The Stationers Guild

I have just participated in a brief interactive tour of Google+ or Google Plus, which is Google’s new social media platform which will be launched shortly to compete with Facebook.    Unfortunately, I was not on the short list to Beta test Google+ so I really can’t comment on how effective it will be in reshaping the social media arena.

Nevertheless, most of the techies seem to think it will be big.  If you are new to the social media game or simply reluctant to jump into the arena, I suggest that  you give Google+ a chance, because it incorporates many other local search features (Google Places) that are critical to the success of small businesses.

Let’s face it, Google has been helping small businesses develop a presence on the internet for FREE for a number of years.  From my perspective, they have done more to encourage local business owners to stake a claim in cyberspace  than any other company.  The addition of the social media component (Google+) to Google Places is a very powerful marketing tool for local store owners.  Doesn’t it make sense to invest a little time and find out how claiming your business can help you?  It’s FREE and well worth your effort.

Mind you, I like Facebook, but Google has a lot more going for it than becoming a fan of Kim Kardashian.    While it’s best to have a foot in both camps, I’d jump into Google+ as soon as it is launched.

People shop online and most stationery companies have been obliged to provide consumers with an online alternative.  For many years, people thought that Jane or John Doe consumer would either buy online or exclusively at a bricks and mortar store.  As we well know, they are likely to do both depending on circumstances which are not easy to predict.  The industry has been tip-toeing around channels of distribution for quite some time and it is clear that bricks and mortar stores require some level of online presence to engage clients who may wish to visit their store or purchase products online.

I recently picked up the Summer 2011 Instore Magazine that was published for the Dallas Gift Show.  In this magazine, there are several interesting articles that are most useful to store owners getting their feet wet in online marketing:

• The ABCs of SEO by Cindy Baldhoff
• Use YouTube to Engage with Your Customers
• Getting Social with Email Marketing by Ron Cates and,
• Where’s your ‘Stupid List”?

Now, I have no way of knowing if anyone is going to read these articles, let alone act on them, but they contain plenty of very good advice and suggestions.  I suspect that people’s eyes will glaze over and they will get back to business as usual.  It’s understandable, but a real shame.

Crane and William Arthur now have affiliate marketing programs.  There is no reason why bricks and mortar stores can’t share in the online revenue stream if they do a little work.  Will they?  I suspect not, because they lack the tools and the knowledge to do so successfully and are perhaps frightened that they may end up cannibalizing their existing business.  Is this a reason to stay out of the fray?  No, but most will choose to sit on the sideline and surrender the bounty to professional affiliate marketers.  Let me explain.

Online affiliate marketers will hype anything and many have become quite rich by focusing on key words and building website devoted exclusively to capturing affiliate income.  The acai berry diet (14 million search pages) that is hyped by online marketers is a perfect example of how this works.  In fact, I have attended several online seminars that teach you the techniques to optimize your site for acai berry diet searches so you can capture affiliate income.  Even if you decide not to activate your affiliate program with Crane or William Arthur, someone else will to your detriment.

Let me give you an example of a website I setup over a year ago (no affiliate links as yet) to test various automatic “content-generating” products in the market.  The site is nycweddinginvitations.org.      I have done relatively little to this website, but will soon be adding graphics to make it look attractive and begin to add affiliate links and perhaps add an online store.  This website was FREE and costs about $1.50 a month to run.  I then use several Wordpress tools to skim the Internet to look for articles that use my key words (“nyc invitations,”  “nyc wedding invitations,” nyc wedding stationery,”) and then these articles are automatically “spinned” (term for substituting synonyms and rearranging sentence structure to avoid duplicate content) and then published automatically on the NYC wedding invitations website.  You can establish multiple websites using the same strategy built around different key words but perhaps using the same graphics.   All of this is basically FREE and by using the appropriate Wordpress Plugins, ALL OF THIS IS FULLY AUTOMATED  (i.e. no human intervention).

Now, you may have a much prettier website than I do, but because my website has been optimized for search, it is far more likely that it will appear higher in a Google search result than your store.  The first listing in Google’s Organic Search (not paid!) statistically receives between 30% and 46% of the clicks.  Pretty scary, isn’t it?

This is how professional affiliate marketers work.  Sure, there are a lot more wrinkles using Facebook Fan Pages, YouTube, Landing Pages and other strategies, but I can assure you that just because you decide not to actively and aggressively support the Affiliate Programs kindly provided to you by your Vendors, others will!

Is this good for the industry?  I think not, but this is why Tiny Prints and many other online “printing” companies who wouldn’t be able to pick out an engraving press from a lineup of toilet bowls will eat your lunch and mine too!

