It is easy for a wedding professional to feel they are very proactive in promoting their business by taking the time to take a basic listing on many advertising websites or take small ads in wedding magazines. Getting noticed and generating a meaningful response this way is like attending many crowded sporting events hoping that the television camera panning the crowd will see you and put you on television.

Investing in elegant and prominent advertising, marketing and branding both online and in print in carefully chosen places will make customers hunger for you. If you are in NY or NJ, come watch Alan Berg Amy Wilkins, publisher of Martha Stewart Weddings and myself discuss how to merge your print and online marketing in a great wedding industry networking and educational event on January 11th at The Rosewood in Edison. Pre-registration is closed by you can register at the door, learn, network and enjoy some good food and entertainment. For info click here.

We are experiencing a strong growth period. We are looking for a
freelancer and an intern to work on a number of current website projects.
There is a possibility of full-time employment for the right person. We
are looking for a highly aesthetic and intelligent website designer with a
strong knowledge of CSS, Photoshop, and Illustrator or InDesign.
Experience with WordPress and SEO is a plus. You will be working on
websites from concept through completion, branding, logos and photo
retouching. You will have direct client interaction, and must have good
communication and writing skills. To start, you will be working primarily
on Local Traffic Builder projects.

You will be working ONSITE in our Nyack, NY design studio.

Our websites are: www.LocalTrafficBuilder.com and www.Mosaicology.com

No phone calls. Please respond directly to the requirements noted in this
post and supply digital samples of your work by email to employment@localtrafficbuilder.com. Thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgZ4ZTTfKO8

While this is wonderfully entertaining, there are business lessons here.

Has the videographer used this as a PR piece? Has it been used as an SEO video, to pull traffic from the internet?

Is there a business in orchestrating a family entertainment piece that can make every wedding special, unify the guests, allow the bridal party and both families to get to know each other?

You tell me. And I’ll tell you there are many business opportunities that get missed every day.

Don’t overlook this one. Take a look at Local Traffic Builder. We can creatively help you identify your great opportunities. Opportunities that will distinguish your business in the marketplace, make your website more elegant, more compelling, and help the brides in your area find you. And if you need someone to help you orchestrate a family entertainment production, well, perhaps we can help with that too. If you write to me, I’ll show what we did at my son’s Bar Mitzvah. (It brought the house down.)

Certain manufacturers such as Lemon Tree, Checkerboard, Natural Impressions and Pioneer have made direct overtures saying they will help dealers who have existing Encore orders, or orders to place, re-create the products if possible.

The main issue dealers face are the catalogs that need to be replaced.

Brands that offered customization, and designed products and offered conversion services with processes like die cutting, foil stamping, embossing, and laminating, are scarce with Encore gone, especially given the recent closures of Jansson and Elite.

If you are a dealer trying to find alternate resources for certain papers that Encore carried, and do not see them in other albums, you should know that the paper sellers have greatly consolidated in the last 5 years and the main paper sellers that Encore used were:

Legion Paper www.legionpaper.com
Lindenmeyr www.lindenmeyr.com
Central www.centralpaper.com
Rainbow www.rainbowpapers.com

One other source that needs mentioning is JRC Industries, the manufacturer of many of the designed stamped and embossed invitations, as well as the Felt Paper Deckled Edge invitations found in the ES Collection and Simply Encore 2 Albums. JRC does not sell direct nor do they personalize invitations. You can email jf@creativestationery.com, with a picture of the invitation needed and they will likely be able to find you a source for your customers’ needs.

And in reality this information is of limited value because of the large minimum quantities often required, processes that Encore might have applied to the paper after being purchased, and of course, cutting.

I want to clarify that I am only sharing these resources to help expedite remedies to unfinished orders and other problems the closure of Encore has caused dealers and not in any way to give dealers direct resources that bypass the current supply chain. However, perhaps the paper suppliers can direct you to a brand that carries a particular paper or an outlet where you can buy and send to the supplier you may use to print the invitation.

The following resources are meant for the beginning of a discussion which I hope will generate a lot of dealer comments. Please share your opinions and suggestions on how to go about best replacing the resource Encore was to the stationery industry. What existing suppliers can best fill the void?

Please note that many invitation dealers throughout the country have never been to the National Stationery Show or have not attended in a number of years, so while some of these suppliers are mainstays to you, they be insightful to other dealers. Also as a web design company, I will tell you that many of the manufacturer websites are not representing the elegance of their products effectively so please call them for additional information or samples.

If you have a retail store, certainly William Arthur offers more customization than they had 10 years ago. Elegant layered invitations or pockets can be had from a company like Envelopments, who has elegant printing methods.

