Invitation Business

Most of my emphasis in my marketing pursuits deals with preserving the retail environment. For many years retail store front owners have expressed to me their frustration with the existence of home based businesses. Over the years some of my “home based business owners” have opened up stores and now in recent times some retail store owners have down sized to home based businesses being able to shed the brick and mortar expenses, employees and inventory, focusing strictly on invitations. Keeping the phone number has allowed them to generate invitation inquiries that they have been able to make appointments to sell invitations to.

It’s father’s day and have been in this industry longer than I have been a parent (since 1981) so I am going to give out some fatherly advice. We are now in a new sales climate that unites home based businesses and retailers. The biggest vulnerability retailers in the stationery industry have is the increase of invitations being sold online discounted or full price (it doesn’t matter). We all know how important word of mouth is, and when invitations are purchased online and purchasers start recommending web sites instead of retailers, a shift in consumer behavior takes place that could evolve into online purchasing becoming the standard.

The more online sales, the less excitement about the whole invitation process. The average price is lower online. There is less customization online. That impacts the preferences of the recipients of these invitations. Home based like retail stores, sell the value of the invitation, allow customers to see and feel it, give them option to customize. This impacts retailers everywhere as most guest lists contain addresses way beyond the local area of the host. Let’s say an Encore Studios custom layered Bat Mitzvah invitation with a pocket that was purchased at a home based business in Chicago is sent to a guest in Los Angeles. The recipient loves the invitation, is planning a Bar Mitzvah and wants to do something similar. She can look on Google and will know right away that she cannot to do this online. She knows an invitation store in Los Angeles, brings the invitation in to see if they can do it and the store gets the sale. So this is an example of how a home based business can help generate business for another retailer.
The caliber of the average owner of a home based invitation is high. Many owners are successful, intelligent and creative women who chose to leave their career to have a family and want to continue to channel their talents into something challenging and income producing. How can that positively impact a local retailer? Sometimes home based business owners give it up for one reason or another but the experience they have is highly specialized. I have spoken to numerous retailers who have hired former home based business owners as managers or part time employees who perform way better than someone who had to be trained. Also if you wanted to sell your business, who would be a better candidate to sell your business to than someone with experience in your industry that is looking to go to the next level. I have helped several retailers sell their business by matching them with a home based business who was ready to expand.

So to conclude and go back to the business of spending Father’s day in the spirit it was meant to be spent, I will summarize by saying retailers and home based need to unite in the same mindset. Do whatever you can to bring customers in and get them off the computer. If you are ready to move in that direction, I can help. Summer is a good time to plant the seeds of marketing strategies that could sprout in the fall and winter. Take another look at my marketing strategies at http://www.localtrafficbuilder.com.

To the fathers that may be reading this remember always what is your most important job and hope you have or had a happy Father’s Day.

My 18 year old son has gotten into running after a lifetime of little emphasis on athletics even though he is athletic and in good shape. He wanted good running shoes so we went to Foot Locker yesterday. We walked to the sneaker section and asked a teen salesperson for help. The kid mumbled something I could not understand, pointed and waited. I know invitations and weddings and know nothing about sneakers other than my size. We tried asking other questions and he mumbled some more and finally he tried a pair of sneakers that by description seemed to be the right type. They seemed okay and we bought them for $120 and went home. He tried running with them and his feet hurt and we decided to return them. My son said that the hovering of the kid made him nervous and he felt obligated to make a decision (I guess there is a sales lesson in that) My wife returned them the next day and by the evening he wanted to try again.

I said okay and that we would go back to the same place. He said no but I convinced him telling him that I won’t let the same thing happen. We went in and asked my son if I could approach a salesperson and ask “do you know a lot about sneakers”? He gave me permission and asked a salesperson named Anthony and looked me in the eyes and said yes. Well 90 minutes later we got a sneaker education on differences for wide feet, flat feet, runners preferences and was told that the brand we returned was too narrow for my son’s wide feet. Another salesperson assisted who was a runner, my son tried on several pairs, they tied his sneakers, advised him. My son made a choice and walked away feeling that he made an intelligent choice and am confident that these sneakers are a keeper.