Isn’t it time to figure out what we can and should do to preserve the quality standards in our industry?  Together we can do this the “right” way and preserve the integrity of our industry  Rest assured that there are plenty of people out there who will and can sell anything and make a fine living doing so.  They are real pros and I admire their spunk.

Call me at 203-661-2927 or email me at rmay@stationersguild.org with your ideas and suggestions.

Richard W. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

As I have reported many times, internet search results are often manipulated by very smart people to the detriment of the consumer and visitors who are looking for information rather than a sales pitch.   As most of you are no doubt aware, Google and most other major search engines segregate their page listings into two areas:  paid search and organic search.  For instance, if you are searching for ”wedding invitations” using the Google search bar, the results page will look something like this:

The search for “wedding invitations” returns more than 14 million pages which Google has found which contains information relevant to wedding invitations.  The three lead paid search results bracketed in RED are paid ads where companies bid for the top placement.  In this particular case, Wedding Paper Divas, bid more than Normans Printery (whoever that is) and Google places them in the top position because of that fact.  Immediately below the top three paid listings are the ORGANIC listings.  These listings are derived from a proprietary algorithm  developed by Google to determine the most relevant websites for that search term, independent of any paid advertising.    They use over 100 factors in determining that ORGANIC relevancy, include key word density, title bars, backlinks from other websites and many other factors.

While the companies on the first page of Google for paid and organic search results can often be radically different, in this particular case Wedding Paper Divas also occupies the Number 1 position in ORGANIC search as highlighted in GREEN.   Why is this important?  Simply stated, the first listing in ORGANIC search will attract somewhere between 36% to 45% of clicks, almost twice the percentage of the next organic listing.   In other words, it pays to the be the number one organic listing for key search terms.   For that reason, many businesses will do most anything to obtain that coveted ranking:  It is big dollars!

In a fascinating article that appeared in the New York Times on Sunday entitled The Dirty Little Secrets of Search, NYT’s investigative reporters discovered that J.C. Penney’s had used “black hat” SEO (search engine optimization) tactics to grab the number one organic listing for key product search terms.  When the information was reported to Google, who conducted their own investigation, J.C. Penney was manually stripped of its number one listing and its search relevancy signficantly altered (in some cases falling to as low as 77 (seventh page of search results).   All this for a company that was listed number 16 of the most influential 500 internet retailers.

While J.C. Penney’s has now fired the SEO firm that was responsible for these questionable marketing strategies, I suspect that its reputation will be permanently damaged by this revelation.  Nevertheless, it raises a number of question for firms that are practicing similar strategies.   The wedding industry in particular is ripe for “black hat” marketing.   For local retailers, it is absolutely imperative that you do everything legitimately possible to boost your online presence.  Google and other search engines try to list “local” providers if they believe that qualified local suppliers exist.  There are a number of simple and inexpensive ways to do so.  Don’t let online marketing companies destroy the stationery industry.

Consumers are waking up to the fact of the deceitful practices of many internet marketing companies.  Congratulations to Google for taking the high road and acting promptly to safeguard the integrity of their search algorithm.

Richard W. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

It has been awhile since I have posted articles on the Stationers Guild website. It isn’t for lack of interest, it is simply that I have found that the landscape of SEARCH and INTERNET MARKETING is changing so radically that  it is difficult to know how to position one’s business.  The new search parameters imposed by Google are so impactful that most local business owners need to seriously rethink their overall marketing strategy. 

For the most part, I believe that these changes are “good” (where “good” is a relative term) for local business owners since geo-targeting capabilities in most new cellphones raise the importance of local search results.  The bad news is that if a local business doesn’t have a website or has a website that is not properly configured for local search, they will be left out in the cold.  Found below are – in my estimation - some of the more impactful implications of Google’s emphasis on “Google Place Results”:

1. In the past, a local business did not need  a website to be listed on the Google 7 or 10-pack list of local businesses.  The Google Lucky 7-pack has now disappeared and has been replaced by Google Place Search.   Don Campbell of Expand2Web describes the impact of these changes on local search.   If you don’t have a website, get one now!
2. New and growing constraints on AFFILIATE marketing by Google are designed to provide an online  buyer or visitor with improved or more relevant SEARCH results.  Gone are the days when one could throw up an affiliate website designed to generate commissions if one clicks on the embedded link and buys something on a sponsor’s site.   In fact, I have recently discovered many websites designed to link to third-party websites may have already been deindexed by Google and may not even show up in search registries. 
3. While all of these factors are positive for local businesses over the long term, it does require a greater commitment by local business owners to embrace internet marketing.  Fortunately, there are a number of relatively inexpensive ways to do so.  Nevertheless, it is important to act now.

