The Stationers Guild

The syndicated online news release is a great way to create “buzz” about your stationery store and announce important community events.  For the most part, these online services are relatively inexpensive and in many cases are free.  Writing a “good” press release requires a bit of skill since you want to avoid shamelessly promoting your business.  After all, it is a “news release” and not an “advertisement” or political message.

While online services are quite useful in disseminating information to the search engines and local news services, you should be aware that there could be some unintended consequences.  Specifically, your news message can be usurped by banner advertisements.  Also, keywords in your release maybe hijacked by hyperlinks to redirect readers to a third-party website and, perhaps, that of a competitor.  It is as if your news release were simply buried in the classified ads of your newspaper.

An interesting case in point is today’s news release by Blissful Designs, a UK company that provides online invitations and stationery.  The article was syndicated by Live-PR yet it contains banner ads from online competitors and hyperlinked keywords that were added by Live-PR to redirect the reader to competitive websites.  As the snap-shot below illustrates, the competitors get more attention than Blissful Designs.

Blissful_News_Release

As you can see, the two Banner Ads from Paper Divas overwhelm Blissful Designs’ news release.  You have to question whether Live-PR was a useful way to promote their new website.  If you plan to use a “free” or an inexpensive online syndication service, you may well end up promoting a competitor.  Personally, I use PR-Web which allows the user to control how their ads will be displayed.  It is certainly more expensive, but absolutely worth the protection that your message won’t be distorted by advertising parasites.  Furthermore, the success of online printers is more often determined by search engine optimization strategies than by selling fine papers.  Let the online buyer beware!

Today I came across a news release by Paper Divas discussing wedding trends for the 2009 season.   They claim to be a “preferred resource” for wedding style and etiquette, but I have always thought of them as a tech-savvy company selling template-based online invitations and stationery.   Paper Divas has done an outstanding job optimizing their website for search.  Nevertheless, their real challenge is to convince bridal couples to buy wedding invitations online.

While expediency sometimes gets in the way of common sense, buying fine stationery and custom invitations online is downright silly.  Gosh, would you would risk $500 or more for an online wedding invitation when the odds of getting what you want are stacked against you from the get-go? 

First, internet image resolutions are of poor quality and often purposely distorted to avoid reproduction.  With a limited internet color range, different monitor resolutions and poor quality image reproduction, it is almost impossible to determine the outcome of your printed invitation.

Second, paper texture and the weight of the paper stock are vital components in selecting your invitation.  Why not visit a qualified stationer and feel hundreds of paper samples rather than the one or two that might be sent to you by an online store? 

Third, colors change dramatically depending on the printing process you use.  Wouldn’t it be nice to see true color reproduction on different paper stock rather than leave it to chance with your online dealer? 

Fourth, most quality paper companies and designers recognize that crafting a custom wedding invitation is more than filling-in an online template.  In fact, many of the leading fine paper companies do not sell custom invitations online. They simply want the buyer to feel their papers, discuss printing options and receive expert advice from an experienced stationer before making a major financial commitment.  In short, they want the buyer to have a positive outcome based on “real” samples and expert advice rather than the “luck-of-the-draw” with an online store.

If you want expert advice, simply consult a qualified stationer in your neighborhood.  Many of the leading stationers can be found on the Guild website.  Don’t be seduced by the online hype.  Some things are best done in person and creating a custom wedding invitation is certainly one of them.

Richard W. May
Founding Member

I occasionally come across a “serious” news article where you simply scratch you head and wonder if the two martini lunch limit is still in effect. The news article in question is “Bridezilla goes digital” by Mary Teresa Bitti of the Financial Post which I believe is part of the Canada.com network. I say “believe” since when I tried to find out more about the Financial Post, I got a pop-up image of a penguin which I thought resided only in Antarctica.

Paraphrasing Owen Sagness, vice president of the online services group of Microsoft Canada, “the digital wedding . . . is using technology to make it (weddings) faster, easier (and) cheaper. At the end of the day the outcome of the wedding is the same.” While I can certainly agree with Mr. Sagness that a couple passes from a state of being unmarried to a state of being married, I find the suggested “digital” transformation via Microsoft to be practical, but oh so boring!

Imagine receiving a digital wedding invitation in your eMail box. If it hasn’t already been filtered out by a Spam filter you get hyperlinked to a “cool” e-Invite site which displays a fabulous pixilated image of a wedding invitation. You are thinking “Boy this is convenient! I can automatically reply to this e-Invite by clicking on a few fields, select moose steak, salmon or tofu for the rehearsal dinner, get re-directed to the gift registry site and/or chose to participate in the wedding through a webcam presentation.” If you are a traditionalist like me, you may want to print out the invitation in Adobe Acrobat and fax or mail your response card. But “gosh this is so darn convenient” that you decide to respond digitally.

There is no question that technology makes most everything “faster, easier and cheaper” but is it relevant? The Chinese have an old adage that “evil travels in a straight line.” While efficiency is often appropriate for many business situations, I remain skeptical of its value in social situations. Surely, Mr. Sagness would not recommend that his children solely participate in online schools, online religious classes or online hockey. Social interaction on a personal level is the foundation of a civilized society. Over centuries the institution of marriage is considered to be one of the most sacred and cherished ceremonies. Does it make sense to diminish the importance of that occasion to a webcast wedding that may conflict with a local hockey match? If significant events are of value to you, embrace the traditions which link our ancestors and their traditions. I respect technology as much as the next person, but certainly don’t find it a credible substitute for personal interaction.