I guarantee you my son would feel a lot worse about returning sneakers this time. It is one thing to make a sale, that happened day one. It’s another thing to win a customer. That happened day two.

I was eating breakfast and watching Fox News and they spotlighted a pop up store in Manhattan that featured designer gowns at 90% off and it brought me back to an idea that I helped start in the early nineties.

My friend who worked for me in one of my wedding stores came with an idea to try to try buy back bridal gowns from brides after the wedding to then resell. This evolved into approaching gown manufacturers to consign discontinued dresses and one day sales were held in hotels in several states.

I wasn’t involved in those sales but adapted the idea for my wedding center business and held one day sales in hotels where my photography, video, flowers, invitations, limousines, favors were all priced lower for that day. All the bride would need to do is leave a deposit to hold the price and could finalize the details later. I held three sales and booked 25-40 new customers each time.

Coincidentally the economic climate paralleled what were are going through now. So my thinking is there can be a good opportunity for a wedding business to find a vacant large store in a very busy area (mall etc) - rent it for a few days and bring in vendors who all agree to have a special sale. Also can be easily done at a hotel or banquet hall.

If anyone is interested in doing it and have questions contact me.

I had the pleasure of entertaining Gayle and Jim O’Donnell, owners of All About Weddings in Tukwila, Washington which was something we planned for months revolving around the National Stationery Show. We went to dinner with my wife, Stacy who is also an invitation retailer (she owns “Make An Impression”), we toured Encore and my wife’s store (which took 10 seconds), and had a sleepover in my home.

Gayle and I go back a number of years; she helped me promote my book, “The Wedding Expert’s Guide To Sales and Marketing”, to members of “Association of Bridal Consulants” (which I still sell but you can download it right now for free by clicking here), her and Jim have always attended my seminars, she is an active Encore dealer and is a client of mine with Local Traffic Builder. The idea for our get together came from our time we spent together attending Wedding MBA, a trade show and seminar rich conference for wedding professionals. I will speaking and exhibiting there this year September 21-24 in Las Vegas.

We talked a great deal about business issues on both sides and have to think that our time together will make a positive difference in each other’s lives. She gave me some honest criticism about how Encore needs to improve. I gave her consulting advice that can unleash her potential and cut her overhead drastically.

One of the things she talked to me about was how she helped Preston Bailey, the well known party planner use “Twitter”. She was going to help me but we didn’t have time. I’m a big boy, I supposedly understand the internet, so I figured it out myself. My twitter screen name is “WeddingWiseguy”. Twitter helps you broadcast information in a concise manner. You only have 140 characters to get the message across and you can follow other Twitter members and you can sign up to follow me. Each communication is called a “tweet”. Very hot social networking site…

I have to admit I am filled with admiration for Cinda Baxter. This is one former retailer who read the writing on the wall that was there for the world to see before it became visible to most. When she had a store, she differentiated her invitation business by doing so much in store printing and customization so she would not be used as a library and as an immunization tool against the web. She started dialogs among retailers and she established a company to help retailers, something she is most qualified to do.

Her latest initiative is what inspires me because I live my life to make a difference and what she established in the 3/50 Project which encourages support and preservation of the local retailer is brilliant and perhaps can resurrect a loyalty, passion and understanding in consumers that is being muted by overexposure to a computer screen.

Every bit of publicity she gets is well deserved and as a retailer who opened a store at age 23 and has been a small independent retailer for 28 years (even though I officially retired from active duty in 1996 but my wife carried on), wow am I motivated to spread the word of this initiative. Take a look at http://www.the350project.net
I am sure this will be the talk of the Stationey Show.

As most of my clients and associates enjoy a holiday this weekend, I am inspired to share some insights about my most important job, being a parent. I have a 12 year old daughter Jordan who is spirited, inquisitive, sensitive and a very talented singer, dancer and actress. My son Eric is 18 and has exceeded me in so many ways that his base of knowledge and insights are something that I often tap into. He also is very talented, particularly in acting but his passion is religion.

I made many choices in my life in favor of parenthood including getting out of retail so I could have more balance in my life especially when my kids were young and as I have written about the stationery and bridal industry, I ‘ve dabbled into parenting. So here is an article I wrote about that subject when my kids were younger.

