Published: February 23, 2008 11:01 pm      

Online photo card business increases sales by 1,700 percent

EDMOND — When Edmond resident Sara Watterson started an online photo card business, her goal simply was to make $400 extra a month.

“We have far exceeded that,” she said.

PhotoCardCafé.com increased its sales by 1,700 percent in 2007.

Watterson began the business in August 2006 after working as a web designer for small businesses for several years.

“I got tired of it and started looking for something else,” she said.

After just having a baby, she looked for something she could do from home.

“For several years, I’ve created our own Christmas cards and people really liked them,” Watterson said.

Soon family members and friends asked her to make cards for them, too. Watterson said an idea came to her that maybe she could sell her cards online.

It took the designer a year to finish her Web site, PhotoCardCafé.com. She initially began with only her own designs.

Sara Heji, chief marketing officer of PhotoCardCafé.com, said the Web site now features a variety of designers.

“Our designs are pretty unique,” Heji said.

She said people may customize their cards online by choosing the size and text of the card and downloading a personal photo they want on their card.

“It’s really about making our customers happy and making sure everything runs smoothly,” Heji said.

She said one thing that makes these cards unique is that they are printed on photo paper and are some of the cheapest online. Heji said cards range between 99 cents and $1.99 each.

“One of my main things was I wanted them to be affordable,” Watterson said.

She said they have about 100 designs for a variety of cards, including Christmas cards, birth announcements, save the date wedding cards and Valentines.

Watterson said they already have had several orders for Easter cards and the Web site has won the No. 2 spot for the Google search “Photo Easter Cards.”

She said the Web site has sold 11,000 cards so far for 2008. She said her goal for the year is to compare sales each month from 2007 and double that for the same month in 2008. Watterson said they are on their way to that goal.

“I’ve really enjoyed it and I think Edmond was a great place to start it. It’s been very fun to have something that’s successful,” she said.