Graphic artists who are skillful in the use of software packages such as GIMP or Photoshop can make money with digital scrapbooking templates. Digital scrapbooks are done by creating the digital version of a conventional scrapbook or album which can be stored on a PC, CD or uploaded to a website.

In order to make digital scrapbooks, you have to gather digital images that you have or scan printed copies into your computer. A lot of people may not have the time to do this or the skills to do it well. They would rather give the job to a professional. If you have the required skills, it could be another good way to add to your income. You can do this for people online or in your local area.

• How to Make Money with Digital Scrapbooking
• 4 Ways to Make Money Scrapbooking
• Can you Make Money off Scrapbooking?
• How do I Become a Digital Scrapbook Designer?
• How to Design Digital Scrapbook Kits
• How do You Monetize a Scrapbook?
• Is There a Market for Scrapbooking?
• How Much Should I Charge for Scrapbooking?
• How do I Sell my Scrapbook Online?
• How do I Start a Digital Scrapbooking Business?

How to Make Money with Digital Scrapbooking

Get some experience

Before you can start to make money with digital scrapbooking templates, you have to ensure that your skills are marketable. People have to know that you have professional skills. Relevant experience can be gathered only by practicing. Start by making some scrapbooks for your friends and family for free. This will give you a lot of opportunities to practice.

Read Also: How To Make Money As A Risk Consultant

You can also check out some samples on the net to find out what other people are doing. You will be surprised at the number of people who will want you to create their scrapbooks for them. This is your chance to perfect your skills before you start making money with your scrapbooking venture.

Making money with digital templates

Digital scrapbooks are rapidly replacing traditional designs. This is because they are more convenient to use and also provide a lot of mobility. If you are a good designer, you can create different types of template layouts and sell them to people who want to make scrapbooks for themselves. You can also sell to other people who have scrapbooking businesses.

Create unique template designs

You have to be very creative if you want to make money with digital scrapbooking templates. Make sure you are always up to date with the latest trends so that your clients will always be satisfied. You will have a lot of competition if you want to sell your templates on the internet.

However, if you make unique designs, you will easily beat the competition and get your own share of the market. Invest quality time to develop your creativity so that you can always come up with unique designs.

Marketing your business

Choose the right price for your digital scrapbook templates so that you can attract more buyers. You can check online to find out what other designers are charging. You can place classified adverts in the local newspaper or print brochures and flyers and place them in public places that your potential customers go to.

It will be necessary to create a website to promote your business. If your website is properly promoted, you will get a lot of online customers. Make sure that you have a system for collecting the images that your customers want to use.

4 Ways to Make Money Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is meant to be a fun activity that involves bonding and deepening relationships with those you love. That said, there’s nothing wrong with finding other folks with no personal connection to you who are interested in paying you for your talent. If anything, it’s a win-win — no matter what path of making money from scrapbooking you choose to take.

1. Teach a scrapbooking class.

From local craft stores to community centers to recreation departments, there are tons of places that would benefit greatly from scrapbooking classes. Why shouldn’t the teacher of those classes be you? If you’ve been scrapbooking for a while, other folks could probably learn a thing or two from your skills.

Blogger Lain Ehmann of Layout a Day suggests contacting your local community centers to see if they’re interested in your services. Another option is researching what classes already exist in your area — and then finding out how you can apply to be the next scrapbooker in charge.

2. Sell your creative designs online. 

If you’ve ever looked for scrapbooking materials on websites like eBay or Etsy, then you already know that one search can yield thousands of results. That alone should tell you that you have an opportunity here sell some of your own custom pages, templates, or layouts on those sites.

If you’re feeling ambitious enough, you could even create entire scrapbooks for people to fill in your pages with whatever they desire. And since people can bid for items on eBay, you might even end up getting more money than you ever expected for your hard work. 

3. Create scrapbook-style greeting cards.

You’d be surprised by how many greeting cards out there today look like mini versions of scrapbooks. But surely it’s a pleasant surprise, considering that just about everyone shares greeting cards for special occasions, even if they’ve never picked up a scrapbook in their lives.

Simply transfer your skills to a smaller piece of paper, and then you can sell your scrapbook-inspired cards on eBay or Etsy along with all your other fabulous materials. Alternatively, you can also contact local craft and greeting card stores to see if you can sell your work in your own town as well.

