"Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade."

-- Rudyard Kipling, author

by Jami Petersen

In today's digital world, being online often means the difference between getting a sale and losing one. I know personally that if I visit a site and it's difficult or I can't find what I'm looking for after a few tries, I take my business elsewhere. If you've experienced this then you know how frustrating it can be. Now, imagine your customers. How do they feel about your site or online newsletters? Are they effective or just a waste of time? Read through tips from Dennis and PSRO on how to make the web work for you.

Jami Petersen
newsletters@a-z.com

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L™

SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L™ offers you a new opportunity to gain more sales!

They now have launched an online store powered by Shopatron! This move also bolsters the commitment SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L™ has to their fulfillment partners by driving sales through independent retail stores. The addition of in-store pickup available for brick-and-mortar stores will create ancillary sales of complementary products when customers arrive to pick up their orders.

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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.
 

Spellbinders Celebrates the Release of New Weddings Paper Craft Book- Create Your Dream Wedding. A collaborative release with DRG and new from Annie’s Attic, Create Your Dream Wedding offers creative ideas to make your special day all you dreamed it would be.

Spellbinders Paper Arts is proud to celebrate the recent release of its first collaborative effort with DRG Publishing–Create Your Dream Wedding. With this new book, brides-to-be can create color-themed engagement announcements, invitations, table cards and more for their special day. The designs are well suited for formal evening weddings and for casual garden events.

To celebrate the release, Spellbinders will host a book launch and signing, featuring Spellbinders’ founder and CEO Stacey Caron and CardMaker editor Tanya Fox at the Spellbinders’ booth, #4069, at the 2010 Winter Craft & Hobby Association Trade Show (CHA) in Anaheim, Calif., Jan. 24-27, 2010.

Caron and Fox will be on-hand at the Spellbinders booth from 2-4pm on Sunday, January 24th to share the inspiration behind Create Your Dream Wedding. Many of the designers will also be in attendance, and the exquisite projects created exclusively for the book will also be on display. The first 100 people in attendance will receive free, signed copies of Create Your Dream Wedding.

In the pages of Create Your Dream Wedding, readers will enjoy page after page of beautiful wedding projects created by some of today's best paper craft designers, complete with easy-to-follow instructions and eye-catching project photos.

Suggested retail pricing for Create Your Dream Wedding is $14.95. Retailers can order Create Your Dream Wedding from DRG Wholesale by calling 800-772-6643 or visiting www.drgwholesale.com. DRG Wholesale will offer a 50/10 discount on any order for this book received by February 1st. 

The Memory Tradeshow

The Memory Tradeshow is the premiere market for scrapbooking and related products, family history and digital imaging.

It is the most important gathering of this industry regionally, and it’s attracting executives from all sectors: manufacturers, retailers, distributors, suppliers, sales reps, designers and press. The show’s goal is to provide the highest ROI show within the industry with a greater focus on the business of the memory industry, education and best business practices.

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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 but 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 new found 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.

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

Many scrapbook retailers stay in contact with their best consumers through 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 consumers mind every week? How can you do it for free? How can help them be educated and 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 in 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. Manufacturers invest in the web pages of our magazine to promote their brands, and 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...Read the entire article by clicking here.

If you would like to comment directly to Dennis about this article or have him address a subject matter in future articles feel free to email him directly at dconforto@a-z.com.

Wooky Entertainment

Target New Consumers:

Teenagers with the Paris Hilton Creativity Collection. This new line is for teens from 10 years old and older who are interested by scrapbooking. Following the latest trends and fashion, the Paris Hilton Creativity Collection is adapted for teen girls of 2010!

Visit us online: http://pariscreativity.com/
For more information : info@wookyentertainment.com

DCWV Inc.® Introduces Digital Scrapbooking Website and iPhone® App

DCWV Inc.® is launching 300dpi.com, an online digital scrapbooking website and eScrap™ App, a new iPhone® App. DCWV has a long-standing reputation for its quality and diversity of award-winning designs and will be extending their expertise into these two new product lines.

Denise Pemberton, Creative Director of 300dpi.com says, “We’re taking our most popular designs and reaching a broader audience with our digital scrapbooking website and our iPhone® App. People today are busy and using digital and downloadable products that interface with Facebook and iPhones®. By providing digital options in scrapbooking, we’re facilitating this active and on-the-go lifestyle.”

The 300dpi.com website includes digital kits, paper stacks, elements, alphabet sets, stock photos, quick quotes, gift ideas, blog wear and more. In early 2010, 300dpi.com will also be offering online software that will allow consumers to create a digital scrapbook that can be printed, bound, and shipped as a photo book to their doors.

300 dpi™ products will be available for purchase both online and at retailers who will be offering 300 dpi™ gift cards and CDs at their retail shops.

The eScrap™ App will offer customizable iPhone® layout backgrounds, elements, fonts, and filters with the capability to add, resize and rotate photos onto design layouts. The eScrap™ App will be available on the iTunes® store in February 2010.

Both 300dpi.com and the eScrap™ App will also allow users to share their digital creations by posting on 300dpi.com, emailing, texting or loading onto social networking sites.

“One of the rewarding aspects of 300 dpi™ and the upcoming eScrap™ App is being able to share with family and friends. Upon completion of a project, I can simply upload to the 300dpi.com website, Facebook or send it via text,” says Erin Madsen, an avid scrapbooker.

About DCWV Inc.®
Based in Provo, Utah, DCWV Inc.® was founded in 1995 by Nancy and Mike Hill. The company designs, manufactures, and sells innovative, quality products to the scrapbooking, home décor and stationary markets. In 2005, DCWV was recognized as one of the fastest growing companies on the "Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies" list and was recognized as the #1 Utah-based company. Its products are differentiated by their quality, on trend look and feel and customer-respected brand name.