One of the top letterpress and foil stamping invitation brands, Dauphine Press, has very talented designers and in house capabilities to help Encore dealers with more intricate, one of a kind, custom designs.

One company that based their designs on the folding of Elite and Jansson was Little Wedding Works, who also is a retailer but has established a growing wholesale brand that does many custom and layered invitations with appliqués and broaches. Their pricing is very competitive.

Otto printing, who gave out a great customization kit at the Stationery Show, can handle most custom orders requiring Letterpress, Engraving or Thermography. They offer Hand Bordering, Deckle Edging, Layering, Laminating, and Pasting of sheets together, Beveling with round or square corners as well as Contoured Bevels, Colored Bevels and Edge Coloring.

As for your Encore albums, I want to again say, I did not tell anyone to throw out the albums. Remove them from the shelves until you get official word from Encore to discard them.

Here are some additional suggestions, per album. This is only a start. Please add your thoughts to these.

Expressions of Love and Ensemble Collection:
Natural Impressions – www.natural-impressions.com
C’est Papier – www.cestpapier.com

ES Collection
Checkerboard – www.checkernet.com
Simply Personal – www.simplypersonal.com who debuted at the stationery show and offers one of the strongest online design tools that allows both the retailer and customer work together with simple technology to design elegant letterpress or thermographed single layer invitations on good paper stock with elegant motifs, fonts and inks.

Classic Collection
Arzberger Stationers – www.arzbergerstationers.com
Prentis Douthit – www.prentissdouthit.com
*Crane – www.crane.com
*William Arthur – www.williamarthur.com

*both luxury brands require dealer to have a storefront and purchase packaged products

Bar Mitzvah
Pioneer – www.pioneerannouncements.com
Jebs – www.jebsdesigns.com
Mosaica Studios – www.mosaicastudios.com
Lemon Tree – www.lemontreestationery.com

Encore Edge
C’est Papier – www.cestpapier.com
Natural Impressions – www.natural-impressions.com
Otto Printing – www.ottoprinting.com

Simply Encore Wedding and Bar Mitzvah
Birchcraft studios, always heralded for their turn around time, proficiency in production and outstanding customer service, have raised the bar on their wedding and Bar Mitzvah invitation designs in recent years that certainly can help fill the void of the Simply Encore Wedding and Bar Mitzvah albums. Call 1 800 333 0405 for dealer information.

Carlson Craft’s product line is so broad that there are options at a lower price point in both categories www.carlsoncraft.com

Holiday
Checkerboard – www.checkernet.com
Elum – www.elumdesigns.com
Crane – www.crane.com
William Arthur – www.williamarthur.com

Calligraphy
Just Calligraphy – www.justcalligraphy.com – is equipped with customized and highly productive state of the art envelope printing machinery that can print onto shiny, metallic surfaces and any other envelopes of any thickness, with or without a lining.

A number of dealers expressed that we need to share resources generously for the good of the industry. So, please post your comments and suggestions on this blog so dealers can help each other. And if I did not mention a supplier who should be listed, please make a comment. I also invite suppliers to comment as well. Please remember to post links to resources you recommend that were not included. Please also note that while I categorized these companies under album categories, there certainly may be crossover to other albums and categories.

Click here to download and print a PDF version of this blog post.

Finally, late yesterday, an owner called me and verified the company was closed. He told me they were shipping all orders they could through the end of the business day Tuesday. Our conversation was brief and there was such sadness, it almost brought me to tears. He said that a formal announcement will be made, however the announcement may take some time.

If you are an Encore Dealer, you know that I had been the voice of the company for many years prior to leaving in 2010 to more fully focus on the growth of Local Traffic Builder. During my 14 years I came to know you and I understand how a delay of this information can impact you with your customers.

You need to pull the albums and put them in storage, remove display samples unless they can be exactly replicated and remove any images or text about Encore from your website. If we can help you with those site changes and help research other images from other brands, please let us know.

If you have an Encore order in house or one that you were planning to place, some custom brands may be able to replicate certain items or come close, so you may try that route before informing your customer that they have to make an entirely different selection.

I also want to say that owners of other brands also contacted me with concern and they were gracious and very saddened by the news. Encore was a great company and both owners are gems of human beings. This must be devastating for them, so please be understanding. I am sure you will hear from them in their own words. I just wanted you to know to protect the interest of your business.