4. Think outside the book and create your own business.

This option is not for the faint of heart, but it can be super rewarding in the end. Just ask Rebekah Cowne, a former bookkeeper who followed her passion of scrapbooking to turn it into her own scrapbooking layout business called Kiwi Lane.

In an interview with The Work-At-Home Woman, Cowne said, “Kiwi Lane started out as a retail company that I would see at different scrapbooking expos I would go to. They always had the prettiest booth with beautiful pages. When I found out they were going to change over to direct sales, I had to be a part of it!” It sounds like it certainly paid off; not only did this allow Cowne to get creative with template design, it also led her to create scrapbooking classes, kits, and even retreats for all her satisfied customers.

Can you Make Money off Scrapbooking?

In the US, scrapbooking is huge – it’s a $2.5 billion a year industry – and it’s becoming more popular here, too.

Although some might think they are a bit kitsch and cheesy, the increasing demand for a chic and classic presentation of photos and memories from special events means you really could make money scrapbooking. People want something elegant to remind them of their wedding, christening or other special events.

• Selecting a theme and layout
• Making your pages
• Work out your costs
• Sell your wares
• Use your skills elsewhere
• Become a consultant

Embellishments like stickers, buttons, ribbons, wallpaper, flowers, and photo-safe pens are great for decorating the pages of your scrapbook. You don’t need to use all of these; just whatever you think suits your page best. But do get creative and make the most of any materials you might have to lie around. The more you can recycle materials, the cheaper it will be to make each scrapbook.

How do I Become a Digital Scrapbook Designer?

If you’re a tech-savvy scrapbooker looking for a way to create innovative layouts for your albums, you may find yourself wondering how to design digital scrapbook kits.

All you need to start digital crafting is a computer (or even just a phone) with some form of image editing software, some digital graphics, and your digital photos.

Software options

• Adobe Photoshop Elements – Elements is a great entry-level program that will allow to edit your photographs and digiscrap away to your heart’s content! It’s an affordable program with lots of online help, support, and tutorials available. You can download a trial version from Adobe to get started.
• Adobe Photoshop CC – this is Photoshop Elements’ big brother – professional-level image editing software with a hefty price tag to match!
• Gimp (free!)
• Paint Shop Pro
• Forever Artisan (scrapbook software)
• My Memories Suite (scrapbook software)

If you are interested in digital pocket page scrapbooking (arranging your photographs and journal cards into grid-style pages) the Project Life app allows you to create scrapbook layouts and photobooks on your phone or tablet.

These are the different types of graphic files that you can find at most digital scrapbooking sites:

• Papers: 12×12 inch patterned or solid color papers you can use as a background for your page or project and as decorative details within the design. Papers are usually supplied as jpg files.
• Elements: decorative details such as ribbons, bows, frames, stitching, and flowers that are the equivalent of the 3-dimensional embellishment on a traditional paper page. These are usually png files with transparent backgrounds.
• Alphabets: individual letter files that can be used to create titles and other decorative details. Alphabets (or alphas) are different to fonts as they are not installed on your computer, they are png files that you layer on your project in the same way as elements.
• Doodles and clip art illustrations: hand-drawn elements with transparent backgrounds, similar to the paper equivalent of stickers (and the specialty here at Kate Hadfield Designs!).
• Digital stamps/line art: digital stamps are outline drawings that are perfect for creating worksheets, coloring pages and other projects where the printed project could be colored in. They can also be used to create pattern on a plain background or as a line drawing in your digital layout.
• Templates: Page templates allow you to quickly put together a complete scrapbook page by “clipping” your choice of paper and photographs to the layers in the template. Common sizes are 12×12 or 8.5×11 and the files are usually supplied in a number of formats including PSD TIFF and png.
• Journal cards: usually sized at 3×4, 4×6 or 4×4 inches designed to fit the pockets of a pocket page protector. Can be printed and used in a pocket page protector, or incorporated into a digital layout. They can also be printed and used as note cards! Usually supplied as individual jpg files (great for resizing or recoloring) and as a ready-to-print PDF.

Once you have your software and supplies, you can start layering your graphics to create your page. For example, you might start with pretty patterned paper, add your photographs on top of that, then add a frame over one of your photos. You could add some bows and flowers or other elements. You could use the text tools of your software to create your journaling, explaining the story behind the photo.

