NUTS & BOLTS – Custom Card Requests: Tips to Seal the Deal
We are pleased to bring you a guest post by GCU artists Jay and Susan of Shoaff Ballanger Studios:
Wishing a Happy June to all of the fabulous GCU artists out there in greeting card land. We are always surprised and always enjoy receiving custom requests and look forward to customizing cards for our customers’ specific needs. Your customer has taken the time to find your card, select it, and contact you for customization. Feel proud of that fact! We wanted to share some tips and tricks, which have helped us seal the deal and increase sales.
After you have received a custom request email from GCU, try to respond to your custom requestor as quickly as possible. Communication needs to occur within the Custom Card Requests section on GCU. Also make sure to check the Custom Card Request section when you are signed into your account every so often. To find it sign in to your account, click on Manage Store > Images & Cards > Manage Custom Requests. On occasion some artists have experienced a delay or non-delivery of a Custom Request email, but in our experience this has not occurred.
Keep copies of original files with layers so you can customize your cards easily. Don’t forget you can also download images of your cards from GCU. Helpful if you need to just change the color of something or add an element requested by the shopper. Perhaps if you have a blank card with that image on GCU you can download and add text or elements requested by the shopper. Also, check and make sure you don’t already have the card requested in your line. This has happened to us a couple of times so we just sent the customer the link to the card, which was already in our gallery.
Creating variations for a custom request card has also been beneficial to our sales and customer support. We received a Custom Request email from GCU from a customer who stated she wanted to purchase 20 copies of a custom created Thank You in Japanese card. Here is an example the Thank You greeting card written in Japanese the customer wished to change.
We thought the customer might like it and it was a simple fix. We contacted the customer and sent links to both of the cards (which we placed in our Private Gallery for quick access) to the customer. Note from GCU: for customer requested cards you can submit via FastTrack, Private or Private-Waive Review. For FastTrack and Private be sure to add a Note to Reviewer about why you need an expedient review (customer request) and if the design is based on a previously approved card list that card’s pid#. If you choose Private-Waive Review, be sure to double check your work as you will be responsible for returned cards due to artist error.
Within your Manage Custom Card Requests section on GCU send a link to the card by copying the text link after selecting the Sell this Card $ icon. This can be found under the card you have created for your shopper in your Private Gallery or when it’s live in the GCU marketplace.
If your custom request shopper is a new customer to GCU, you can earn an extra $.50 for each card sold through this link, which also includes any other cards the new customer might purchase along with the custom requested card you have designed. Another hint is to also mention to your custom requestor any GCU sales or promotions currently taking place. This has often yielded quicker and more sales for us. Seal the deal!
Don’t worry if your custom request card is not purchased right away. We have had many instances where the card was not purchased immediately and sometimes not until a couple of weeks later. Wait a couple of days and if you haven’t seen any card clicks/activity on the custom card, then send a reminder email. Here are a couple of links to previous posts about Custom Card Requests. Check out this original post by Corrie on handling customer requests.
Happy sales to all!
Jay and Susan
GCU Community Manager
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Wanted New Cards: Veganniversary / Going Vegan
Wanted Cards – Veganniversary / Going Vegan
Health minded eating trends are on the rise! Low carb, no carb, high protein, gluten free, paleo … you name it. One eating practice that has been popular for a long time is following a vegan, animal product free, diet and lifestyle.
Following any eating plan, diet or change in lifestyle takes daily dedication and mindfulness. Hitting an annual landmark is worth celebrating!
Please consider creating cards for the following new category:
Occasions >> Anniversary – Veganniversary / Going Vegan
We’d like you to create at least one card for these categories using the Stock Cards function (Bigstock) or your own graphic designs.
Remember, when you’re submitting your new card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers. Be inventive, be clever, be creative. Go for it!
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Freebie Wednesday: Slashback Font
Freebie Wednesday:
Slashback Font by Arterfak Projects is a cool brush font, ideal for use in a wide range of relaxed and casual project types. This font comes complete with swashes so you can create hand-lettered looking projects for use in both digital and print applications. Slashback Font is only free for a limited time (just 5 days!)
All freebies come with a Commercial License.
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Rainbow Connection: Fresh Summer Hues
Get inspired with these Fresh Summer Hues I found on the internet this week:
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Nuts and Bolts: Estate Planning for Artists.
b) Proof of Succession
c) Power of Attorney
GCU Community Manager
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Freebie Wednesday: Free Little Mermaid Graphics.
Freebie Wednesday: Free Little Mermaid Graphics.
The Hungry Jpeg has a cute collection of underwater fantasy graphics available for you this week. Free Little Mermaid Graphics offers:
Collection pack includes: 12 cute mermaids (color and black & white), 11+ design elements, 2 seamless patterns. All files are grouped in separated EPS files and separated PNG files with transparent background.
This product comes with a complete commercial license.
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We’d like you to create at least one card for these categories using the Stock Cards function (Bigstock) or your own graphic designs.
Remember, when you’re submitting your new card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers. Be inventive, be clever, be creative. Go for it!
