The Ladder Club is back! Having not taken place since 2019, this in-a-nutshell one-day seminar about greeting card publishing is aimed at would-be, newbie and emerging publishers.
The date has been set for the 2023 Ladder Club seminar as Friday, 1 December, to take place at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London from 10am-4:45pm.
The packed agenda will cover the rudiments of greeting card publishing – avoiding the common pitfalls, how to price your cards to make sure you’re making money, production quandaries, how to get your cards to market, what retailers want, what makes agents tick, as and making the most of trade shows, as well as where licensing, export and brokerage come in.
“I can’t quite believe it’s almost 25 years ago that my dear friend Lynn Tait and I launched The Ladder Club,” said Jakki Brown, editor of Progressive Greetings and md of Max Publishing, “with the mission of helping would-be or fledgling greeting card publishers climb on to the greeting card ladder by avoiding the common pitfalls while enjoying embracing the sense of camaraderie that is all pervasive in our industry.
“Although lovely Lynn sadly passed away in June 2017, her legacy lives on in The Ladder Club, which has played a part in hundreds and hundreds of publishers’ business journeys and industry friendships.”
The vision for The Ladder Club has been embraced by key trade suppliers, existing card publishers, retailers, agents, the GCA and other industry experts who have given their time to speak at the seminars and offer support.
Loyal Ladder Club sponsors, including GF Smith, The Imaging Centre, Loxleys and Enveco, have already pledged their support for this year’s seminar, as has the GCA.
Among the wealth of speakers are Ben Hickman, co-owner of Brainbox Candy, who will take attendees through how to cost out their cards and other stories; Sally Matson, owner of Red Card in Petworth, will explain what she as a leading indie looks for in publishers and their products; Jo Bannister of JJ Agencies will share what agents look for in publishers and what publishers can expect from agents, while former Ladder Club graduates, Hannah Dale, founder of Wrendale Designs and Bewilderbeest founder Iain Hamilton will reveal their key learnings.
Having attended The Ladder Club in 2019, Iain had no hesitation in wanting to get on board for this year’s event: “It was so great to hear that The Ladder Club is back – I found it really useful and I know it can help a lot of new publishers out.
“Several new publishers have asked me for advice in the last couple of years and I’ve wanted to be able to point them to The Ladder Club, so it’s great I can now do so!”
The cost of attending The Ladder Club seminar is £90 plus vat – the same price as it was in 2019. To book your place, head to the dedicated secure site www.max-tickets.net or you can contact Max’s Jim Bullough, who is looking after the bookings, on jimb@max-publishing.co.uk or call him on 07734 111633.
Though not included in the price of attending, there will be a casual meet-up dinner the evening before The Ladder Club, which is especially useful and enjoyable. This will be held in a venue close to the BDC.
And, unlike previously where there has been a day two seminar for more established publishers, it will not be the case this year as the GCA covers these issues.
For more Information about The Ladder Club contact PG’s Tracey Arnaud on traceya@max-publishing.co.uk or call her on 01234 740051 or 07957 212062, or email Jakki Brown on jakkib@max-publishing.co.uk or call her on 07525 634405.