Finally, you might add alpha or text again to create the title. The addition of drop shadows (adding a shadow style to each layer on your page) helps to create a three-dimensional effect to your work and can make your layout look as if it has been paper crafted! Drop shadows can be tricky to perfect, but you can purchase ready-made drop shadow styles to help you get started.

How to Design Digital Scrapbook Kits

Although you can use almost any graphics program to design digital scrapbook kits, Adobe Photoshop remains the preferred choice of the majority of digital scrapbookers. This sophisticated image editor is considered to be “an industry standard for graphics professionals.” It has steep learning curve, but can be used to create an almost endless number of effects on your layouts.

Adobe Photoshop Elements offers many of the same features as the full version of Photoshop, but at a substantially lower price. If you’re on a tight budget, or simply not sure if digital scrapbooking is right for you, this program is an excellent choice for designing your own kits.

A digital scrapbook kit typically consists of graphics files that replicate the look of traditional scrapbook cardstock, patterned paper, and embellishments. Some kits also have pre-designed templates that beginning scrapbookers can use to quickly create their own projects.

Digital scrapbook designers use a variety of techniques to create their kits. For example:

• Layers: Layers allow you to add multiple patterned papers to a digital scrapbooking page.
• Shadows: Drop shadows add the appearance of dimension to various elements on a page.
• Textures: Using texture filters on a layout is an easy way to replicate the appearance of textured cardstock.
• Bevels and Embossing: Bevels and embossing filters lend a sophisticated and elegant look to digital layouts.
• Photographic Effects: Using black and white, sepia tone, or spot-colored embellishments adds pizazz to any layout.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to design digital scrapbook kits, check out the following helpful resources:

• Digital Scrapbook Place has a number of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements tutorials that can show you how to replicate your favorite traditional scrapbooking techniques in a digital kit.
• Cottage Arts has an assortment of basic digital scrapbooking tutorials with detailed illustrations and step-by-step instructions.
• Digital Design Resort has a digital design class for scrapbookers.

Copyright Considerations

Although learning how to design digital scrapbook kits is fun and enjoyable, it’s important to be aware of copyright considerations. For a crash course in copyright law as it applies to digital scrapbookers, visit the following links:

• FAQ: Digital Millenium Piracy
• Stop Digital Piracy
• Copyright Myths

Selling Your Kits

If you enjoy digital design, you’ll be pleased to learn that it’s easier than ever to get a home job doing digital scrapbooking. Selling your digital kits to other scrapbookers via your own website is a great way to earn some extra cash.

Since a digital kit can be sold an unlimited number of times, this is a relatively simple business idea. However, it’s best to be advised that you will need to devote a fair amount of time to publicizing your designs on scrapbooking websites and forums.

How do You Monetize a Scrapbook?

1. Start your own scrapbooking business where you create scrapbooks for others.

Some people just don’t have the time or inclination to create their own scrapbooks. They love the way a well-put-together scrapbook looks, but for whatever reason, they are unable to create one themselves. Offering your services to people like this is one way to make money with your scrapbooking and rubber stamping skills.

2. Teach others how to scrapbook and use rubber stamps.

The cool thing about teaching others to scrapbook and rubber stamp is that you will get to scrapbook and rubber stamp too! Once you get your students started and everyone is working on their own projects you will be free to work on yours as well. Scrapbooking stores, as well as community centers, senior centers, and community colleges, will pay teachers to show people how to scrapbook, and use rubber stamps.

3. Set up your own online scrapbooking and rubber stamp store.

This can be a bit more difficult particularly if you want to handle the shipping and receiving yourself, but there are other easier methods such as becoming another company’s affiliate and selling their supplies. This way you don’t have to worry about shipping and receiving and the company pays you a percentage of each sale of the products that you make.

4. Make your own products to sell online.

Selling your own products isn’t as difficult as you might think. For example, you could make packets of greeting cards. These could be particularly big if you did them around the holidays. You could also make bookmarks, gift bags, and just about anything you can imagine with your scrapbooking and stamping skills.

Start out with 4 or 5 sets of each item, take pictures with your digital camera, purchase a domain name, and set up your website. Then with Paypal “buy now” buttons for each item, you are ready to sell.

5. Create unique scrapbook layouts and then sell those layouts online.

This can even work for digital scrapbook layouts — which can mean you don’t have to have much (if any) of an outlay of cash to create a layout!