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Here’s some really funky Retro 70ies Wall Paper Inspiration I found on the internet this week:
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Happy June and happy summer, everyone! I found a category in need of fresh designs and stock cards are perfect with their delightful collection of offerings. So, while May’s challenge entries are sent off to the judging panel, let’s get started on a new Big Stock Challenge.
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Theme: Music Themed Thank You
Requirements:
- ONLY Big Stock cards will be accepted in this challenge.
- MUSIC is the focus of this challenge on it’s category specific: Occasions > Thank you Cards > Music / Instruments
- Write your own verse, be creative with a message that ties the image you choose, the recipient and the category together.
- The judges will be looking for professional quality text layout, typography placement and font combinations in addition to a unique and captivating message that tells the story of the stock image you choose. Your added value needs to wow the judges!
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Entry Deadline: Saturday, June 30th
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How to Enter: Post the PID (card number) and the URL (public storefront link – please WAIT for the card to be available in the public marketplace, please DO NOT post a link to your Manage Cards area) as a post in the challenge blog. We’ll forward your entry to the jury.
NOTE: Submissions will appear immediately in your Private gallery as they await review. If approved, the reviewer will move them to the public gallery – they will then become ‘live’ in the marketplace within 24-hours or so just like regular submissions. Be patient and wait.
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CATEGORY SPECIFIC CHALLENGE: Occasions > Thank you Cards > Music / Instruments
Note: Utilize the Notes to Reviewer field to include any helpful notes to the reviewer AND to indicate your intended category since you cannot select a category during submission.
Tip: Choose and work with an image that you feel a) fits with your vision and b) will meet GCU’s Submission Guidelines and c) is as good as or better than what’s being offered in the category of submission.
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Rules:
- Submission must meet GCU’s Submission Guidelines and be Approved through the usual Review Cycle. Big Stock creations are automatically identified as Fast Track – please add in the Notes to Reviewer: June Design Challenge Submission here is the link to the blog post: (include THIS blog post URL)
- Only ONE card per artist per challenge.
- Submissions must be NEW, no existing designs.
- Your entry must meet the Challenge Requirements and Theme or it will not be included in the challenge.
- Big Stock Card Creations ONLY will be accepted.
- Your designs should differ from those already offered in the categories above to offer shoppers a variety of choices, not more of the same.
- No BLANK cards will be accepted.
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BLIND Judging: We hope each of you enters every month! Entries are submitted anonymously for judging by the GCU Challenge Jury which means that before and during the challenge, judges do not have any way of knowing what artist is behind each entry. This eliminates any and all concerns with ‘favoritism’. Results will post on the Community Blog. The jury will judge the entries on the following criteria:
- How well the card meets the Challenge Requirements and Theme.
- How well the card speaks to the Category the artist chooses for the card submission.
- Creativity, Execution and Marketability. Your overall ‘added value’ determines this.
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Winners: 1st Place:
- The winning designer’s card and store will be featured on the GCU Public Blog – the blog which customers view and follow.
- As well as featured on the GCU Public Facebook Page – nearly 46,000 followers, now THAT’S exposure!
- The winning card will be Design of the Day following the announcement of the winners (within 48-hours).
- The winning card will be added to the Greeting Card Universe Design Challenge Winners Pinterest Board – currently GCU’s Pinterest Page followers: 2K!
- Winning card will be included in a marketing email to over 100,000 customers!
- GCU will create a Meet the Team board for the winning artist under the Pinterest GCU account where the winning artist will be able to pin and promote her own storefront and all that makes them a unique card designer and one of GCU’s artistic community team member.
- Winning card will be posted on GCU’s Instagram with 2,000 followers and counting!
2nd Place:
- Your submission will be Design of the Day the following week of announcing the Challenge winners (within 7-days).
- Your card will be added to the Greeting Card Universe Design Challenge Winners Pinterest Board.
- Winning card will be included in a marketing email to over 100,000 customers!
- Winning card will be posted on GCU’s Instagram with 2,000 followers and counting!
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Tips:
To make sure your music lover card is found by customers, make sure you include the type music and/or instruments in your meta-tag data.
Visit all the available tips, tricks and guidelines offered on the Big Stock Creation blog page!
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Nuts and Bolts: Custom Request Design Change
Resulting Card:
Your response time was amazing and I am so appreciative. Your prompt response allowed me to add the card (and so beautiful I ordered 2) to my current order and take advantage of the sale which ends today. To be available prior to a holiday weekend – extraordinary! Thank you! I can’t tell you how very grateful I am to have discovered Greeting Card Universe. Your art becomes beautifully crafted for the customer, packaged beautifully, shipped promptly, and everyone loves them. Shopping for cards and taking my time for each person – family and lovely friends – was one of my delights but due to health changes, I can no longer stand for long periods of time so my ventures to retail stores that offer unique cards are now a rare occurrence. My delight has returned thanks to your creative artistry shared with this website. Many thanks!
GCU Community Manager
GCU Community 