HOLIDAY CARD MARKETER Heartfelt is feeling good.
It’s offering its own line of cards for the first time.
This “deluxe” seasonal offering is larger than the firm’s original selection of charity cards – 14 designs have been added to the usual 70, says Marilyn Heise, founder and president of Northfield, IL-based Heartfelt.
The new line debuted last month with the annual mailing of 20,000 catalogs, half of them to prospects. A test rolled out simultaneously to about 10,000 lawyers in a few major cities. Corporate clients are a large part of Heartfelt’s business.
An incentive program also launched with the mailing: Any consumer who refers a friend receives a free greeting card. The offer also appears at the firm’s Web site (www.charitycards .com).
In January, the company plans to test everyday cards – a departure from the usual sale sheet of holiday cards tucked into fulfillment packages and displayed at the site. Fifty percent of revenue is generated from selling Christmas cards.
Last year Heartfelt sold about 200,000 cards, generating total online and offline sales of $250,000.
Heise started her business in 1991 by purchasing charity cards direct and selling her wares on a pushcart in a suburban Chicago mall. She based her business plan on the fact that charity cards were difficult to locate. “I thought there was a hole there that needed filling,” she explains. She donates up to 52% of each card’s purchase price back to the charities.
This year she’s working with 13 charities, including the Cancer Research Foundation and the Wildlife Trust.
Heise launched her first catalog in 1996 and the Web site the following year.
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