Some Fatherly Advice

My mother always told me that I would never understand how much she loves me until I became a parent. As a parent with a fourteen year old son, Eric and a eight year old daughter, Jordan, I can only begin to understand the selfless love she had for me in allowing me to stay out until all hours of the night even though she could not fall asleep until I came home and allow me to make numerous mistakes even though she knew I was making them. Even so she was rooting for me so hard for me to be right.

When Eric was born, my wife Stacy and I had a newly purchased home in Teaneck waiting for him and a commitment that we would be proactive in fostering a Jewish identity. Besides loving him, I knew little else and could garner very little from any book I read on parenting.

However in my heart and mind parenting was the most important part of my purpose and I was going to do everything in my consciousness to be the best parent I can possibly be. The first step was to pay daily attention to my children as human beings and be there for them in ways that were right for each child. Secondly I reflected on my own personal development, my experience as a child and my perception of my own parents. This introspection continues to help me not only to guide me on action steps to achieve my own goals of parenthood but equally important it has helped to determine steps not to take.

Here are some of my own insights from continuing journey in parenting that I think have been valuable in the rearing of my children:

Quality time

Be aware of your energy level at different times of the day and week. Have the energy that the activity you participate with your child demands. An hour of quality time where you have the mental and physical energy to able to fully concentrate and rise up to an experience with your children a few times a week is worth more than daily attempts when you are tired and just doing so out of guilt.

Stacy and I from the very beginning made it a priority to be there for all the milestones and defining moments including birthdays, school plays, recitals, ballgames, and parent teacher conferences. That goes a long way in the quality time department and will reinforce the message how important your children are to you.

Developing and following through on separate rituals with each child is a wonderful way to create strong memories of the separate connection each of your children have with you. I am thankful for the many “Starbucks” coffee locations for allowing me to continue a ritual with my daughter who always wants to go to “the coffee place” and have her chocolate covered graham crackers. While I am drinking my iced decaf, I am having relaxed time to talk with my daughter just the two of us.

Another ritual that I have done through the years is inserting a note with their lunch. For my daughter it is would always be a “I love you” poem like:

I love you more
the a dog loves to bark
I love you more
than a car loves to park

(just tried to keep it simple)

For my older son, it is a tidbit of advise such as:

“Advanced preparation avoids last minute perspiration” (perhaps on a night he was up late doing last minute homework)

Perhaps the most important suggestion in the category of quality time is to begin and end the day with an expression of love, whether it is in words, whether it is a hug, whether it is a call from the cell phone if you are not home.

However, do not smother your child with continuous “I miss you” particularly when they are away. The chances are if they are having a good time, they don’t miss you and feelings of guilt may ensue of why they don’t miss you.

Sensitivity

Some parents have the notion that holding back feelings in front of children is showing them strength. Children have feelings that need to be expressed and when parents hold back tears in situations when it is appropriate to cry, even in a situation as simple as watching a movie, you are giving your child an example of suppression. It is a wonderful gift you are giving your children when you are open and show them that life moves you.

Conversely children need to be able to cry without guilt and without being judged. The mourning process for a child is not just confined to death; it could be the loss of the fulfillment of a dream, a break up of a girl or boy friend, or a best friend moving.

All parents make mistakes, overreact, and do regrettable things. The quicker you own up to them the less likely your child will internalize. I try so hard to coach myself through times when my temper is flaring up and on some occasions my temper wins the battle.

However, any time that I really yelled at my children, I almost immediately apologized to them by saying, “what you did may have been wrong, but how I reacted to it was wrong too”. I am hoping this life lesson will be invaluable as an adult where they can heal and diffuse negative situations by being willing to apologize from their heart.

Self Esteem

To me nothing is more important in the role of parenting than the fostering of psychological development so that our children can be independent, confident, well-adjusted adults. However I feel it is important to paint a real picture. Do not over-compliment and make every little achievement a major feat. Children need a true gauge of your real feelings about their accomplishments or they will start to doubt you when they compare your superlative feedback compared to what they receive in the real world.

