Are Greeting Cards Worth Selling for New Artists?
If you’re new to selling your artwork, it’s completely normal to wonder whether greeting cards are a sensible place to start. Many artists feel unsure about pricing, printing, or whether anyone would buy their work at all. Greeting cards are often a good first product because they are affordable to produce, easy for customers to buy, and allow you to test how people respond to your work without a big financial risk.
Greeting cards are especially useful for beginners because they don’t require customers to commit to wall space or large purchases. People already buy cards for birthdays, celebrations, and life events, so you’re not asking them to change their behaviour — just to choose your design instead. This makes greeting cards a practical and approachable way to begin selling your art.
At Redcliffe Imaging, we work with many artists who start their journey this way. Often, greeting cards are the first printed product they ever create.
Greeting cards by David Lloyd - davidmileslloyd.com
How to Start Selling Greeting Cards as a Beginner
If you’re thinking about trying greeting cards, the process can be simple:
Choose one or two pieces of artwork you feel confident about.
Start with a small print run so you can test demand without pressure.
See how people respond at markets, online, or through friends and family.
Use that feedback to decide what to print next.
You don’t need a large range. This is exactly how most artists begin.
You don’t need dozens of designs. You just need a manageable starting point.
This approach allows you to learn what works without overcommitting money or storage space.
Why Greeting Cards Are a Good Learning Tool
Here’s why this small first step works so well.
Selling greeting cards teaches you valuable things very quickly:
which designs people are drawn to
how customers interact with your work
how it feels to sell in real life
whether you want to expand into prints or other products later
Even if sales are slow at first, the experience you gain is useful and builds confidence.
We Can Help You Get Started
If you’ve never printed greeting cards before, we’re here to make your first print run straightforward — from checking your artwork to helping you choose sensible quantities.
If this feels like something you’d like to try, we’re here to help you through your first print run.
Ready to start?
Take a look at our greeting card printing options when you’re ready, and plan your first small print run.
If you’re wondering what a “small first run” actually looks like in numbers, this guide explains it simply:
How Many Greeting Cards Should I Print?