How to Break into the Online Greeting Card Market as a Freelance Writer

Freelance writers who can wear multiple hats fare well on the web. If you have the skills to be flexible and write for different markets, you can easily cash in on some untapped businesses and niches. The online greeting card market is one of them. Even though writing for the web and publications can pave the way to a lucrative freelance writing career, the online greeting card market is an industry that is creating a high demand for talent.

If you're a natural poet, the projects in this market will come easily to you. Add a dose of humor and some creativity, and you'll be well prepared for writing more than haiku for a birthday celebration. The online greeting card market is hungry for short-and-sweet punch lines that can be enhanced with illustrations and animation. Fiction writers and children's book authors will find this market to be an attractive one too; it takes some skill to understand what is high in demand, and getting to that finished product isn't always easy. However, if you can learn the process of writing and editing your own material, and not worrying too much about being rejected, this is a great market for you.

The online greeting card market generally favors ghost writers; you won't find your byline or credit stamped on those cards in most cases (unless you're publishing and distributing your own), but you can find competitive rates in this industry. The industry average is about $10-$15 per card; even though this may seem low per piece, you're only writing between 8-10 lines per submission.

You'll need to stay in touch with today's trends and do some target market research to get the words to flow. From contemporary humor to classical lyrics for the golden years, developing your tone is just as important in this industry as it is for other articles and publications.

A benefit of online greeting cards is seeing how favorable your work truly is; many online greeting card companies generate a 'top ten' list of the most cards sent or viewed for any given day. It's nice to check in on your submissions once in a while and see how well the public receives your ideas.