How to Write an Inspirational Greeting Card

The inspirational greeting card genre is an excellent market for the freelance writer. Inspirational cards are very popular, and don't necessarily have to be religious in language. Much like regular greeting cards, the purpose of inspirational cards is to express hope, assurance, faith and love. But these cards have a deeper meaning than the average conventional sentiment.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Thesaurus
• Rhyming dictionary
• Book of quotations
• Greeting cards

1. Use proverbs, familiar quotations and Bible text as your inspiration.
2. Paraphrase or extrapolate bumper sticker inspirations. These would include the popular "pay it forward" and "commit random acts of kindness."
3. Tailor the same general verse to various occasions. Write an inspirational sentiment for Christmas, and then expand it for Easter, Thanksgiving, birthdays, weddings or anniversaries.
4. Utilize religious references sparingly so that the card can be marketed across spiritual divides. References to God are certainly acceptable whether stated plainly or alluded to.
5. Apply light humor where appropriate in the inspirational card. Heavy-hitting advice is better left to the self-help aisle at the bookstore.

Tips & Warnings

• Research the inspirational lines of various greeting card companies. This will help you to gather your own inspiration and also discover if that company prefers rhymed or unrhymed verse, and shorter or longer verse.
• When using a quotation or scripture, make sure you attribute it to its source. For example: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen."--Hebrews 11:1 and "I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it."--Maya Angelou.