Greeting card mogul buys Orange County Register

Kushner, who made part of his fortune through greeting
cards, said in a statement. "As we see opportunities to buy and
support other compelling franchise newspapers we will actively
pursue them."
The former chief executive of Marian Heath Greeting Cards in
Wareham, Massachusetts, Kushner made news two years ago when he
announced he was in the process of lining up investors to make
an offer for the Globe, owned by the New York Times Co.
His name also surfaced as a potential buyer of the Portland
Press-Herald in Maine earlier this year.
The 2100 Trust is becoming a publisher during a time when
newspapers are facing a barrage of challenges including
declining readership and advertisers who are choosing to place
their dollars elsewhere.
Freedom Communications is no exception. The broadcast and
newspaper company emerged from bankruptcy in 2010 leaving it in
the hands of a group of investment companies and lenders
including Angelo Gordon & Co and JPMorgan Chase. The new owners
began selling off pieces of the company.
For instance in November, Freedom sold its broadcast
stations to Sinclair Broadcasting Group in November 2011 for
$385 million.
Freedom's bankruptcy ended the ownership of the Orange
County Register by the family of R.C. Hoiles, who purchased the
paper in 1935 and is known for his libertarian philosophy.

12 Unusual Ways To Market Your Greeting Cards

Your best advertising is your cards. Send them to everyone. Send them to your dentist when you pay your bill. Send them to a magazine when you renew your subscription. Send them to the secretary who receives your time sheet at work. Send them the bank clerk when you mail your deposit. Send them.
Send cards instead of business letters. As weird as it may seem, when the occasion arises to send a business letter, send one of your cards instead.
Be creative and try to make most of your business interactions via greeting card. Do you really need to type out a note or reminder to someone on a piece of paper?
Send your cards to a blog author, local newspaper, art newsletter or monthly paper. They are always looking for new stories with colorful images, and cards are a perfect topic because they are occasion based, and calendar oriented, so stories can be sent year around.
Send out cards at New Years. People tend to be overwhelmed at Christmas time, and completely ignore New Years. If you normally send out Christmas cards, consider sending out New Years cards a week later. People are often surprised to receive a new year's cards and they are less likely get throw away with Christmas wrapping paper.
Submit your cards to trade publications and product design blogs. Many trade publications such as Gifts and Decorative Accessories and Greetings etc. Magazines profile new cards on the market.
Whenever you hear of a new sales representative in your area, contact them and send a card sample. It doesn't cost you anything but time, postage and a card sample. What can you lose? If they decide to carry your line, you have just hired a private salesperson!
Donate a stack of cards to your next church raffle, school fundraiser or community organization. Often when prizes are given away, your business name will be posted or announced. Sometimes the business donations are listed in publicity literature also.
Ask your printer to profile your cards on their bulletin board. Or better yet, asked to be profiled in the print shop sample book, where they show samples to potential customers.
People from all walks of life seem to be fascinated by the subject of greeting cards and want to learn more about them. Offer to speak about your card business at brown bag lunch meetings sponsored by organizations such as the YWCA, Senior Centers, Chamber of Commerce or other professional organizations.
Volunteer to give a card making class at an art center, library or senior center. Trust me, if you are already making cards, you know way more than the average person about how to do it, so jump in and teach a class.
Create a new kind of "business card." Instead of passing out traditional business cards at social events, pass out your greeting cards. If your cards are attractive or have a witty quotation on them, people tend to keep them around longer and share them with others.
Offer to use your cards as fundraiser. I did this once and the organization reported to me they received a higher donation response than the year before. Usually organizations will be happy to cover your materials costs if you offer to take on the task of mailing out the fundraising letters.
Marketing on a shoestring is really about setting small goals for yourself and following through on them. There is no one thing or person that is going to “make it” for you. Rather, you have to continually create conditions for success and opportunities. But it doesn’t have to be hard. Just ask yourself , when you engage in your daily activities: “Can I send a card instead?”

 

Book on How to Run a Greeting Card Business

When I opened up the first page of this book, the author had made a fundamental statement about the card business:"[the card] business is the type of business that can be started at the kitchen table and end up in the global market."