These are just a few of the great ideas you can implement to make money with your scrapbooking and rubber stamping talents

Is There a Market for Scrapbooking?

Scrapbooking has exploded in the past decade. According to the Hobby and Craft Association, the trade association for the craft industry, scrapbooking is now a US$2.5 Billion industry that is showing no signs of slowing growth. There are now over 3,000 scrapbooking stores nationwide in the United States, serving 25 million scrapbookers.

Scrapbookers save family memories, including military memories of loved ones. The hobby is predominantly female, with older women constituting a large portion of the market.

Many scrapbooking shops are run by small businesses.

As with most hobby and enthusiast businesses, scrapbooking stores tend to be run by people who are themselves scrapbookers. They understand the craft, tend to stock more items than general craft store chains, and can be more helpful when answering questions.

How Much Should I Charge for Scrapbooking?

Scrapbooking can be expensive. There are so many wonderful supplies available and those of us who have been scrapbooking for a long time probably have a whole room full of accessories, cutters, templates, paper, and other scrappy stuff. The key to keeping scrapbook costs under control is just buying what you actually need, keeping track of what you spend, and knowing what you can afford.

So what does scrapbooking cost? In paper scrapbooking the average cost of a page is $5-$15, per album $150 and up). Having your digital scrapbook pages professionally printed costs $2-$10 per page. Printing your digital pages at home costs $2-$10 (not counting the cost of the printer itself). 

Traditional Scrapbooking – $150 (and up) per album

This is the method most people think about when they hear the word “scrapbooking”. You get to use all the scrapbooking goodies: patterned paper, embellishments etc and can create beautifully decorated scrapbook pages.

Depending on how elaborate you want to decorate your pages you may need to use a lot of supplies. Since every scrapbooker has their own preferences it is quite difficult to pinpoint the exact costs. If you are just starting out the following list of cost-effective (and additional) supplies needed for this method are listed below.

Basic supplies needed for traditional paper scrapbooking:

• Paper ($1-$5 per 12×12 sheet)
• Photos ($0.20-$2 per photo)
• Scissors ($5-$15)
• Adhesives ($3-$10)
• Album ($30-$60)
• Page protectors ($0.50-$2 per piece)
• Embellishments (up to $5 per pack): stickers, ribbon, letters, die cuts etc.
• Pen ($1-$10)

Additional options could be a paper trimmer ($10-$70 and up), acrylic or rubber stamps ($5-$15 each), paper punches ($3-$10 each), templates ($5-$30) and more. Pre-made scrapbook kits for weddings, births or other special events are about $20-$40. Kit clubs cost about $24-$40 a month.

Specialized equipment such as die-cut machines ($50-$350) will add even more additional costs (special cutting vinyl, mats, subscriptions, software updates, etc).

Pocket Scrapbooking – $70-$150 per album

Pocket scrapbooking has become very popular in recent years. It is a scrapbooking method that makes memory keeping quick and easy. You need relatively few supplies and you can complete an album in a short amount of time.

Project Life is probably the best-known example of this method. Becky Higgins,  Project Life’s creator, promotes that you can create an entire album without scissors or adhesive. You may want to keep some scissors or a paper cutter handy just in case you need to trim down your photos to fit in the smaller pocket spaces.

The supplies needed to complete a pocket scrapbook album include an album, photos, pocket page protectors ($5 for pack of 12) and a designer card kit ($30), a pen and scissors or paper cutter. All of those supplies come to a fairly cost-effective total of $70! For a 12×12 album of approximately 30 pages that comes down to a cost of $2.33 per page.

Using Software – $115-$250

In digital scrapbooking, you use computer programs like Photoshop Elements or Photoshop to create your scrapbook pages. This method has a steep learning curve but has been more widely used over the last few years.

The scrapbook pages created in the software programs can be done in any scrapbook page size. Your digital pages can be created in any scrapbook size you want and either follow the more traditional layouts or given a more structured look like in Project Life pocket pages.

Although the start-up costs of digital scrapbooking may be more expensive, eventually the cost per page could cost you less than paper scrapbooking. Depending on whether you print your photos or finished digital pages at home, you may have to invest in a good printer, photo paper (or good card stock), and, of course, printer ink.

It is important to calculate your costs per page for printing at home and compare them to what it would cost to have your pages professionally printed. Computer software for digital scrapbooking can cost quite a bit (although Adobe Photoshop Elements is very affordable around $60), as well as perhaps an online course to learn to use the program.

