The Stationers Guild

Last Christmas, a good friend of mine gave me a copy of Googled: The End of the World As We Know It by Ken Auletta.  While I have always been fascinated by the rapidly changing world of technology, this well-written book about the short history of Google is both informative and a little frightening.  Google is the brain-child of two brilliant Stanford University engineers – Larry Page and SergeyBrin – whose vision and single-mindedness created a company whose very presence has changed the way human beings receive and process information.

Google is omnipresent and those who wish to learn more should certainly read Mr. Auletta’s intelligent “story” of “The End of the World as We Know It.”  While the beauty,  mathematical simplicity and clear-sighted vision of Google’s founders is to be commended, many feel that this newly engineered world may be lacking in substance.  This prompted me to get on another reading spree which includes You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto by Jaron Lanier; Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob by Lee Siegel; and The Tyranny of E-mail: The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox by John Freeman.  These three books present a frightening view of this new technological society that most everyone is rushing forward to embrace without thinking of the consequences.  

Just a few days, a salesperson for some Internet marketing company told me that “libraries are for poor people who cannot afford Kindles.”  Does any sane person believe that libraries will continue to thrive if we uncomplicate our lives by reading books digitally?  Already, the Post Office is selling off prime real estate and closing offices and most likely eliminating Saturday deliveries.  Some will argue that this is good and, maybe it is, but maybe the postman, librarian and those inconvenienced by this change have a different viewpoint. 

The title of this article was borrowed frm Mr. Siegel’s book in which he gets progressively more alarmed at the influence of the Internet, where “knowledge is withering away into information.”   He goes on to point out that “Wikipedia . . . with its mountains of trivial factoids, of shifting mounds of gossip, of inane personal details, is knowledge in the process of becoming information.  Consumer participation in the creation of the news is information crumbling into particles of incoherence.”

Mr. Lanier is even more unforgiving, pointing out that “advertising is not singled out as the only form of expression meriting genuine commercial protection in the new world to come.  Any other form of expression is to be remashed, anonymized and decontextualized to the point of meaningless.”  I am embarrassed to quote Mr. Lanier out of context since he was the first to point out (at least that I know of) is that once Google manages to scan all of the books we will have one book that will “encourage mashups of fragments that obscure the context and authorship of each fragment . . .”  This is pretty frightening stuff indeed.

I have not slept well reading these books and was, therefore, most interested in receiving an invitation to attend a panel discussions just prior to the National Stationery Show on “Connecting with Tomorrow’s Customer and the One 10 Years from Now” with Paco Underhill from Envirosell as the Keynote Speaker.   When I inquired how they intended to approach the subject, I was informed that they would be talking about moving from two-dimensional to three-dimensional communication.  Ummmmm . . .  Most interesting.  More coming soon.

As reported earlier, Google is aggressively reaching out to local businesses to improve search results for people who place a local qualifier in a search.  Google Places is certain to overhaul the search dynamics and improve search results for those seeking “wedding invitations Greenwich, CT” or “wedding invitations 06830″.  The natural or organic search results will return a stationery store -hopefully yours – in local search results for “wedding invitations” in your town or zip code.

Clearly, mobile search has been driving Google’s effort to improve the search experience for a growing number of consumers using mobile devices.  This is a tremendous opportunity for mom and pop stores and smaller businesses to effectively position their store for mobile search.  To determine how effective your online marketing is working for you, visit getlisted.org to see how well your store stacks up for local search in the four key search engines. 

Twitter is also beginning to make “big” noise on the local search front.  While I have reluctant to recommend Twitter and other social media tools, the local search component has caused me to reassess my position.  With technology, it is difficult to forecast what is coming next, but clearly the time of Twitter and Facebook has arrived.  If you value your business and want to help tech savvy consumers find your business, it is about time to reallocate your Yellow Pages advertising budget to online search.  You will be glad you did and so will your new customers.

