Most of us creative types are all about the design, the message and the media. We aren't crazy about the math, it's usually not in a Top 10 priorities spot when we are brainstorming. Here's the thing though, understanding the bottom line is kind of, you know, crucial. Flat cards from StationeryHQ are a great way to be well-compensated for your talent and efforts.
If you are a wholesale customer, a two-sided, full color, flat A7 card will start at $.43 each. So for the sake of argument, let's say you order 50 for a total cost of $21.50 + shipping. Flat cards on fine papers sell on major retail sites for OVER $2.00 each. That's $100 for a set of 50, leaving you with $79.50 per order. Do 10 orders like that per week (pretty easy workload, right?) and you're making about $3,000 a month without breaking a sweat. If you did the same number of cards/orders with folded cards, your margin would be closer to $2,000 per month and you had to work a little harder to set up the artwork. See how fun the math is now?
A few more $ tips:
• Requiring a minimum of 25 or 50 as opposed to 10 gets you more profit with exactly the same amount of work.
• Charge a premium for extras like rounded corners, still no extra work for you but a sassier product and better margin.
• Offer incentives for large orders, many customers will "order up" when they know they are close to a discount or promotion.
• Encourage your clients to order early to save on shipping costs. And so you can enjoy the holidays.
Cheers!