Saying No

I love my children too much for me to ever want them to experience an ounce of fear of me. My goal is for them to have a ton of respect for me. I try not to pull rank except in an urgent situation. I try to be a gentle wall of strength when saying “no”, trying to have the resolve to maintain my position when I know it is right and explain with respect and patience rather than with wrath and impatience. Sometimes my children have a valid point and I am willing to change my mind.

Preparation

Among the greatest joys as a parent is to see your children having fun and sharing experiences together. I have found that hunger, fatigue, change in climate are all factors that can needlessly ruin a great family experience.

My van looks like it belongs to a survivalist. It is filled with blankets, pillows, clothing for my entire family, first aid kits, games, snacks, drinks, and videos. I even had blow-up potties and urinals at different points.

I have found on countless occasions overkill on preparation has prevented needless ruination of wonderful family experiences. Rather than react with anger to your children’s complaints and their mood swings, respond with the appropriate remedy. It is usually one of three things: hunger, fatigue or discomfort.

When staying in hotels, a compromise between being cramped in one room and paying double for separate rooms, look for suite hotels that extra amenities like a microwave, refrigerator and extra television. They also provide separate sleeping quarters for you and your children not only for privacy during adult time, but for better quality rest and allow you and your family to have their space. Time-manage your precious vacation days by going to a store (if possible) and buy drinks, snacks and especially breakfast food. Breakfast in the room can help get your kids out of bed, and save time in helping your day get off to a quicker start.

These are some of the parenting strategies that have helped me journey into adolescence. Now I will have to go back to the drawing board.

I have a second home in Florida which I hope to spend more time at in the future. Right now I go about 2-3 times a year. Usually when I am down there, I visit a few invitation businesses. This time I scheduled two visits around picking up friends at Fort Lauderdale Airport. I was particularly moved and inspired by both stores I visited.

My first visit was to Jo Noble at Best Wishes in Hollywood. I arrived on time for our 9:30 meeting and was welcomed by her son Robert who explained that Jo was in the hospital. Before I got too upset or concerned, he explained that she had to have an injection and would be back in the store later. Jo is 88 years old, has been in business for over 40 years (20 at her current location) and she has a fracture that would make no sense to treat at her stage, so she is managing the daily pain. So I proceeded to my second appointment.

Sylish Invitation Designs is a new store in Dania, owned by two young, enthusiastic women who are living their dream only a few miles away on the same road. Chantal and Aledia are two friends who left their professions to be entrepreneurs. They had done it part time from home for a few years and had the courage to open a store when so many are closing. However, the advantage is they have a landlord who is just grateful to have a tenant. They have a charming store that is large enough for their needs for under a thousand dollars a month rent.

The passion and excitement they both possessed brought me back almost 30 years to when I opened my first store in 1981. I struggled but it was exciting. For a while I actually lived in my store because I could not afford an apartment. I immediately envisioned a direction for these two owners and immediately discussed with them that the most important direction they can take is to build their own personal brand as a dynamic duo. They have a two separate curtains that partition their showroom from their office and they have a counter in front of the partition.

I suggested they install a pull down presentation screen and turn their counter into a podium and move their furniture once a month and conduct a seminar on party planning and invitation design. They could designate a day each month (third Wednesday at 7:00) and promote that in all their marketing and have customers register for the next seminar at any time. I gave them lots of other suggestions but I could tell this was the one that stuck.

I share this with my readers because one of the way a store could differentiate themselves is by posturing themselves as experts and be an educator. I feel they will go far. They are both warm and understand how important it is to show customers hospitality.

After an hour and a half, I drove back to Best Wishes and Jo was there to greet me. She immediately shared with me a design idea that she felt could help Encore and had samples to give me to bring back. She is engaging, sharp, passionate and cares so much about the business. We talked about different industry issues and then we went out to lunch. This is when I realized that Jo is a “Hollywood Icon”. Every person we saw knew her from people we saw when we parked the car to patrons in the restaurant. While Jo has a mind that is well exercised on a daily basis and talks politics and business, her eyesight has surrendered to her age and could hardly see but nobody locally would ever know.