Here are some action steps:

1. Start with a Home Page that is visually appealing and resonates with your audience. Having striking imagery and carefully chosen words makes the best introductory impression. Also clearly showing your contact information and the areas you service if you are a local professional is very important.
2. Have an About Us Page that reveals who you are. Why not take the opportunity to create a virtual rapport with the potential client? Include a photo of yourself, even better, include a photo of yourself inside your studio or shop working with a client. In the text, discuss the high quality service you provide and a little history about yourself and your company.
3. Consider using a video or audio piece that can be heard or seen (as an option rather than automatically played) to further the connection.
4. Share your ideas and insights on your blog that turn on the light bulb in your readers’ minds.
5. Turn your Contact Us page into an appointment generator by giving visitors the option to make an appointment online 24/7. (Isn’t that what you would want to do if you were speaking to them?)

Because I wanted to call my mother. I wanted to unpack and get myself organized. I wanted to get back into my twice a day treadmill routine. My daughter came home from camp for a few days and I wanted to talk to her and do her laundry. My son is in Israel and he wanted to catch up with me. We needed food and litter for the cats. I want adequate sleep. And even though I was totally current with emails from abroad, I have clients to service, proposals to follow up on, bills to pay.

I have always aspired to be on top of whatever I do in business. At the same time, I have always taken care of myself and put my most important job, parenting first. But now, no matter how much I do, there is this void about not blogging enough, not posting on Facebook, not answering questions on Linked-In. And in my attempt to do it, I have less energy for socializing with live people and my eyes get tired from so much time on the computer.

So am I a social person? Yes. Do I love marketing and media? Yes. However I have to admit, I feel a little anti-social media.

I love it when it has a purpose. For example, I like how a well-designed Facebook Welcome Page can help a business win customers by being a “Like generator” or how a Linked-In profile that shows endorsements can build credibility. But I don’t have the patience to sift through the insignificant and overwhelming data. And I can’t help still taking the word “friend” literally.

So “friends” what do you think?

Yet I see so many wedding businesses that are overwhelmed by the choices or are intimidated by the learning curve to take action. My advice is to use the same logic that you expect your customers to use when hiring you. Hire a wedding industry marketing professional. The price you pay for not hiring a professional is far more costly than the money you need to invest. You are risking additional investments of time and frustration with an end result that rarely matches up to what someone with expertise and talent can do for you to bring you far more business than the financial outlay.

However, most importantly implement one idea. Now…

I have never worked so hard in my life. Running Local Traffic Builder and putting The 21st Century Bride event together are two full time jobs. As it stands with about 40 days to go, we have a full schedule of wonderful speakers and supportive sponsors. In additional to industry notables like Alan Berg, Andy Ebon, Chris Jaeger and Robert Allen, we have a fresh group of speakers who have developed expertise in their unique areas such as Dina Eisenberg, Stephanie and Jeff Padovano, Anne Chertof and a special interview with Christine Dyer who has make a major industry impact with her blog BridalTweet.com. For a list of speakers and seminar descriptions, please go to The21stCenturyBride.com.

One of the things I am proud of is the attention we are paying to the details that make a quality event starting from the transportation. For train commuters who will get off at a stop 7-8 minutes from our venue, The Landmark in East Rutherford, we will have a luxury bus shuttle the attendees to the event and bring them back to the station after the event is over. Every day we are adding more and more ingredients which are a recipe for success. Hope to see you there if you are local or you can access it online via video stream.

We go through life with the weight of the world on our shoulders sometimes. In our own limited realm, not having enough business or being overwhelmed by the challenges of business can put our consciousness in a vacuum. There was a tap on my consciousness last week when I attended the New Jersey launch party of the worthy charity “Wish Upon a Wedding.”

In my thirty years in the wedding industry, I have never been so moved by something in our industry that was so selflessly crafted. The charity raises money so that couples that are the victims of a terminal illness can have the wedding they want. The couple does not receive any money the services for the wedding are donated by a pool of wedding professionals. They simply get to have the best day of their lives, a day that can give them hope and a reason to live for. On that day all is good. Everything is provided for them, as this moment in their lives is all about their love and the other challenges they have gone through together or awaits them with whatever time they have left together, is muted by bliss.

A short time before the event my company Local Traffic Builder and Wedding Podcast Network had decided to produce a wedding industry educational event The 21st Century Bride. Before attending the launch part for this charity at the Florentine Gardens, we had decided to get behind this charity and donate a percentage of the proceeds of our event to Wish Upon A Wedding. Between the generosity of this venue and the presentation that brought this cause to life for me, I am so glad we made this decision.

In the balance of life, the misfortune of others is something our community can respond to. However, there is a gift for us in it besides the giving. It is the perspective that all the businesses challenges that we think weigh us down are but an ounce of meaning when we do not have our health.