Digital scrapbooking started as a small niche in the market, but has blossomed (some might say exploded) into a major faction in the scrapbooking industry. And it's growing larger every day. As a retailer getting your foot in the "digital" door can be daunting, but at this point...it's flat out necessary. So if you still find yourself nervous when you think about incorporating the "digital" into your scrapbook store just keep it simple; pick one of these ideas to get you started!



1. Offer digital scrappers the opportunity to access high quality printers (for a workshop fee, of course) where they can print of their digital projects. If your company can float the investment you might even think about creating a workshop area complete with computers, photo editing software, and printers where customers can come to create and print their digital creations.

2. Add a digital class or two to your list of available classes. Get a teacher or a guest teacher that can offer a hybrid class at your store. The most obvious place to start (especially is you're THE scrapbook outlet in your area and you haven't yet offered digital classes) would be with a Get to Know the Basics of Digital Scrapbooking Class. It will be a lot less difficult than you imagine.

3. Make sure you offer a good variety of digital products for your customers. Be picky; make sure the products you decide to carry are easy to use (even the proficient digital scrapper doesn't want to deal with difficult software or inaccessible files) and make sure that your customers are getting a high number of digital files for their dollar. The majority of digital scrapping cd's will retail for approximately $20-30. Have appropriate, non-digital products alongside the digital products of your choice to encourage the creativity that comes through hybrid scrapping! Glitz Frosting and other similar embellishments make for fabulous finishing touches for any digital project.

4. One of the most popular digital classes you can offer will be the "Make 20 Cards in 1 Hour Class." Just get your hands on a good digital card making cd and to make it even easier just use the ready-made card files that most likely come included with the product. Print off the cards prior to the start of the class; enough for everyone to have 20 to work with and provide them with the embellishments to make them great during the hour long class: rhinestones, stickers, stamps, inking products, rub ons, chipboard cutouts, etc. They'll love it and you'll feel comfortable with while providing a product based on the "digital!"

The digital is becoming more and more popular all over the place...not just in the scrapbooking industry and while traditional paper scrapping will always be around and always have its own unique appeal, the digital has found a spot in the hearts of many. And ignoring it will get you nowhere! So take one of the ideas mentioned above or come up with one of your own and get scrapping...digitally!