How to Create & Sell Greeting E-Cards Online
- 1). Design your cards in a sketchbook using colored pencils or markers before creating a more polished version in a graphics program. Determine if you want to create a themed collection of cards (in other words, whether you want a certain color range for you cards, a style, or even cards that focus on a certain subject, like the holidays or just birthdays). Brainstorm your text and graphics ideas for your cards until you have the perfect match.
- 2). Use a graphics program to create your e-cards. Select a program that you are comfortable with. It is usually best to use one that you have used in the past or that is more user friendly, if you are new to graphic art. There are several programs on the market that range widely in levels of complexity and price. A terrific program for the beginning graphic artist is ArtRage, which is also a fairly inexpensive program. Photoshop is a superb program for graphic artists that allows you to do a range of things ending up with highly professional-looking design. Photoshop is, however, not always within the budget of many people. GIMP is a good alternative to Photoshop, since it has many of the same capabilities and it's freeware. It's important to choose a program that best fits your needs, especially if you intend to use the program to create a business.
- 3). Create a website using a web design program like Dreamweaver or Expression Web. Or have a website created for you by a website designer. You can find qualified web designers online at sites like Elance. Another option is to put your e-cards up for sale on a website that shares a portion of sales proceeds with you. You might also look at selling actual cards through a website like Zazzle or CafePress if you decide to expand your business model.