This is also the death knell for wedding portals who have so corrupted the local search component.  If you are paying for advertising on The Knot, Martha Stewart Wedding or other wedding portals, this money should now be reallocated to local search.  It’s a heck of a lot cheaper and far more effective.  Why pay for advertising to compete with the likes of weddingpaperdivas.com who are paying close to $50 for each sale in your local space?  Makes no sense.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

One of the more promising developments of online search is the reemergence of  ”local search.”  This is occurring at a frenetic pace as more search engine companies are targeting mobile phone or mobile device users who prefer to shop locally.  With Geo-targeting and GPS positioning, a mobile phone user can quickly find local stores within his shopping radius when he enters in a search such as “best pizza” or “business cards” or “wedding invitations.”  The search results will target stores that meet that search criteria within his or her immediate vicinity based on the embedded GPS in the phone.

The conversion rate (sales to search ratio) is reportedly 8 to 10 times higher than traditional search since the mobile phone user  generally appears more willing to act on his search results.  If true, this will bring about a huge upheaval in Internet search trends.  Companies like The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings have corrupted local search by allowing online companies and Internet resellers to “purchase” zip codes and metro-centers at the expense of local resources they claim to tout.

In effect, if you are looking for an experienced stationer in your neighborhood to craft a wedding invitation, your search results on these wedding portals will be compromised by online dealers that have co-opted this space on the pretext that they are “serving” this market.  I have been unsuccessful in convincing either The Knot or Martha Stewart Weddings that they are deliberately misleading their clients.  Needless to say, advertising dollars are more important than integrity.

With the growth of the use of mobile devices for search, wedding portals and online stationers will necessarily suffer as search results will be truly local based on the embedded GPS system in your mobile device.  Search results will once again target brick-and-mortar stores selling products and services within the vicinity of the user.  Those stores that have optimized their website and store for local search will stand to benefit.  This could bring about a much needed change in an industry where product quality has been compromised by deceptive advertising and the predatory practices of companies like The Knot and Martha Stewart Wedding who place the interests of their advertiser in front of the consumer.

If you are a stationery store, looking to optimize your website and/or bricks-and-mortar store for the mobile search revolution, please contact rmay@stationersguild.org .  We can help.

Richard W. May
Founding Member of the Stationers Guild

Sometimes I feel like Don Quixote charging digital windmills on the rapidly changing landscape of the Internet.  I have long given up hope that the etiquette, civility and  interpersonal relationships will ever be the same after a generation has been brought up believing that Jersey Shore and the Kardashians is as good as it gets in expressing yourself.

Fortunately, I do realize that there are kindred souls out there who share my concern that “good taste” is still relevant.  This morning I came across this delightful article describing someone’s shock at receiving her first Facebook wedding invitation.  With great sensitivity and delicacy, JMW, who writes A Place to Dwell blog, documents her reaction to receiving her Facebook wedding invitation.  Despite every conceivable rationalization to justify this strange behavior which includes a request to his guests “to bring a dish for the potluck reception” she finally concludes with:  “I’m going to say it: you just don’t do that!”

I am in your corner on this issue JMW and, judging from most of the comments to your Blog post, we are not alone.  How refreshing. 

Sheila P. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

The news clip below highlights one of the major advantages of shopping online for stationery and custom invitations:  No need to get dressed up for the big occasion.

In fact, if you are shopping online, you can do so in your pajamas, nightgown or – for that matter – buck naked.  Just make sure your have your credit card handy, but perhaps you are using Google Checkout or Paypal to facilitate the sale.

As more shoppers embrace the convenience of shopping online,  even fewer consider the limitations of the online shopping experience.  It is one thing to download a book on Kindle or buy an iPhone, but quite another to buy “fresh” vegetables or “fine” stationery.  In the case of the Kindle or an iPhone, it is a narrowly defined “gadget” or “device” which may be available in several different colors or memory capacity, but all of those characteristics are narrowly determined by the seller.

Buying “fresh” vegetables or “fine” stationery is quite another matter altogether.   You can’t see “fresh” on the Internet; nor can you see or feel ”fine” stationery.  Paper is as much a tactile experience as a visual experience and, frankly, digital limitations of the Internet do not allow one to capture the color and design subtleties of “real” stationery or custom invitations. 

Where extensive customization is involved it is best to get dressed up and visit your local stationer to see what “real” paper looks like.  Many online dealers spend thousands of dollars in promotional online advertising to con you into thinking you are getting a “beautiful”  wedding invitation or “stunning” stationery.   If it sounds to good to be true, it probably isn’t.  Trust your senses: all five of them!  A dose of common sense also has been known to help.