My suggestion to Jo was similar to her young competitors that I also felt that PR was an answer too. The only difference is that Jo’s life story is newsworthy and inspirational to any audience. Any Florida paper or local news station who wouldn’t do a story on her is missing a great opportunity. Seeing her walk spryly, speak with conviction and clarity, challenge some of the philosophy’s on life I shared with her when she could have easily just nodded in agreement. She is in the fight every day, refusing to compromise and reduce the value of her service. She will not discount. So my idea for her is just to make it known she wants to tell her story. The rest will follow.

So the next few days were relaxing but the experiences with these two businesses were as nourishing to my soul as walking in the Florida sunshine.

Our recent marketing survey shows that if an invitation retailer is selling online, they are working with co-branded web sites. The most popular listed were from Carlson Craft, Embossed Graphics, Brickstores, Sweet Pea, Kate Aspen, and Checkerboard. Encore is working on something dynamic that will be announced soon….

So, yes, if you have a web site and do not sell online, it is easy and inexpensive to add co-branded links for repeat customers, potential clients where the bride, groom and their families can all collaborate from different parts of the country and also to help in store customers come in with a preference. However, the expectation of adding co-branded web sites and just wait for all those online orders to come in is delusional. When you see web sites that offer e-commerce come up on top of the search engine that is as a result of a heavy investment of time and money. You see millions of search results for a term like “wedding invitations”. There are roughly 20 listings on the first page of google who either come up naturally or pay to be a sponsor. So what will make you so special to come up on top of Google. You better be prepared to hire an expert.

Unless you plan to invest thousands of dollars monthly, your realistic goal is to come up prominently when customers type in local information in their search or through pay per click where you can bid on key words to be guaranteed to come up prominently but strictly in your local area. Both approaches are important.

The main thought of this article is if you are thinking about investing in your own e-commerce technology, photographing and scanning your own images, please think again unless you have created your own product line that is hot or cool. Online real estate is far more competitive than retail space. If you are a home based business that is thinking about a major web site to increase business, open a small store, it is a buyer’s market to get good space for a fair rent and invest in local marketing. If you are a store that has high overhead, downsize to a store that is a lower rent and market it. More customers still buy in a retail location than on the web and they spend more money. Customers that come to a destination and make an appointment are generally more serious and more committed than walk-ins who can just happen to see your location, pop in and waste your time months before they intended to buy or knowing where they are going to buy and only visiting because they happened to be right there.

And if you think selling online is not a lot of work, it is just as consuming and detailed as being a retailer if you are spending the time and effort to market to generate sales. If not you will have plenty of time to do other things because your site will only be occasionally found and you need tremendous traffic to generate just a few sales as opposed to just needing a few retail customers in your store to generate a sale.

Thank you to 195 retailers who participated in the survey, which is a great random sample of the industry to learn from. I developed survey to better understand what retailers are doing to help their business. I also wanted to create an opportunity for retailers to focus on marketing and think about what they are doing to help their business and look at other options that were covered in the questions. There are some observation that follow on certain questions on the survey but please click onto the survey before viewing the observations.
To view the results click on to the link http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=jvELctQMGmUKnhU6Ugik7mDwklfjYZr7ZWJCNdgawDI_3d.

Some observations

Question 1 on what marketing strategies are important to attracting local customers.

Word of mouth, internet, bridal shows and networking were used and ranked important to a vast majority surveyed. Ironically to those that use yellow pages and newspaper, only a minority of respondants ranked these strategies as important. This is very revealing to the shift of importance to web presence being far more effective to getting local customers than the off-line methods, whose effectiveness continue to decrease. I did neglect to include wedding magazines, which I think is also important because of the target audience. However, magazines that are strictly handed out at bridal shows or left at random free distribution points are less effective than paid magazines or those that are also distributed through more individualized distribution points like bridal registries or other distribution points that have access to the bride on a one-to-one basis in an early stage of the planning process.