Because of these changes, I have decided to overhaul the Stationers Guild website.  These changes will occur over the next several months but are designed to enhance the visitor’s website experience and  promote affiliate programs with established vendors who have a commitment to excellence and support their storefront dealers.  I think you will find the Guild website will become increasingly more valuable as it will begin to support your local marketing initiatives.  More on this later. 

For those who wish to learn more about creating a viable online presence, I have established a sister website called www.rite4u.com which will give you the lastest insights into the latest changes in internet marketing and the “best” tools to take advantage of these changes in technology.  Through this website you will be able to access valuable affiliated resources such as Don Campbell’s Expand2Web which builds local search friendly Wordpress websites. More information on Expand2Web will be forthcoming shortly. 

If you value your business and seem confused or concerned about the evolution of the stationery industry, I suggest that you register now at rite4.com and learn how you can protect and grow your investment.

Richard W. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

As most of you are no doubt aware, I have written extensively on how important it is to claim your business on Google.  This service is FREE and THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS INVESTMENT YOU CAN MAKE!   Google has just made it more so, by eliminating other “local” search directories from search queries that contain a local qualifier.   For instance, if one is looking for “wedding invitations Omaha” on Google you will no longer be able to find directories such as local.com or YELP search rersults.  With one deft stroke, Google has killed the competition for local search directories that have been piggy-backing for free on their search network.

Here is what you need to do:

1. If you have not claimed your business on Google, do so immediately.  It is simple, FREE and the most valuable investment you can make.  Just click on the hyperlink and do it now.  It takes about 15 minutes.
2. If your store is listed on Google, make sure you spruce it up with photographs and other goodies.  Post a couple of videos of your store  on YouTube and have it linked to your local listing.  YouTube is owned by Google and they love to see you playing the game.
3. Visit getlisted.org and see how you rank for local search.  It is FREE and simple and I would certainly follow the hyperlinks and get listed on these five local search registeries.

Over the next couple of months, I will be rolling out a few inexpensive and easy business strategies to position your business for online search.

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

I was saddened to learn that the last bookstore in Laredo, Texas – a city with the population of 250,000 – closed its doors shortly before Christmas.  Timothy Egan, from the New York Times Opinionator, reports that this sad event coincides with the fact that on Christmas day, Amazon.com sold more digital book downloads than physical books.  Granted, most people don’t shop on Christmas day, but one can only speculate what this means for our society.  Timothy Egan argues that it “raises two issues: what the loss of bookstores does to communities and what the brave new publishing world will mean to authors and readers.”   I believe that Mr. Egan would concur with Thomas Jefferson who in 1815 wrote to John Adams that  “I cannot live in a world without books.”

If this is the fate that lies ahead for bookstores, what does it foretell for independent stationers whose business is already under assault by dot.com companies masquerading as stationery companies; suppliers who now sell directly to consumers online; and event organizers for the National Stationery Show who now see social networking as their savior for declining attendance?  I wish  the “true” leaders of the stationery industry step up and say “In the best interests of the consumer, the craftspeople and designers we are proud to sponsor, and the many fine stationers who merchandize our products professionally, we do not intend to compromise our standards of excellence.”  Unfortunately, I suspect this will not happen anytime too soon.

The sad reality is that the true craftsmanship that goes into making fine papers and the labor of love that goes into creating exquiste designs and new font styles has been usurped by digital mercenaries flogging vastly inferior products to an unsuspecting public that assume Google search results will point them in the direction of fine stationery.  Indeed, there are many printing companies now selling their wares to the public who can’t even print in a straight line.  In fact, I recently came across a vendor introducing a new line of letterpress stationery when she couldn’t even spell stationary correctly.  She seemed angry when I suggested that it might help her sales if she could spell the product properly. 

I know it may seem silly to suggest it, but wouldn’t it be nice if “quality” rather than “quantity” were the mantra of the National Stationery Show.    Or perhaps, “correspondence” rather than “tweeting” or “communication” rather than “promotion.”  It might be a far smaller show, but dealers and vendors would rejoice and, the consumer, would most certainly begin to realize that paper is not stationery.

