"I am not sure what the key to success is but I do know that the key to failure is trying to please everyone."
-- Bill Cosby

by Jami Petersen

Have you ever been frustrated by a "complimentary offer?" There is a saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch. There is usually a hidden cost, perhaps time, perhaps money, but usually “free” means nothing close to free. This week, our feature article shows how Scrapbooking.com Magazine's Retail Alliance program can benefit your store. And yes, it's free! The only cost involved is the moment it will take to add a banner to your website or newsletter, and the results will more than pay for the small amount of effort expended. Take a look and see how this program can benefit your business. 

Jami Petersen
newsletters@a-z.com

Sakura of America

The Shades 3-pack: $3.99 MSRP

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Colorful, smooth, long lasting gel ink

Shades of: pink, green, blue, purple, red, black
 
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Emotions drive impulse purchases
Color is the primary factor influencing purchasing decisions

Contact your local Sakura Rep!
http://www.sakuraofamerica.com/Pen-Color-Shades

Press Releases

News you can use about the latest media coverage of hot trends, noteworthy events and dynamic industry leaders. Learn more about the current headlines in arts and crafts by clicking on the title of each article segment.

Ritz Interactive Launches New Website. Ritz Interactive, Inc., the e-commerce network that includes RitzCamera.com, WolfCamera.com, BoatersWorld.com and other leading online shopping sites, announced today the launch of their newest website, www.ScrapbookingAlley.com.

Ribbon Organizer Wins Award at National Stationery Show. The Ribbon Organizer from Simply Renee won the Best New Product award in the Paper Craft/Scrapbooking Section at the National Stationery Show in New York City. The owner of Simply Renee commented “Being a first time exhibitor at the NSS, I was thrilled to have my products recognized and noticed. It was an unexpected bonus for a great show”. The Clip it Up products are designed to be visual, easily accessible, convenient, and simple.

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L™

Make SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L™
your preferred brand

Ensure yourself an adhesive that satisfies all your customers scrapbooking and papercrafting needs. We not only put our hearts into designing easy-to-use adhesives so your stories will last throughout the ages, we also put our spirit into your community through corporate sponsorships. 

www.scrapbook-adhesives.com/sbo

by Dennis A. Conforto, A-Z Media Group, Inc.

Have you ever noticed that when you pay nothing, you usually get nothing? Free is almost never free. There is always some catch at the end, and if something is truly free, it usually has no value.

Finally, there is something that is free, that has no catch and has real value. It can help you grow your business and can even be viewed as a profit center for your scrapbooking business.

There are hundreds of thousands of women who want to stay up on the latest ideas, tools and products related to scrapbooking. They love the idea of learning more about their newfound craft. Yet as a retailer, it is hard to keep up with the latest trends, products and tools that are produced by the nearly 1,800 different scrapbooking manufacturers who are introducing new products all the time.

Of course, the best customers you can have are those that are educated consumers. The more they know the more they buy and the more they buy the better business can be for you. In fact, the more you can keep scrapbooking at the forefront of their minds, the better it is for your retail store.

One of the ways many scrapbooking retailers try to stay in contact with their very best consumers is through the creation of a store newsletter. The challenge with this is that newsletters are usually only produced once each month, or sometimes even less frequently. Naturally, the questions are, “How can you keep scrapbooking at the forefront of the consumer’s mind every week? How can you do it for free? How can you educate them, making them even more valuable to your store’s revenue stream?”

Scrapbooking.com Magazine has created the perfect partnership program for retailers no matter where they are around the globe. It’s fast, simple and best of all, it’s free! By placing one of our free weekly e-newsletter special links on your store’s website or on your e-newsletter, you will be encouraging your consumers to keep up with the latest and greatest trends happening in the world of scrapbooking today.

Now the question is, “Why would a retail store owner want to promote a link from Scrapbooking.com Magazine within their own website or e-newsletter?” The reason is simple: our whole business model is to drive traffic to retail stores just like yours. Manufacturers invest in the web pages of our magazine to promote their brands which are found in your retail stores. What you might not have noticed before is that each of our articles ends with a link asking the reader to find their nearest scrapbooking store.

Let me give you 10 reasons why placing our free link on your site and newsletter is good business for you, and why you want your customers to have access to our weekly newsletters.

