Power Scrapping

From what I read and see, many scrappers are turning away from the high-maintenance time consuming and expensive scrapbook page. I think one thing that has changed in the scrapbook industry is the number of scrappers who have time or even like to spend 2 hours (or even 2 days) on a single page. Most of us have figured out that we are buried under a growing mountain of photos. As my husband pointed out to me last week- digital photography has become a scrapper's best friend AND worst enemy. I snap digital photos like there's no tomorrow because I know I can print out ONLY the ones I actually want. However, because I take so many photos, I now have MORE good ones that I want to scrap. You can't win! So, many of us are buckling down and turning away from the artistic side of scrapping and moving towards the "just get it done" side.

So, how can you use this in your businesses and in your own personal scrapping?

SCRAPBOOK ARTISTS: Sell the angle that your client might not have time to make the artsy pages, but you do! These days, some people have more money than time. You may find scrappers who desire to make an extra-special album for their grandmother's 80th birthday but lack the time. That's where you step in. Perhaps they would rather pay someone to do it for them than take the time to do it themselves! But, even then, use Power Scrapping (and coordinated products) to get the pages done efficiently

STORE OWNERS: Sell the kits that everyone wants. There are a ton of kit options in the scrapbook industry right now. This industry is driven by customers-they are demanding the ease of a coordinated kit so, don't disappoint them. Teach them that the kits make their scrapping more efficient in time saved both shopping and scrapping!

KIT MAKERS: Make your kits as easy to use as possible. Gone are the days when customers want to trace little patterns onto cardstock-they want it all pre-cut with ideas and easy-to-understand directions. It might mean more time for you, but you can raise your prices if need be to cover the extra time!

CONSULTANTS: Have a power-scrapping class. How about a "6 Pages in 60 Minutes" class? Sometimes we need to help people re-tool their brains. For instance, you don't have to mat EVERY photo. Cropped photos on plain cardstock with a quick embellishment can be quite effective. Teach them how to use large flat embellishments like stickers that LOOK lumpy (eyelet pounding takes time) and take up space on the page. Then teach them how to get MORE photos on a page with efficient cropping.

SCRAPBOOKERS: Understand that in 25 years, your grandchildren won't care that you spent 5 hours and $40 on one layout. They just want to see the pictures and the stories. You want your pages to look nice but nice and extravagant are two different periods of time. Take advantage of kits and coordinated products to get your photos and stories on the page as efficiently as possible. Burn-out is the number one reason scrappers stop preserving their memories. And, burn-out most often takes place in scrappers who spend the most time and money trying to make perfect pages. Learn to lower your standards a bit and re-focus yourself on the reason you started scrapbooking in the first place.

There will always be scrappers who want to scrap for the art of it, but there is a growing number of potential customers who don't have the time to think that way anymore. They crave fast and easy, yet still artistic to some extent. Provide them with the tools, products and services to help them achieve their goals and they won't lose their passion for scrapping!