Richard W. May
Founding Member Stationers Guild

Over the last week or so, local search pundits have been debating the impact of Google’s launch of Google Place Pages.  Andrew Shotland who publishes the Local SEO Guide Blog recently wrote an article on the impact of Google Place Pages on the local search market.    As described on the Google Blog, a Place Page is  “a webpage for every place in the world, organizing all the relevant information about it. By every place, we really mean ‘every’ place — there are Place Pages for businesses, points of interest, transit stations, neighborhoods, landmarks and cities all over the world.”  Indeed, this is pretty heady stuff.  One might ask: “Who needs Big Brother?” 

If you are a local business owner, you definitely need to take control of your business listing on Google.  Simply log on to the Google Local Business Center and add your business or update your existing one.   One can debate the merits of Google’s strategy, but I certainly am not going to tangle with the 800 pound gorilla of internet marketing. 

Personally, I think this is very good news for local businesses and very bad news for the many so-called local search engines and search portals that have sacrificed the integrity of their local search function to pursue advertising revenue.   As I commented on Mr. Shotland’s Blog, ” Local.com, the YellowPages.com (including the many YP varietals) and most search category portals (i.e. The Knot for weddings) have compromised local search by ’selling’ zip codes and towns/cities to online marketers under the premise that ‘they are serving local markets.’  It’s not the same! In fact, it is deceptive and comprises ‘real’ search results.”

While I doubt very seriously that these deceptive advertising strategies will soon disappear, I encourage anyone who owns a small business to take control of their business and the way it is represented on the Internet.  While I do not have any particular insights into Google’s long-term business strategy, I do know that Google’s Local Business Center is packed full of useful tools for local storefronts.  These tools are free!  While you are at it, also claim your business on Yahoo and Microsoft. 

Before spending a penny on advertising  in Local.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot, or the online Yellow Pages or any other portal make sure you take a look at competitor advertisers in your search space.  If online dealers occupy that space, save your advertising dollar for something more worthwhile.

Richard W. May
Founding Member Stationers Guild

Emi Havas and Deidre Karner, the talented stationers at Paperfolio in Summit, NJ, have taken a very important step to promote their bricks-and-mortar store on the Internet:  They have claimed their business on Google.  Emi reports that “claiming my name (store) on Google was the easiest thing I have done on the computer other than turn it on.  And now we’re even going to add some photos.  It’s easy, fun and free and there is no reason not to do it immediately.”

Experienced stationers like Emi and Deidre have discovered that buyers have migrated from the Yellow Pages to online search for stationery services such as custom wedding invitations, fine business and social stationery and distinctive invitations.  Stores such as Paperfolio have a huge competitive advantage over online resellers.  Unfortunately, online buyers often cannot locate an experienced stationer in their neighborhood to discuss paper options, printing processes and to see a wide array of fine papers and designs that are simply not available on the internet.  As more and more experienced stationers take advantage of the local search capabilities provided by Google, Yahoo and MSN, discerning consumers will soon have an opportunity to reconnect with fine paper and the stunning designs that are simply not available on the internet.

This is a story worth following and I will keep track of their efforts to upgrade Paperfolio’s presence on the internet.

I’ve got a beef (or “tofu” for vegetarians out there!):  I hate to be lied to by wedding portals and “local” search engines that favor their advertisers to the detriment of their search audience.  Specifically, when I type “wedding invitations” and a “zip code” into a search bar, I expect to find a brick-and-mortar stationer who sells wedding invitations in the general vicinity of my zip code.  Unfortunately, your search result is likely to return a slew of silly-named national printers that “service” your local market.

Companies such as local.com, the Knot or the many varieties of online Yellow Pages should know the difference between a “local business” and a ”national business” serving local markets.   I have spoken with many representatives of these firms and most will tell you that they recognize the shortcomings of the search function.  Nevertheless, to paraphrase a recent conversation with a local search company representative, ”we can’t do anything to alienate our advertisers since they are paying for that particular zip code or geographic area.”  With the possible exception of Google (and they too have their faults), your online “wedding” search results are largely determined by advertising dollars and not relevancy, let alone competence.  Is there something wrong with this picture or am I just naive?

It is largely in response to this online playing field of false expectations that the StationersGuild was established.   On this website you can locate qualified stationers in your neighborhood and research fine paper lines without too much editorial commentary.  Buying fine stationery and invitations or  buying flowers for your wedding is personal.  It requires a connection at that most basic sensory level. 

We can only hope that wedding portals and “local” search engines will begin to rethink their strategy of putting the all powerful advertising dollar in front of honest search results.  Personally, I believe that a balanced approach to local search marketing would be helpful for the public, the search engines and wedding portals that sponsor true local businesses. 

Richard W. May
Founding Member Stationers Guild