How to Set Up a Handmade Card Factory

It may seem unbelievable that I serviced over 2,000 stores for about 15 years making cards this way, but it worked great. Of course, after awhile I paid other people to make the cards. Having this business allowed me work at home, run my own show, and have financial independence. I highly recommend it.

I had up to 4 card assemblers working for me who made the cards at home, which was great for me because I don't enjoy the role of "a boss." Since I paid a good wage, people stayed with me for many years. One woman, who was a stay-at-home mom, worked with me for over 10 years.
Here is an example of how I set up my manufacturing process for my card business.
This task requires I glue 2 items on a card, and put them in a bag with an envelope.
This is probably the most inefficient way to make them, and will probably take 3 times longer. Here is why:
This is a much better way to make cards.
Lay them all out in a row and start adding glue. It goes a lot faster.
Overlap the cards in areas that are not going to be glued. You can get more cards on the table that way.
The pieces are placed down starting with the top row. Note the order and direction of both gluing and placing the pieces.
Drawing a circle of glue is a whole lot faster than a square shape, and it sticks just the same. Note also the card has a pre-printed black frame, to help the cardmaker guide where the glue should be placed.
The most efficient way to store cards is in long envelope boxes, which resemble shoe boxes. Allot an entire box per card style (see photo on right). You might notice the blue paper clips and the red post it's. I used the paper clip to warn me the card style is running low, and the red post it's to remind me I am going to drop this card, and to not remake anymore.

Group cards into 6's or 12 when putting them in the box, (that's the way card are usually sold). You can do this by rotating every 6 cards.

Don't store cards in damp areas. Dampness can cause the envelopes flaps to stick to themselves. Also, don't pack cards too tight if you use cellophane. It has a tendency to stick to itself since it is biodegradable. Bags need to "breath."
The most efficient way to store cards is in long envelope boxes, which resemble shoe boxes. Allot an entire box per card style (see photo on right). You might notice the blue paper clips and the red post it's. I used the paper clip to warn me the card style is running low, and the red post it's to remind me I am going to drop this card, and to not remake anymore.

Group cards into 6's or 12 when putting them in the box, (that's the way card are usually sold). You can do this by rotating every 6 cards.

Don't store cards in damp areas. Dampness can cause the envelopes flaps to stick to themselves. Also, don't pack cards too tight if you use cellophane. It has a tendency to stick to itself since it is biodegradable. Bags need to "breath."

 

Greeting Card Association Artist Tips

It’s hard to imagine a greeting card without any imagery, which is why good design is always in demand by the greeting card industry.

The ideal greeting card is a seamless marriage of art and verse. The successful card designer needs to create an image that’s eye-catching enough to capture the customer’s attention, yet reflects the tone and emotion of the card’s message.

Try to envision your design in terms of how it is likely to be displayed for sale. A vertical layout is most often used for greeting cards, and many cards are displayed in racks, where the bottom half of the card is not visible to the customer. Focus attention on the top half of your design, which is what the customer will see.

To get a better sense of greeting card design, spend time looking at cards. Visit a variety of card shops and retailers in your area and really look at the cards. Notice how the imagery and text work together with different types of cards.

Pay attention to different design styles and the publishers whose cards hold special appeal to you. The more you learn about card companies and greeting card design, the more successful you’ll be in determining what type of design you want to create, and the publishers most likely to be interested in your work.

If you haven’t created greeting card designs before, consider creating a collection of several designs in a certain look. This can help a publisher see your skills, style and how you carry out a theme. Be sure your submission will “match” the publisher; a traditional Christmas scene, for example, will not be of interest to a company that publishes only humorous everyday cards.

Then obtain a copy of their submission guidelines. You can generally determine if a publisher accepts outside submissions by writing or phoning the company, or by locating a submission-guidelines page on their website. GCA-member publishers who accept outside submissions are indicated on this website by a “submission guidelines” link after their contact information. Only those with a “submission guidelines” link accept outside submissions.