digital dollars
One positive difference with the lower When asked what kind of profit they made for these classes a
attendance is that you could actually talk look of horror crossed their faces. The comment was usually
with exhibitors and get information you needed at the show “There’s no way a store owner can make a profit with digital
instead of waiting a long time to be helped. Manufacturers I scrapbooking”.
spoke with were happy with their show sales and felt they sold
more because other manufacturers chose not to attend. If you think there is no way to make a profit teaching digital
scrapbooking why would you even bother to offer the class in
As a new exhibitor at the CHA show I encountered retailers your store? Are you in business to lose money?
who were paralyzed by fear because of the economy and were
doing desperate things. In an effort to reach their customers If your customer offered to pay you $20 to teach a roofing
who are interested in digital scrapbooking they are quickly class so they could learn to re-roof their house would you do
heading down the road to financial doom. it? Why not? What’s the difference?
What, financial doom just because they’re offering digital Don’t put your hands in your customer’s pocketbook
scrapbooking classes? Are you confused? For years I’ve been and assume that your customer will not purchase digital
telling store owners that digital scrapbooking classes will bring scrapbooking products from you. By not stocking digital
new customers and revenue into their stores. Now I’m saying products in your store while offering classes you are
it will cause you to lose money? What’s the deal? encouraging your customers to shop from online digital stores
that don’t compensate you for the time you’re spending to
s
What I’m saying is don’t offer digital scrapbooking classes (or send them new educated customers.
any other classes for that matter) in your store unless you have
a system set up to actually make a profit. The attendees of the CHA Craft Super Show that came to
the digital scrapbooking classes told me they’ve asked their
Several retailers I met were eager to share with me that they retailers to offer classes to no avail. They were excited
were offering digital scrapbooking classes. Their scenario was to take a basic photo editing class learning
usually the same: things as simple as lightening up a dark photo
• Spend hours writing up their own class or adding a fancy filter to a photo with just
• Use a kit they’d purchased for personal use from an online one click. They learned they could organize their photos
digital scrapbooking website and distribute it to their in ways that astounded them and in the end they purchased
customers (this is a copyright violation). products and inquired where they could buy other digital
• Charge each customer $20 for a 3 hour class products at the show.
• 2-3 customers in each class
• Pay their staff to run the store during class time As I left the consumer show I reflected on the trade show and
• Sell no digital products and hope the customer buys wished a few of the retailers I’d spoken to would have stayed
traditional supplies and experienced the excitement.
Patty Debowski is the founder of
www.RetailerDigiHelp.com and
www.TheDigitalScrapbookTeacher.com and the
author of Digital & Hybrid Scrapbooking & Card-Making with Photoshop Elements. Patty offers retailer training
and digital scrapbooking classes including the Digi-Degree Boot Camp across the nation. Email Patty at Patty@
TheDigitalScrapbookTeacher.com. Patty recently taught “Retailers - Attract New Customers with Classes for
Digital Scrapbooking” at the CHA Orlando show.
38 scrapbook business
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