on my part.
I
Hi Doreen. No worries, your ideas came across nicely. The purple version was my attempt at doctoring last night. I’m not a big fan of purple (in general) but was so stumped at how to make the pink work like I wanted. Then I realized the photo itself had a grey overcast, after I fixed that the pink finally worked. I used your suggestions (but flicker wouldn’t let me in to see your examples–too bad because I really wanted to see them) I changed the background back to pink and changed the color of the font to a less pure shade of black. Here’s my second attempt: http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Encouragement+-+Need+A+Hug+-+Siamese+Kitten-greeting+card-818946?pid=818946&aid=152843&f=1&ref=cb_card_title. What do you think? Better? Worse?…
Glad to hear it Tracie! Much better…yes, yes, yes!
I guess when Flickr says ONLY YOU can see it they mean it…LOL
I changed the settings you should see it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34356472@N04/5920611366/in/photostream/lightbox/
Sorry about that, I’m new to flickr and only use it for URL location on my web sites, so usually everything is checked private.
Yay. Your link worked this time, Doreen. Again a big thank you to everyone’s help. I posted a link to everyone’s store here as a thank you gift: http://photographytkdesigns.blogspot.com/
Thanks to everyone for your help (and thanks for the example, Doreen–it worked this time) posted a thank you and a link to each of your stores here: http://photographytkdesigns.blogspot.com/
I’m glad Tracie! Much softer 🙂 Thanks for the feature too!!
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/RTIMAGES
Here’s a second try. I’d like to submit card # 831396 for Critique Clinic.
Is this how it’s done?
Richard
OOPs, wrong link. Let’s try this one. Submit for Critique Clinic. Thanks for being patient…
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Getting+Older+Birthday,+aging+babies+worrying-greeting+card-831396?pid=831396&aid=154030&ref=cb_card_title
Richard Toglia —RTImages
Richard, I’m thinking it isn’t the image… maybe the text needs to be punchier. For example:
“I’m afraid my age is beginning to show.”
“Oh, please! You don’t look a day over six months!”
And the inside verse: “You may be past your youth, but you still have elegance and wisdom on your side. Happy birthday!”
Or something like that. I’m finding the text as it stands to be overly formal for this type of card. Hope this helps.
Corrie
Hello everyone! Thanks for all the great advice last week on the Valentines card. I’m still working on the front image but I’ve made the changes to the inside copy and the key words and I think they work much better now! This week, I thought I’d submit one of my Halloween cards in hopes to get it in better shape for sales this October. It’s an acrylic painting that I scanned in (I don’t do a lot of traditional painting anymore but I liked this image). Not a ton of clicks but a fare share I guess, but, no sales yet.
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/shopping/zoom.asp?pid=478018&w=1&ref=details_large_view
Thanks so much for this critique clinic! I really appreciate all the time and effort everyone here puts into helping each other!!
John
John, I love the image! Very appropriate for Halloween. It may be that your lack of sales is due to Halloween itself… it’s not a traditional card-giving holiday, and none of us seem to be making many sales for that time.
Corrie
Hey! That is a GREATpicture! Love the cartoon artists so it is great to see…great colors and great character design…
On a purely technical level – the top portion of the image is very close to the edge of the card – even if the faces aren’t ‘cut off’ – the final product may look awkward. The bottom of the images looks like it could work fine even if the image was moved down and slightly cut off…there is less happening down there.
Since it is an invite maybe squeeze in something like ‘Party Time’ on a tombstone…something to consider…
Good work!
Sorry, it just occured to me that the link above is the larger view and doesn’t show the key words I used. Here is the direct link to the smaller view for the key words:
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Halloween+block+party-greeting+card-478018?pid=478018&aid=138159&ref=cb_card_title
John
Hi John…I love the painting too! I’ve been here a little over 2-years and have only sold 1 or 2 Halloween cards. I think it’s possible that adults (grandparents & such) may send a card to little ones on this holiday, it just isn’t a big card holiday.
Your invitation is great, here are two tips to perhaps get some sales this season. Add to your keywords, ‘block party invitation’ and ‘Halloween party invitations”. Also you may consider adding inside a place for the customer to right Date, Time, Location and so forth.
Thanks everyone, I personally LOVE creating Halloween card images and designs (always been my favorite illustration theme!) but, you all are probably right about it not being a big greeting card holiday :(. Maybe someday that will change?! I’m going to make the changes you all mentioned and see if I can “scare up” some sales this Halloween! 😉 Christmas and Birthdays have been my best selling categories, I was wondering if you have all had that same experience or do other categories do better for you?
Thanks, John
John, if you aren’t already, you should put those great Halloween designs up on Zazzle. Particularly shirts, postage, address labels and tote bags. I sell my Halloween images on tote bags that are bought for trick or treating. Halloween is a big seller, just not on greeting cards.
My best selling ‘categories’ are Cards for Life Partners & Civil Unions, Pet Sympathy and Birthday. I did pretty well the past Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day though my first year I did not.
Good luck!
Thanks Doreen, I have been meaning to check out Zazzle. I will have to do that soon!