The Internet is great for purchasing products with defined characteristics.  Once you begin to introduce customization into the purchasing decision or are faced with choices that require a value judgment or cause the forgotten senses (smell and feel) to be engaged, it is wise to consider shopping the old-fashioned way.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

iPresentee plans to revolutionize the  stationery industry with its “exciting” new apps (read applications) for Apple.  iPresentee, with headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania,  is now designing “stationery” templates that are compatible with Apple Mail.  While there several free templates, the basic app can be downloaded for $25.  iPresentee was founded in 2007 by a group of professional and enthusiastic IT designers “to create high quality, easy to use and fun add-ons for Apple’s iWork and iLife applications.”

For those of you who fancy receiving an email with an Easter Bunny motif or Santa coming down the chimney, this email application might work for you.   They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and with online literacy capped at a 140 characters by Twitter, this application just might have a decent future.

I know that it seems old-fashioned, but there is something more tangible and – dare I say it – meaningful about receiving hand-written correspondence.   Pre-packaged templates often reflect the passion of the designer rather than the passion of the writer.   As with pre-scripted greeting cards conveying some mushy or humorous sentiment, just signing  “Luv Rick” doesn’t take a great deal of effort or imagination.  And now, we don’t even have to go to the store to buy a card, or put a stamp on it:  how convenient – how irrelevant!   When life is reduced to a series of “going-through-the-motions” every day more efficiently, it is time to consider getting off the Merry-Go-Round.

When our lives are automated to the extent that interpersonal communication is reduced to a digital  template and “reaching out” refers to the “send” button of your email program, something human has been lost.   The Chinese have a saying that “evil travels in a straight line.”    I do not know if that is true, but certainly John Freeman’s, The Tyranny of E-mail: The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox
is a clear wake-up call of the perils facing a more-efficient society.

Perhaps, one of the most sobering books in 20th century literature is Malcolm Lowry’s  Under the Volcano.   Mr. Lowry, who literally drank himself to death, tells the story of a fictional dipsomaniac Geoffrey Firmin,  the British Consul to Cuernavaca, Mexico during the 1930s.   The book takes place on the last day of Mr. Firmin’s life:  Dia de los Muertos which is roughly the Mexican equivalent of All Saints’ Day.

Imagine my surprise when I wake up this morning to see the latest “in-your-face” gallows humor of a Dia de los Muertos Wedding Invitation.

While the overall theme may leave a bit to be desired, this attractive and well-balanced wedding invitation ensemble by designer Alan Valek certainly strikes a chord.   According to Mr. Valek, he designed these wedding invitations for “friends.”

While I am not a superstitious person and certainly appreciate a dose of eccentric humor, this is a theme that has no place on a wedding invitation.  I trust that Mr. Valek simply did this as a promotional gimmick to draw attention to his work.   Imagine the impact of receiving this wedding invitation if one happens to be a deeply religious person whose spouse died last year, or you are suffering from a terminal illness?  

Mocking sacred ceremonies is bound to offend someone and I personally find it distasteful to gratuitiously challenge people’s sensitivities on so important an occasion.   Is this really the way you would like others to celebrate your wedding day?

Richard W. May
Threse Saint Clair

The following message was received from Kim Kreis of Sweet Pea Designs:

“Please go to www.sweetpeadesigns.com to download a dealer application form.  Email  to info@sweetpeadesigns.com or fax to 1.205.991.9246.  Applications must be filled out completely and all requested information received to be considered as a future dealer.”

Richard May
Founding Member Stationers Guild

In yet another sign of the times, Cross My Heart cards and stationery has decided to close its doors after 20 years of business effective April 5.  In an email announcement to close business associates, owner Rosanne Beck cites “the struggling economy, the digital revolution and the failure of some of our larger customers have made it impossible for us to continue under our current business model.”   One of their “larger” customers was Swoozies which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month.  

According to the announcement, the last shipping date was April 2 and all “booked” orders received after April 5, 2010 are “officially” cancelled.   Cross My Heart operates under several different brands or styles; but the communique indicates that the following divisions/brands are closed for business:   CROSS MY HEART -Hand-Painted Division;  CMH DIGITAL – Classic. Modern. Haute.