1. Consumers are looking for new ideas all of the time. We have what they are looking for and our newsletter and magazine is free to them and to you.
2. Our newsletter promotes scrapbooking to your client base weekly. Reminding them about the category is critical to having greater mind share, thus creating greater market share.
3. The newsletter gives your readers new ideas to consider along with instructions and supply lists for new projects. The more they consider doing something, the more likely they are to act on that consideration.
4. The more new ideas we can give them, the more they will shop; traffic to your store is key to your daily and weekly success.
5. Greater profits allow you to bring in more new products to your store. It also means you can invest more into growing your business and improving the look and feel of your store.
6. More new products keeps your store fresh and keeps your oldest customers coming back.
7. Our newsletters have a tell-a-friend feature that allows for viral marketing to ensure that even more prospective consumers are getting the message about scrapbooking within your marketplace.
8. Viral marketing of our newsletter within your marketplace allows us to create more newbies to refer even more business to your store.

While your primary job as a retailer is to sell product, our primary job is to help remind your customers weekly that you are there waiting to serve their needs. We remind them with projects that have step-by-step instructions. We share with them the great brands that are part of the industry and stories about those brands. Your customers can even print out a shopping list of what was needed to create a project, making it easier for you and them in shopping your store.

We even provide to the consumer a basic free store listing that lets them know your store name and that you are close by. It’s our version of the white pages of a telephone directory. If you want, you can upgrade that free store listing and for a fee add your store logo, store hours, a link to your website, a store map from Map Quest, and even a savings coupon.

Partner with us and allow us to help you grow the message of scrapbooking within your marketplace. We have the content about the product and you have the product. It’s really the perfect partnership. Those stores who are active in their relationship have seen the positive difference we have made in their business, and we can do the same for you.

We are here to grow your business and we have the perfect free marketing link for you to use. Visit http://scrapbooking.com/cgi-bin/Phase_2/static.pl?serial=24#Submitted_Designs:, pick the image that you think will look best on your website, and allow us to help you grow your scrapbooking business. There is nothing quite like the perfect partnership, especially when it’s free. That is what being business SMART is all about.   

Small business owners turn grass roots movement into national trend

Most times, when a concept is embraced coast to coast, it's the result of careful planning and strategic marketing. The 3/50 Project, however, proves that sometimes, a simple idea can come from nowhere to steal the big thunder.
 

Formally launched on March 30, 2009 as the result of a blog post written by founder Cinda Baxter, The 3/50 Project has exceeded even her expectations. Over the weekend, the 5,000th supporter registered on the website, making the movement one of the most successful, fastest growing campaigns in small business history.

“That we're seeing this kind of support in only two months' time is astonishing.”

According to Baxter, as of midnight Sunday, May 31, 2009:
5,000+ registered Supporters on The 3/50 Project website (businesses)
7,500+ fans on The 3/50 Project Facebook page (businesses and consumers)
64,600+ “absolute unique visitors” on the350project.net website
79,500+ total visitors on the website

“If someone had told me one sentence in a blog post could turn into a viral campaign, well...I probably would have planned a road map of some kind,” explains Baxter. In that blog post, she challenged consumers to return to three locally owned businesses they'd hate to see disappear, then actively commit to doing business with them on a regular basis.
 

The second part of the challenge asked them to commit $50 of their monthly spending to locally owned businesses. “If just half the employed U.S. population did that, it would generate more than $42.6 billion annually,” Baxter explains.
The most stunning element of The 3/50 Project message, however, comes in the form of a third number: 68. “That's the percentage of money from each transaction that returns to the community's economy when spent with locally owned business. If the consumer spends that with a big box or chain, the number drops to 43%...if they spend it online, nothing comes home.”

Much of the struggle small business faces in today's slower economy is attributed to “commuter shopping,” where convenience and speed have replaced quality of service and relationships. “Most people don't think about where they're shopping, they just go out and do it,” according to Dave Looney, owner of The Woods Gifts in Maplewood, Minnesota. He credits The 3/50 Project as the catalyst that reminds consumers such convenience equates to fewer choices and less community revenue.

Thousands of businesses around the country agree, as participants in The 3/50 Project continue to access free promotional tools from the group's website, including flyers, window banners, shelf signage, and jpg images for use on movie theater screens. A member badge offered for use on website home pages provides an additional bonus; if the participant lets Baxter know they've used it, she'll add a link from The 3/50 Project website back to their site. “It's just one more way to say thank you for making a difference.”

“And in the end, making a difference is what this is all about.” The 3/50 Project can be found online at http://www.the350project.net.