Question 3 - Networking

A majority of the dealers survey network by actively recommending their associates which is very important. However only a small percentage exchange client information. Because there are gaps of time that may pass between the time a referral is made and the time the actual planning for that service is started, the most important networking initiative between vendors is exchange of information so that follow-up can be done to reinforce the referral made. For example a caterer, gives out your business card and says some nice words about your business. If the wedding is not for another year, months pass and it is likely she will forget about the referral. If you have the contact info, you can call, mail or email incorporating that you were referred by the caterer and that referral will much more likely come to fruition.

Question 5 - Bridal Show follow-up

The only method that the majority of respondents use to follow up with bridal show attendees is email. At the show make some sort offer for a limited time that creates urgency. An integrated approach of phone, mail and email will generate much more response than email alone. I know that telemarketing is sometimes frowned upon but how about looking at it as a voice advertisement. Considering calling in the late morning knowing you will mostly likely get their voice mail and leave a short, enthusiastic message. A few people will likely call back, it will be as effective as direct mail or email and there is little time wasted on the phone even talking to someone who was not prepared for the call. That same strategy can be used for any referral names you get from your networking group.

Question 6 - Maintaining a data base of customers

I was pleasantly surprised to see how many dealers maintain customer data bases. Calling satisfied customers to see how they are is not a cold call, if it is by the person who worked with them on their invitations and a good rapport was built. Call to wish them a happy birthday, happy holiday or anniversary and ask them if they know anyone who is planning a party.

Question 7 -  Referral Incentives

Very few dealer use referral incentives. I feel they can be effective to motivate customers to refer you again once they receive a gift for doing it the first time. If at all possible at least acknowledge every referral if you can identify who your new customer was recommended by.

Question 8 - Testimonials

Testimonials that are authentic in the eyes of the prospective customer can help make a sale. Enhance the presentation of thank you cards you receive by pairing them with the invitation you did for that satisfied customer.

Question 9 - Promotional Material

Almost all participants hand out business cards. However, since invitations are such a visual and tactile product, using actual promotional invitations or 4 color pieces with quality photos can help drive customers to your store and help leave a more lasting impression on customers who left undecided. Also hand out materials that help with the planning that the customer might refer to see your name. Some suppliers also provide materials that you can hand out and some will personalize it for you.

Question 10 - Public Relations

Most marketing experts will tell you that the right editorial exposure is better than the best ad because you are being given credibility by an outside source rather tooting your own horn with an ad. Yet hardly any dealers surveyed do any PR because they do not have the time or do not know how. In your local market reaching out to editors of special sections for local magazines and newspapers explaining that you would like to be a resource to help educate their readers if a relevant opportunity comes up can be the easiest pathway to getting free publicity. The end result in enough publicity is being postured as an expert or entity that creates buzz and demand for your business. Customer seeking out a business because they are impressed with an article written or a photo seen associated with the local business is less likely to be discount driven or comparative shop than a customer that responds to an advertisement. PR is worth doing and becoming educated on how to do it. PR firms may be cost prohibitive for the average retailer, so it is something that you need to take on in-house.

Questions 11-15 Having a web site and marketing online.

I think that the statistic of 72% of those surveyed that reported having a web site probably exceeds the actual industry percentage. Every invitation business should have a web site because almost all customers looking for invitations are researching online. Having a web site is becoming an issue of the credibility of a business to customers other than referrals. Equally as important to having a web site is making sure that the web site is found and only minority of dealers even market online. This is to the detriment of the entire retail environment as the online environment is dominated by online retailers. Retailers do not need to be found nationally but it is essential they are found locally. I feel that at this point you know you have a successful online presence if over 30% of your retail customers found you online.

Below are a list of advertising and marketing ideas that might be helpful from comments given by dealers surveyed.