The great advantage of digital scrapbooking is that you use your software all the time and that you can use your digital supplies (kits, journaling cards, embellishments etc) over and over and over without additional cost. If you use free editing software and choose not to print your pages (separately or in a photo album) at all, it may in fact be completely free!

Basic supplies needed for digital scrapbooking:

• Computer (desktop or laptop) ($100-$500)
• Photo editing and/or digital scrapbooking software ($10-$600)

Additional supplies:

• Digital scrapbook kits ($0-$6 each)
• Good printer (12×12 if that is your scrapbooking size) ($100-$800)
• Photo printing paper ($10-$50 per pack)
• Printer ink ($15-$75 per cartridge)
• Scanner ($30-$100)

Using An App – $105-$150

Scrapbooking with an app is the perfect solution for scrapbooking on the go. The app enables you to scrapbook, journal, and print your photos in a single layout right from your smartphone or tablet. The only supply you need for his scrapbooking method is your smartphone or tablet. No paper, no scissors, no card kits, no organizing and printing your photos!

The estimated cost of $105 to complete an album includes the purchase of the Project Life App by Becky Higgins, the purchase of one in-app card kit, and the cost to print your finished layouts. Once your layouts are designed, you can export them for printing or you can print directly from the app with their partnered printing house.

You store the printed layouts in an album with page protectors (not included in the above-estimated price). Making your albums this way is an all-inclusive, convenient scrapbooking method. It allows you to scrapbook on the go and not have to worry about not having all of your supplies on hand.

Make And Print A Photobook – $90-$150

The great alternative to printing out the separate digital layouts and putting them in an album with page protectors is to use your layouts in a photobook. Shutterfly and many other online printing centers will turn that digital album in a beautifully and professionally printed hardcover photobook.

You can choose to use your own pages to fill the book or use the online printer’s software where sample layouts and “pre-fill” pages are provided. You simply “drag-and-drop” your photos.

Supplies needed: digital scrapbooking supplies.

Hybrid Scrapbooking – $155-$300

Hybrid scrapbooking combines the best of both the digital and “physical” (i.e. paper!) worlds of memory keeping. Digital scrapbooking has been revolutionary for many of us, but sometimes you just want to add some 3D to the printed pages, or include some unscannable memorabilia. Adding some extra elements and embellishments to those printed layouts can bring an extra element of creativity.

Supplies for the hybrid method include both digital and paper elements.  Digital layouts can be made on the computer or using an app and then printed professionally or at home. Once printed, paper embellishments such as flowers, die-cuts, chipboard titles, buttons, thickers etc can be used to finish the page.

This need for a combination of supplies makes this method a little pricier than some of the others, but it does provide a great amount of creativity, and it allows you to scrapbook on the go.

Supplies needed for hybrid scrapbooking: both paper and digital supplies.

“Just Stick Your Photos In” Photo Album – $10-$55

These traditional photo albums are definitely the way to go if you want your scrapbooking to be affordable and super fast. It really is the “bare bones” method of the scrapbooking world, but it certainly gets the job done! In such an album you basically display your photos without adding any embellishments.

You simply slide your pictures into the photo album, put down some simple journaling in the margins, and you’re done! Perfect for scrapping those many vacation photos or making an album for a special occasion.

Supplies needed: An album, photos, and a pen.

Social Media Sharing – $0

This method may not immediately come to mind when you think about “scrapbooking”, but sharing photos and stories on social media is a very convenient (and cheap!) way of memory keeping. And telling your story, after all, is what scrapbooking is all about.

Supplies needed for social media sharing: your digital photos, a smartphone, and a social sharing website.

There are many possibilities to choose your favorite social sharing website: Facebook, Instagram, and other social networks are great places to capture your memories, thoughts, and feelings. Shutterfly, Google Photos, and Flickr are also good options for social sharing. The most important aspect of these sites is that you have the option to write descriptions with your photos. This way you can share and write stories as they happen.

This scrapbooking method is not meant as a storage place for your digital photos, although some photo-sharing sites do provide good services for that. It is a method, however, that allows you to capture (and share) your memories quickly and cheaply. If your current season in life doesn’t allow you much time or money to scrapbook in any of the other formats, then social sharing scrapbooking is a great option.

