by Carolyn Edlund
Use these tips to make notecards featuring your art work harder for you.
Notecards featuring art by Allan Gorman
It’s easy to order blank cards with your artwork on the front from a printer or a print-on-demand website. Or, you can print them yourself. Many artists do this with the intention of selling them to the public at art shows or online. But they have many other uses as well:
- Use your blank cards in place of or in conjunction with postcards as direct mail pieces. Make this a regular part of your marketing campaign. Stay in touch with prospective collectors, galleries or retailers by sending cards with different images of your work every couple of months. Write your own note inside the card, or enclose one in a larger envelope so that the recipient can send it themselves.
- Use your cards as invitations. Got an open studio event coming up? Send invitations featuring your art to potential guests. Make sure to handwrite their name and address on the envelope rather than using labels. Colored envelopes will help grab attention.
- Include one or more cards in your press kit. A blank notecard with your art is an easy and portable way to show your work. This can be a great addition to the other information you offer to attract press attention.
- Completing a commission? Why not have a dozen or so cards printed with the commissioned artwork on the front. Give them as a gift to your client, who can send them to friends and family showing the art they just acquired. What a great way to publicize your work, and get potential referrals!
- Use your art cards to send a birthday greeting or thank you to your customer base, while also reminding them of your work.
- Got a hot prospect? Send a whole boxed set of mixed cards showing a selection of your portfolio, inside of a larger box. It’s sure to get opened, and makes a much bigger impression than just one piece.
- When you attend a retail art show, hand out notecards with your work to interested prospects instead of a business card. Or, use them as follow ups to the list you collected in the guest book in your booth.
If you have 5″ x 7″ cards printed, they will fit perfectly into pre-made 8″ x 10″ mats, which can also be gifted or sold. Don’t forget to include your name, information about the image, a statement about your work, and your website address on the back of each card.
I regularly use note cards for promotion. I send thank you notes to those that purchase and those that are interested. If someone is interested in a certain piece, I will print a card with that painting and little note to them.
I’ve also used images to give to a company for them to use as a mailer for cards as long as credit and info of mine is available. That way my name and info is given out to more people. Just be sure the company would have a mailing list that you would want your name distributed to.
Great ideas, Becky – let’s add them to the list!
I did some small watercolors years ago that I’d like to have as notecards – just to send to family and friends. Where do I go to get that done? Nothing fancy – I’m not a pro – want to keep it simple! Does Kinkos or more general print shops do that? Is it expensive? Thanks!
Check out http://www.CatPrint.com to see their rates. They are very reasonable.
i had a lot of note cards printed years ago and do use them as a promotional tool…but you have even more awesome ideas here then I thought of…so thanks…love the 5×7 card idea with mat…perfect!!! will look into it today!!
Kathryn, I can tell you that when I repped for a big art publisher a few years back, they would mat and frame their greeting cards and sell them as framed art. You can repurpose your note cards for this use too.
thanks Carolyn for all of the info and tips i am taking you up on the note card idea and i will use them for multi purposes.
By the way has anyone used art.com the print on demand website? if so please share your experience of ordering with them and what the quality of work is like.
Ta
Joanne, you are very welcome. I’m not sure about art.com If you look at my list of 125+ Places to Sell Your Art Online you will see many more – here is the link http://www.artsyshark.com/125-places-to-sell/.
I totally agree that cards are a great promotional item. I feel that every card I sell has the bonus of being a little marketing tool. I have been at summer art shows where the purchaser comments “I probably should not tell you this, but I am going to frame this card” I quickly reply that I am pleased! They may begin to follow your art and become a collector of originals.
It’s a wonderful compliment to you that your customers want to frame your cards. You can do it for them, and sell small framed prints for a much higher price – just an idea to bump up that sale!
I should add that I have given my cards to limo drivers to use as thank you notes for their customers, along with promotional materials in the vehicles. Their customers could be potential clients of mine and it’s a cheap way to advertise.
I make art cards and I reposted this to my blog/website as I think it is very helpful information.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Carolyn! I came across this post while doing research on licensing artwork for printing notecards. We’re looking to license artwork for our 60th anniversary notecards, but I’m not sure what to offer our artists in terms of compensation. Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated.
Thank you!
Julie
Are you still interested in licensing art for cards? I have many images of my art work in high res files for great quality.
How/where do I get my original art reporduced on note cards? post cards?
Lacy, you could go to a local printer, but you may do better with a specialty short-run printer like Cat Print http://www.catprint.com/
I am an artist. I work in Acrylics and pastels. I have a show coming up and would like to offer boxes of notecards for sale with pictures of my paintings on them, for sale. Can you provide me with that?
Sue, If you are looking to have notecards printed, you could check Vistaprint.com, CatPrint.com or perhaps a printer in your local area.
I make my own notecards with a picture that I have painted on them. They are 4.25 x 5.50. What do you think I should sell them for? Have used some as gifts but we are having an indoor sale at our Senior Apartment Facility, and I want to charge a fair price. What would you suggest? Anna Marie
Anna, the standard price for greeting cards in the US is currently around $3.95 each, although that is for printed cards. It sounds like you are making these as individual paintings. In that case, selling them as cards will probably diminish the perceived value, because a notecard sells for a considerably lower price than that same painting being matted and/or framed, which would sell for much more. It’s up to you to decide how to best sell your work to earn what it is worth.
I have used notecards forever. When I make a new set of cards I send a sample pack (usually 5 different cards) to people who have purchased my paintings and ask for their comments on which one they think works best. Most of them end up ordering their favorite to use in their business. Recently one of my collectors wanted to know if the original of any of the cards was still available. One was and she bought that painting!!