Have an in store bridal show or event if you have the space. Another off-shoot of that idea is to have a planning seminar with an outside speaker if you do not feel comfortable doing the seminar yourself.
Marketing to bridal consultants and party planners to refer you (if they do not already sell invitations).
Temple and Church Bulletins.
Joining local chamber of commerce and woman’s clubs.
Join local chapter of NACE and ISES which have caterers and other vendors to network with.
Seek out holiday boutiques and temple events to display at
Donate gift certificates for exposure at fund raisers

Many dealers also expressed interest in some of the marketing services offered by Local Traffic Builder. For those who did not take the survey that web site is www.localtrafficbuilder.com

For many dealers who developed a web site, a feeling of accomplishment, pride and excitement ensued. Somehow they felt they were now up to date with the times and that their business would be impacted in a positive way. Most retailers were correct in their assumption if their site was designed professionally or the graphic designers among us who used the right web design program melded with their own eye for design and creativity. For the consumer, a web site is now a form of credibility, an intermediate step before investing the time to go a retailer. If customers are impressed, that is a good enough reason for having a web site alone. Web sites that are image rich, whether residing in the pages of the actual web site or outbound links to co-branded web sites can help the customer come in with a preference for a design that can save hours of time in going through albums. Shortening the decision process is one way of making a sale more profitable besides selling a more expensive item.

However the real success of a web site for a local retailer lies in how easy it is to be found by local customers.

Because retailers collectively do not have visible web presence, in most areas, implementing an invitation and bridal related retailer implementing a professional local search marketing program could equate to being the one shining star in the sky on a dark night or being the only ad in a magazine filled with editorial. The reason I say that is for more than half of the consumers that are online researching with the intention to purchase at a local retailer, your local listing that resides on the first page of the search results on Google and AOL (when the rest are online offerings or national directories) is the most relevant listing for the consumer’s search. The consumer will know that because that if you are a local business, your geographic information is seen. Getting set up with google adwords is something you can do yourself but there are so many components and intricacies to setting it up and so much time needed to maintain it properly. There is so much detail that Google has a certification course that we have completed.

The program is pay-per-click, meaning that you are set up with google to only pay them when someone clicks onto your web site from the sponsored search results on top or on the right hand side of the page of results.

That is not the only way to be found. There are organic ways to come up high on the search engine results for local searches. To come up on the top of the search engines for general terms like “wedding invitations” involves thousands of dollars and thousands of hours in search engine optimization. However, if you are in Des Moines, Iowa, it is much easier to come up if someone is typing in “Wedding Invitations Des Moines”.

The first way to even have a chance of being found organically, is to make sure that your web site content reflects different key words grouped with local information. Besides searches for web sites, there are also searches for images and videos that are being conducted for the same key words. So having them on your web site can be helpful in getting found. Making frequent updates on your web site is helpful as a pattern is determined by Google on how often they think you update your web site and will electronically scan your web site for relevance in different key word searches. That determines how high up you will appear. Another little known way is the age of the domain name. Even if your web site is new, if it is a domain name that was registered 10 years ago that helps.

Naturally just like wedding and party magazines, there are wedding and party web sites that attract a tremendous amount of relevant traffic and you can pay for a local listing. A number of retailers I have spoken to have gotten some customers from www.theknot.com. There are others that are free to a get a basic listing and then pay for an upgraded listing. An example of free directories with other advertising options are:

www.weddingwire.com

www.gatheringguide.com

www.wedalert.com

www.weddepot.com

Another web sites to look at for exposure”

www.weddingzone.net

Another strategy to help support the traffic to your web site is establishing a blog. A blog has a separate web site address and can act as an ongoing newsletter where you share information that is of interest to your readers and you can communicate the availability of this resource to your customers and establish a link on your web site and the blog would link to your web site. As I mentioned earlier, search engines try to find the most relevant information for a customer that is searching for something specific and blogs are highly rated by search engines because of their editorial aspect. Ironically this blog sometimes gets found by consumers doing general searches for invitations. A free way to establish a blog which is recorded by search engines (I use it)
www.wordpress.com

Here are some other tools:

Establish profiles on the following sites:

www.facebook.com- build a profile of your business, a fan page for your business and build or participate in groups for networking and learning.

www.myspace.com- develop a network of people you know and build a profile of your business

www.linkedin.com  - develop a profile and network with people you know and others by interest

www.plaxo.com  - similar to linked in(above)

www.digg.com  - build incoming links to the content on your site which can help build traffic

www.youtube.com and post videos or an invitation slide show with a graphic of your web site.

I hope these ideas and resources help your business, and if you need help with implementation because of time constraints or want to maximize the benefits of these resources, we can help… www.localtrafficbuilder.com