Paperly Promotions: The Good & The Bad

Save 25%!

Double your Hostess Rewards!

Starter Kits reduced to $149!

All of the above are examples of promotions Paperly either has offered in the past or could offer in the future.

Typically, Paperly offers such promotions once per month.  Some target customers who are interested in purchasing Paperly products: e.g. “save 25%” or “buy 2, get 1 free”.  Others target Hostesses who wish to maximize the free or discounted products they can earn: e.g. “double your Hostess Rewards” or “book a party at your current party and earn a $20 credit”.  And lastly, some target Consultants who either run, or wish to run a Paperly business: e.g. “Starter Kits reduced to $149” or “double the Paperly dollars you earn”.

Given that brief summary, most would say “Paperly promotions are good!”  But there are downsides to promotions.  First, promotions “train” customers, Hostesses and Consultants to “wait for a better deal”.  Like a bad drug, promotions are habit forming.  Plus, folks constantly expect better and better deals.  For example, a customer might say, “last year you gave 25% off, what are you going to do for me this year?”  To combat this behavior, Paperly purposely attempts to announce its promotions as late as reasonably possible, often just 7-14 days prior to the beginning of that promotion.  This purposeful tardiness lessens the likelihood of customers, Hostesses and Consultants delaying their actions while awaiting the next best thing.

A second negative is that Paperly’s promotions typically target only one constituent – either customers, Hostesses or Consultants – and the 2 remaining groups feel “left out”.  To be fair, Paperly tries to evenly rotate the promotions it offers.  However, certain promotions simply work better at certain times of the year.  For example, hosting a Paperly party in May can sometimes be challenging because the seasons are changing, schools are ending and sports leagues are in full gear.  Therefore, it may make sense for Paperly to offer a Hostess promotion in May.

All-in-all, Paperly will continue to offer monthly promotions, assuming it remains prudent, because we believe promotions are greatly appreciated by customers, Hostesses and Consultants.  Yet, Paperly also acknowledges that perhaps tomorrow, or some time far into the future, we may need to dampen the reliance on promotions.  Until then, I urge to take advantage of the promotions we offer… you never know when, or if it’ll come again.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

Not your typical stationery finds… MUCH more

I have been fortunate to host two Paperly parties within the past few years, and it’s so nice to see how the company keeps their stationery and gifts current. They offer so much more than just "stationery"! Everyone who attended the parties was able to find that perfect thing for them  or that perfect gift for someone else. The personalized gift tags and stickers were a huge hit, and the wine tags are adorable. Paperly also offers many items for kids, as well: plates, placemats, and ‘thank you‘ notes for all of those party gifts the kids receive. The personalized self-ink stamps were probably the most popular items. They’re great for everyday use. All told, my friends LOVE everything they ordered – once they could finally decide among Paperly’s unique items. I know that we’ll all continue to check out the latest at Paperly – it’s hard not to!

CarrieP, 2x Paperly Hostess

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A couple of the items Carrie's ordered using her Hostess Rewards:

Paperly & My Six-Year Old Niece

I recently had the joy of helping my soon-to-be six-year old niece design her birthday invitations. Since the party theme was Pinkalicious (like the book, for those who don’t know) the invitations had to be … pink, of course! Deciding on the borders and ink color were easy, since she already knew she wanted pink. However, choosing the perfect icon wasn’t as simple, since Paperly has so many cute “girly” options that would complement her party theme. Even for a six-year old, she is a very thorough researcher, so she carefully browsed the catalog for any designs that were pink and recorded their item numbers. Then she looked at each one online several times to narrow down the choices to her favorite three. She still couldn’t decide and wanted a little more time to think about it.

Two days later, as we celebrated her last day of Kindergarten, she announced she had chosen #10725 (Garden from the Personally Yours collection) for her invitations. I doubted she had remembered the correct item number and consulted the Paperly Web site via my BlackBerry to search for the item. Sure enough, she had the numbers exactly correct. Well, of course, she had. Aside from her incredible memory (which I should know by now not to question), she had even more reason to remember these numbers for they represented a very special day (for which she had been planning a very long time) for a very special girl.

Below, I’ve included an online proof.  I can’t wait for the invitations to arrive!