Printed Write!  will reopen for business on April 14, 2010 (Editor’s note, I believe this is now the correct website address).  Those who wish further information are advised to contact Printed Write at the contact information provided below:

New Mailing Address:
6611 Hillcrest Avenue, #304
Dallas, Texas 75205
Same Phone/Fax Numbers:

Phone: 214-363-3799
Toll Free: 800-445-5582
Fax: 214-750-7022

Editors Comment:    I hardly know what to say anymore.  On behalf of storefront stationers, distributors of Cross My Heart invitations and stationery products and the many fine employees and craftspeople at Cross My Heart that have touched our lives:  We wish you well! 

Please note that there is an online dealer called Printed Write that is based in Brooklyn, NY that operates under the trade name “Celebrate Stationery.”  I had originally reported that Printed Write and Printed Write were one-in-same.  That appears to be a mistake.  Mea culpa and sorry!

As indicated in previous News Posts, the stationery and custom invitation industry is in freefall.   When will the “true” leaders of the stationery industry step up?  As the organizers of the National Stationery Show “tweet” themselves into oblivion, leaders of the fine stationery industry have shown their true stripes:  they are little more than paper tigers.

Richard May
Founding Member Stationers Guild

As readers of this column are well aware, I have long been preaching that local stationers need to take a far more active role at promoting their store online. Whether one has a website or not, it is absolutely critical that your store be found when people are searching for products and services you sell.  

I have recently come across a useful and easy way to determine how well your store is positioned for online search.  Simply go to getlisted.org and type in the name of your business and zip code to see how well you rank.  GetListed.org quickly determines how well your store ranks on five prominent search sites (Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp and Best of the Web) and, most importantly, provides you with the essential hyperlinks to claim your business, update your existing listing and add photographs and reviews.  This is by far the most effective tool that I have seen to determine how well positioned your store is for Internet search inquiries.   Find out now!

What do GetListed.org search results mean for my store?    If your listing score is below 25%, I would drop eveything and take action now!  Just follow the useful hyperlinks on the website and create a unique identity for your store in cyberspace.  If your listing score is above 50%, give youself a pat on the back, and take action over the weekend to get your listing to the next level.  Please note that getting a listing score above 50% is almost free and may require about an hour of work on your computer.    If your listing score is above 85%, treat yourself to a glass of champagne and then do what is necessary to get to 100%. 

With the easy roadmap provided to you by GetListed.org  your local store will certainly rank in the top 5% percentile of all local listings (probably closer to 1%) for small business.  Furthermore this can be done for a total cost of under $200 a year (only Best of the Web is a tad expensive).  For those on a famine diet, Google and Bing are free.

Over the next several weeks, I will be unveiling a new strategy for Guild members to radically transform your store and online presence by opting into some of the new technologies that are reshapping the ways local businesses market themselves.    As I wrote recently, I believe that our industry (which I broadly define as personalized stationery and custom invitations) has reached a crossroads. Vendors and dealers can follow the path of least resistance and chase Internet price points down to levels which either puts them out of business or permanently compromises the integrity of their brand and/or the reputation of their business.

Experienced stationers operating through legitimate storefronts continue to be the most effective resource to promote brand awareness. Unfortunately, most of these stationers do not recognize the threat posed by the Internet and/or lack the skills or interest to promote their business effectively in this new medium.   As such, I have decided to reorient the focus of the StationersGuild to help dealers optimize their web presence within their local community so that they will have the best listing in targeted local “search space” for keywords like “wedding invitations,” “business cards,” or “stationery.”

Participation in this program is strictly voluntary, but best results and best pricing will be achieved if we act together.  Many of the programs (like getlisted.org ) are free and I will be assembling information from credible resources on the internet if you wish to implement these programs yourself.  For those who prefer to let the “pros” do it for you, I am in the process of putting together an outstanding talent pool to get the job done at rates that are probably far less than what you are currently paying for Yellow Page Advertising. 

I would love to hear from you and will be sending out a newsletter and survey shortly which goes into the program in more detail.  Ask yourself:  Are you equipped to handle mobile search?  Are those affiliate programs working for you?  Are you updating your site regularly and employing proper Search Engine Optimization strategies?  If you answered no to one or more of these questions, the new StationersGuild strategy could be right for you.

Richard W. May
Founding Member Stationers Guild