How do I Sell my Scrapbook Online?

Setting up and managing your store is fun and easy, and you can customize the look to appeal to your customers. Sell all kinds of scrapbooking materials and accessories, secure in the knowledge that your online store is hosted on reliable servers with 99.99% uptime and comes with 24/7/365 technical support, so you can focus on what matters to you.

Memories are powerful emotional reminders of how we got where we are today. Scrapbooking is a great way to collect those memories—and if you’re interested in learning how to sell scrapbooks online, they could be your new career. There’s a rich world of business in online retail, a market that has exploded over the last decade and continues to grow.

Anyone can get started selling online. All you need is the right software, knowledge of your industry and the time to commit to starting your own business and you’ll be building those memories quickly. One day, you may even want to create a scrapbook documenting your rise to business success.

Here are a few tips for getting started learning how to sell scrapbooks online.

Research your audience to find out to whom you should be marketing.

Scrapbooking isn’t for everyone. The onus is on you to find out whom exactly it’s for. We call this defining your target audience. The best way to accomplish it is to do hours of research.

Of course, you’ll also want to test and retest after you launch your online store. We can try to predict who wants to buy, but we can always tweak it later.

Find the right software solution for the job.

As you learn how to sell scrapbooks online, you’ll understand the importance of choosing the right software. This is the backbone of your business, which means you should take great care in making the choice.

You’ll probably want to find a platform that’s easy to use and has a trained support staff available at a moment’s notice.

Build a brand that speaks to your audience.

Remember all of that audience research you did? Now, it’s time to channel it into something practical. Learning how to sell scrapbooks online means building a brand that resonates with your audience. This includes factors like the name of your store, the store’s URL, your logo, the colors, the tone of your writing and a whole lot more.

Stock your store with the goods.

Time to grab hold of your product. Where will you get the goods to stock your store? Through a wholesale distributor? Direct from the manufacturer? Don’t forget to ask yourself what kind of goods you’ll stock. Of course, you’ll have scrapbooks — but what about extras like glue or pens? These are crucial questions to consider as you learn how to sell scrapbooks online.

Put the word out and launch your store.

Once you’ve built your store, it’s time to get the word out. Build a Facebook page and take to Pinterest to share pictures of your products. Hit the email trail and reach out to people you’ve identified as audience members. When you have a good starting audience, you’ll be ready to launch your store to the public.

How do I Start a Digital Scrapbooking Business?

There is more to starting a business than just registering it with the state. We have put together this simple guide to starting your scrapbooking business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly, and legally compliant.

In this kind of business, the things you need to have are the following: photo paper and printer, template CDs for digital scrapbooking, photos saved on the computer and layer-supported Digital Imaging Software.

Actually, this does not have a very careful planning because in the first place, you do not have to spend money in buying expensive equipments. Aside from that, you can also operate your business even though you are at home.

You must focus more in the marketing process. In order for the people in your area to know that you are having a business like this, you must post a large banner in front of your gate. You can also give out flyers and coupons.

You will also never have problems in the operation because this business is just so easy to learn. In terms of pricing, you must do it competitively especially if there are also businesses like this in your area. Aside from being creative, you must also capture the hearts of many potential customers by being reliable and trustworthy.

In the digital scrapbooking process, your photos must be transferred from the digital camera to the PC. After that, you need to create a basic layout. To make the first page, you can ask help from the programs which has lots of templates to select from. Next, you have to pick a photo that will serve as the page background. You can also choose a background that imitates the look of a traditional special paper.

Next, you have to add a picture to the background. To make the page look more attractive and catchy, you can also add embellishments and die-cuts. Then, you need to choose a font size and style for the journaling and the titles as well.

After decorating it with more embellishments, you can already save it to a folder on a hard drive. Now, it is ready for printing! See? That is how easy the digital scrapbooking is. All you need to have is a little creativity.

Now, in order for you to have other features of digital scrapbooking, you must also check out the web to get freebies such as fonts, elements, papers and digital kits.

1. Decide What Type of Scrapbook Business You Want to Start

Essentially, scrapbook career opportunities fall into one of two categories: selling supplies or scrapbooking for others.

• Selling Scrapbook Supplies

Selling scrapbook supplies as a consultant for a direct sales company is often the easiest path to starting your scrapbook business. Start up costs are minimal, and many companies don’t require you to purchase any inventory. However, you’ll typically only make a 10 to 30 percent profit on the merchandise you sell.

