Start a Scrapbook Store

You’ve probably noticed that every winter, shoppers, even those who you don’t see around that much during the rest of the year, start frequenting your scrapbook store for supplies to make Christmas cards, mini albums and paper craft presents. How about catering to these handmade gift givers by offering ideas, sample projects and a place to work on them?

A holiday gift bazaar or workshop is a natural fit for a scrapbook store. Stampers, cardmakers and scrapbookers alike can get away from their busy, cluttered holiday-time homes and spend a few hours focusing on their special projects.

You could sell kits or simply set out completed projects for inspiration. Just a few ideas include: gift tins (Altoid size), altered advent calendars, calendars, birthday books and altered address or composition books.

The holidays are also a great time to introduce your customers to new products via a make-and-take. And, of course, consider offering a wish list program so friends and family can their scrapbooking friends exactly what they want.

May 2, 2009 marks the 15th year of National Scrapbooking Day. NSD, traditionally held the first Saturday of May, has become increasingly popular. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to build community at your scrapbook store and move product on what is essentially a holiday especially for scrapbookers!

Nowadays, shoppers are even more likely to be aware of National Scrapbooking Day due to the online presence of scrapbooking products, digital papers and kits for sale as well as popular message boards and page galleries. If you don’t invite your customers to a National Scrapbooking Day event at your store, you can bet they’ll find one—and spend their money—online instead.

You could plan a special crop for May 2, or sometime that week. Make up National Scrapbooking Day signs, prize packs, page contests and so on. Use your imagination or check out the great ideas on this site. If you host crops at your store, you definitely need one for NSD!

Or, have a great sale. Put several types of products or manufacturers’ lines on sale for the day, weekend or week. Or, offer a large percentage off the purchase of one product. It should be good for at least 40 or 50 percent off, to compete with chain retailers. But unlike when they shop at Michael’s, JoAnn’s or Hobby Lobby, your customers will almost certainly fill their baskets with much more than one item.

In a recession, everyone is looking for a deal. But economists agree that one category in which people are still willing to spend is on fun, feel-good products and experiences in the under-$20 range. This describes scrapbooking to a T! Don’t leave money on the table. Serve your customers and capitalize on National Scrapbooking Day.

Come holiday season, scrapbook stores usually have a fair amount of two types of people: picky scrapbook enthusiasts and confused gift-seekers. Solve both problems by offering store gift certificates.
In an earlier blog, I mentioned holiday wish lists. Well, besides listing specific scrapbook supplies they would like to find in their stocking, give customers the option of checking “gift certificate.”
Offer gift certificates in a wide range of denominations. Spend a little time designing a custom certificate, or have someone do it for you. Make sure your store logo is on there, as well as other pertinent information such as address, phone number and expiration date (if any).