LauraS, Paperly Consultant (http://mypaperly.com/LauraShelley)

Money matters, but it’s not the only thing

To date, the #1 reason Consultants have joined Paperly is because they love our products.  The #2 reason is that they’re looking for a fun, stay-at-home business that isn’t overly saturated in their area.  Not until you get to #3 does the word “income” or “money” start to appear.

As Paperly’s co-owner, I’m VERY pleased to know that folks are joining Paperly for the right reasons!  After all, if my Consultants are not passionate about our products, then their “selling” of Paperly’s stationery is essentially a farce, and ultimately, that Consultant will fail.

That said, even though money is #3 on the list, it does matter.  As Paperly’s CEO, I need to ensure Consultants see the rewards of their efforts… and fast.  Thus, Paperly has begun the complex task of reviewing its compensation plan.  To me, Paperly’s comp plan needs to achieve the following 3 objectives:

1. Enable the “Seller” to succeed

Not every Paperly Consultant wants to recruit or manage a team.  Many simply enjoy selling Paperly’s products.  As such, I need to help these Consultants earn a very competitive commission on their personal sales, plus reward them with significant bonuses when they exceed reasonable targets.

2. Let the “Leaders” thrive

Some Consultants want to share their passion for Paperly with others.  They relish sponsoring others.  They love the challenge of building, managing and leading a team.  As such, I want these Consultants to earn a commission on the success of their direct recruits, their recruits’ recruits, and so on.  To me, a team leader spends a significant portion of her time cultivating her team, and therefore, needs to be rewarded when her team succeeds.

3. Provide plenty of “Known Surprises”

What’s a “known surprise”?  Imagine joining Paperly, reviewing the comp plan, and seeing that one day, you may earn a $100 bonus when X or Y occurs.  Sure, you know that bonus exists, but you forget about it, because you’re too busy falling in love with your Starter Kit and booking parties.  Then, a month or two pass, and you see in your commission check an extra $100 because you achieved X or Y.  Wow!  What a wonderful surprise, even though you knew it existed.  To me, a Consultant needs a constant shot of such surprises – often known but forgotten – that makes her smile and say, “yahoo!”

All 3 of these objectives will underlie Paperly’s future comp plan.  We’re confident it’ll enable Paperly to continue its torrid growth.  Personally, I can’t wait to start writing bigger and bigger commission checks to my Consultants.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

Memorial Day

Tomorrow kicks-off the Memorial Day weekend.  True, the holiday invokes idyllic images of barbeques, picnics, beaches and swimming pools.  To many, Memorial Day is merely the official start of summer.

However, to many others, Memorial Day is much more.  Dating back to the Civil War, and officially enacted as federal law in 1967, Memorial Day commemorates U.S. men and women who have died while in military service.

No words can say “thank you” enough to our servicemen and servicewomen.  And yet, words are what Paperly is all about.  So I ask you to think about the millions of letters that have gone back-and-forth from the frontline to the home front, from the days of the Civil War to today’s conflicts.  Often, these letters are the only thing that connects those in the military to their families.  Clearly, phones and computers have eroded the sole reliance on letters.  And yet, for those who never make it home – sadly – it is the soldier’s handwritten note that becomes the family’s most cherished treasure.

This Memorial Day weekend, take a few minutes and write a note to a serviceman or servicewoman.  Perhaps it’s a family member, a neighbor, an acquaintance or a complete stranger.  Perhaps write it on Paperly’s Personally Yours collection (including the special American flag icon shown below).  Doesn’t really matter… just write and create an everlasting memory – for the recipient as well as for yourself.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

Beautiful Stationery: Find Reasons to Use and Enjoy It Often

So many people I meet say that they LOVE stationery, but then, in the same breath, mention that they never write as many notes as they should.  Why is this?  Many reasons may make sitting and writing a thoughtful note a low priority.  Maybe you don’t know what words to use, you’re worried about the etiquette, you didn’t grow up writing or receiving letters/notes, etc.  Whatever the reason, I can think of two that come to mind for me:, first, emailing is more efficient than “snail mail”, and second, I will probably run into the person and be able to just thank them in person.  So here’s what I do, I fight the urge to email a quick thank you to someone because I know if I take literally 5 minutes out of my day the impact will be exponentially more meaningful when it is received in my friend’s mailbox.  This shows that I was thinking about the person even when I wasn’t with her - and who doesn’t love that!  Don’t we all dream of being the kind of friend who crosses others’ minds and gives them happy thoughts?!  It’s such a beautiful gift to give to someone.  And if you run into that person first, go ahead and thank them, all–the-while knowing that your special note is in the mail and will brighten her day and bring a smile to her face when she receives it!