• Scrapbooking for Others

Many people who want to preserve their photos find scrapbooking to be intimidating. By designing premade scrapbook pages, you’ll offer an easy way for your customers to create a treasured family keepsake.

All they’ll need to do is add their own photos and journaling to your layouts. Alternatively, you could ask customers to provide you with their photos and journaling so you could assemble the entire book on your own.

2. Fund Your Business

Scrapbooking businesses are popular because they generally tend to require minimal startup costs. For example, the lowest priced kit for a new Heritage Makers consultant was just $25 as of December 2016.

If you wish to begin a home-based scrapbook business with higher start up costs, you have a few different options to consider:

• Credit cards are a common method of funding small business ventures, but this approach can be risky due to the high interest rate.
• Borrowing money from friends and family might be an option to consider, but you’ll need to come up with clear expectations for how to repay the loan.
• If you have support from your spouse, selling items of value or taking out a home equity loan can provide you with the cash you need to get started.

Regardless of the funding option you choose, it’s best to keep your start up expenses to a minimum. Buy only the essentials, then continue to invest your earnings in growing your business.

3. Decide How You Want to Sell Your Merchandise

Home parties, home business fairs, craft shows, and e-commerce sales are the most common ways to sell merchandise in a home-based scrapbook business.

• Home Parties

Direct sales consultants often sell their merchandise through home parties. You can host parties in your own home or recruit friends, family, and past customers to host on your behalf.

• Home Business Fairs

Home business fairs are events where direct sales representatives from different companies each have a table in a large venue. Interested customers can go from booth to booth to learn more about the various products being sold. This approach to selling your scrapbook supplies can be useful if you’re also interested in recruiting new representatives to serve as part of your personal downline.

• Craft Shows

If you are selling pre-made scrapbook pages or taking orders for custom scrapbooks, you may want to consider renting a booth at a local craft show. This approach provides easy access to a large number of people who are interested in buying handmade goods.

• E-commerce

If you live in a rural area or find yourself in need of a flexible business opportunity, selling your merchandise online is a great option. Consider the following ideas:

• Build your own website.
• Purchase a pre-designed website from a direct sales company.
• Sell on eBay.
• List pre-made pages on Etsy.

4. Segment Your Customer Base and Develop an Advertising Strategy

Identifying your customer base is a key component of any business venture. Your scrapbook business might target:

• Newlyweds who want a wedding scrapbook
• Parents of young children who want a cute way to show off their favorite baby photos
• Avid travelers who wish to document their adventures
• Grandparents who want to provide their grandchildren with a keepsake that tells their family’s story

Once you’ve narrowed down your customer base, you can work on developing an advertising strategy and choosing products that will appeal to each target audience you’ve selected. For example, if you’d like to focus on scrapbooks for parents, advertising your services near child care centers, playgrounds, and other places parents of young children are likely to frequent is a smart move.

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You’ll want to stock products with a bright, playful feel and focus on ways to make the scrapbooking experience less overwhelming for time-strapped parents.

5. Make It Legal

When starting your scrapbook business, there are several legal requirements you’ll need to consider.

• Financial Records

Turning your love of scrapbooking into a profitable business will require keeping diligent records. When you run a home-based business, the IRS will expect you to report all income and expenses. To comply with these guidelines, it’s very important to develop an accurate and easy-to-use filing system.

Consult an experienced accountant if you have questions about how your scrapbook business will affect your tax liability or need assistance preparing the Schedule C.

• Insurance

Cardstock, patterned paper, and vellum are expensive and very easily damaged. If you’re running a digital scrapbooking business, your computer, software, scanner, and printer will easily be worth several thousand dollars.

Since most homeowner’s insurance policies have limits on the amount of business equipment they will cover, it’s a good idea to speak to a qualified insurance agent to determine what additional insurance coverage is best for your business needs.

• Licenses and Permits

Some areas have minimal regulations on home-based businesses, while others have much more stringent requirements in regards to licenses and permits. Contact your county courthouse and local zoning board to see what city, county, and state laws you must follow.

6. Take It One Day at a Time

Entrepreneurship is challenging, so don’t get discouraged if your scrapbook business encounters obstacles in the early stages. Adjust your business plan to meet these challenges head on and get ready to see your dreams turned into reality.