The other thing that I hear from potential customers is, “I don’t really write notes.  I don’t do anything or go anywhere that is nice enough for me to write a ‘formal’ note.”  Huh???  Who said that just because you are writing a note on a piece of beautiful paper that the note must be in relation to something serious or life-changing?  If you love stationery and beautiful paper, use it whenever you can!  Let me give an example.  A few weekends ago we got together with another couple and all of our children.  It was a Friday night and we ordered pizza for the kids and enjoyed some adult beverages and good conversation.  We had so much fun!  Later in the weekend I sat down to write my friend a little note of thanks for inviting us over and told her how much fun we had.  It was actually better than getting a babysitter because we got to spend the evening with our kids but still have tons of fun because they were out of our hair the whole night playing!  Rarely do we have evenings as a family where all of us are truly enjoying ourselves, and when we do have them, they are special.  Had my friend not opened her home to us that night, we wouldn’t have been blessed with that evening.  Fortunately, we did have the experience and it was a great opportunity to write a fun thank you note.

P.S. Days later she called me and told me that she got my note and how nice it made her feel!  If I were a bettin’ woman, I’d say our next invitation to pizza night isn’t too far off!

CrystalL, Paperly Consultant (http://mypaperly.com/Crystal)

Ins and Outs of Stationery

Without question, Paperly is committed to delivering a quality product.  However, because Paperly’s brand is relatively unknown (even though we’ve been in the stationery business for 10+ years), I feel it’s important to spend a few minutes highlighting the “ins and outs” of Paperly’s stationery.

Paper Weight

·         To be honest, paper weight is more about “how it feels” than “cover weight, pounds, text weight or points”.  Suffice it to say, Paperly’s exclusively-designed stationery is the “right” weight: our flat notes are 80# and our folded notes are 60#.  (Folded notes need to be less weighty so the page can fold easily.)   Of course, memo sheets and notepads are thinner, since memo sheets are sold by the hundreds and notepad sheets by the dozens.

Printing

·         Paperly’s exclusive designs are printed using flat ink – i.e. think laser or digital printing.  Some of our outsourced products are printed with raised ink (called thermography) or are embossed.  Paperly carefully balances the cost/benefit of each print style to determine if it’s something that fits our product line.  For example, letterpress is beautiful, but expensive, and so we’ve decided it doesn’t fit our “social stationery” demographic.

Stationery Type

·         Paperly offers folded notes, flat notes (large and small), memo sheets, notepads, enclosure cards... well, you get the idea; there’s lot to choose from.  So how do you pick the “right” stationery?  Some say folded notes are for formal occasions.  Others say folded notes are best for kids because they provide extra room to write.  To be honest, we believe you pick the style you like best.  There’s no “right”, it’s simply what you love.

Personalization

·         Paperly is a BIG believer in personalization.  There’s something special about a product with your name on it.  A note with a generic “thank you” printed on it just isn’t the same as one with your name on it, especially when they’re priced similarly.  It doesn’t matter if you put your first name, your first & last name, your family’s name, your initials or your monogram – whatever works for you is perfectly fine with us, as long as it’s personalized.

As you can sense, I (and hence, Paperly) am passionate about stationery and proud of the products we offer.  In fact, I’m happy to mail loose samples to anyone interested in feeling the quality of our products firsthand.  Simply email your mailing address to info@paperly.com and we mail you a packet ASAP.  I’m confident you’ll LOVE what you receive.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

P.S. Since I’ve spent so much time discussing stationery, I wanted to at least mention the following.  One of the most common mistakes I see is misspelling the word “stationery”.  Stationery (with an “e”) is what Paperly offers.  Stationary (with an “a”) means not moving.