Grand Prize!!! Annual Giveaway Winner #5….

January 9, 2010 | Filed Under posts with pics, studio news and happenings | 1 Comment

grandprize winner

Here’s the winning ticket for the grand prize – a $350 gift card to Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls! Based on the latest pricing, this gift card is good for a romantic stay in a suite with champagne and strawberries delivered to your room, dinner at Piatto Novo, and the breakfast buffet the next morning! You must comment on this blog post or the facebook post ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 13th to claim your prize. Once we have confirmed your prize claim, you may bring or mail your winning ticket to our studio in exchange for the prize. If you do not claim your prize via our blog or facebook fan page by January 13th, a new winning ticket will be drawn and posted January 14th forfeiting your prize. REMEMBER: We do not know who received which ticket….so we have no way of contacting you. The fun is in the surprise!!

Annual Giveaway Winner #1 – Round 2

January 7, 2010 | Filed Under posts with pics, studio news and happenings | 1 Comment

The prize for the first winning ticket originally posted on January 1st was not claimed, so here’s the new winning ticket:

winner _1 2nd round

Our former client who received this ticket in their holiday card wins a $25 gift certificate to Main Street Cupcakes in Hudson. You must comment on this blog post or the facebook post ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 12th to claim your prize. Once we have confirmed your prize claim, you may bring or mail your winning ticket to our studio in exchange for the prize. If you do not claim your prize via our blog or facebook fan page by January 12th, a new winning ticket will be drawn and posted January 13th forfeiting your prize. REMEMBER: We do not know who received which ticket….so we have no way of contacting you. The fun is in the surprise!!

Annual Giveaway Winner #4

January 7, 2010 | Filed Under posts with pics, studio news and happenings | 1 Comment

winner _4

Our former client who received this ticket in their holiday card wins a “Date Night” prize including a $25 gift card to Regal Cinemas and a $50 gift card to Hudson’s Restaurant in Hudson. You must comment on this blog post or the facebook post ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 12TH to claim your prize. Once we have confirmed your prize claim, you may bring or mail your winning ticket to our studio in exchange for the prize. If you do not claim your prize via our blog or facebook fan page by January 12th, a new winning ticket will be drawn and posted January 13th forfeiting your prize. REMEMBER: We do not know who received which ticket….so we have no way of contacting you. The fun is in the surprise!!

Annual Giveaway Winner #3

January 5, 2010 | Filed Under posts with pics, studio news and happenings | 1 Comment

winner _3

Our former client who received this ticket in their holiday card wins a $25 gift card to Three Daughters and a Mom Boutique, located in Stow. You must comment on this blog post or the facebook post ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 10TH to claim your prize. Once we have confirmed your prize claim, you may bring or mail your winning ticket to our studio in exchange for the prize. If you do not claim your prize via our blog or facebook fan page by January 10th, a new winning ticket will be drawn and posted January 11th forfeiting your prize. REMEMBER: We do not know who received which ticket….so we have no way of contacting you. The fun is in the surprise!!

Bring on 2010 (and a tribute to 2009)

January 4, 2010 | Filed Under accessories, catalog invitations, custom invitations, studio news and happenings | 2 Comments

The start of a new year – time for resolutions, goals and a fresh outlook for what is to come! As we sat down today to list the things we want to accomplish at Paper Persuasions in 2010 – we couldn’t help but review the progress we made in 2009. All I can say is this: we are blown away at the support and growth we experienced this past year. In a year marked with significant economic slowdown and several new competitors in our area, we experienced a 48% increase in sales from 2008. We feel truly blessed to have worked with so many wonderful people this past year and we continue to be amazed by the awesome things our customers say about us! Stephanie and I get to live out a dream every day that we go to work, and it’s all because of our amazing customers!

Now, I’m not usually the one blogging (we leave that up to the more creative sister)…but the other day I was glancing over some of the spreadsheets I’ve created along the way and I thought it would be fun to start 2010 by sharing some of the statistics I tracked for 2009.

custom design

People always ask us: “How long does it take to make 100 invitations?” Well – every job varies…the total time it takes depends on the number of layers and the number of type of adornments. Here’s a few fun facts regarding our custom design jobs from 2009.

12.76 hours: Average labor hours on a custom design job
27.61 hours: Our highest hours of labor on one custom invitation order. It was an order of 175 pocketfolds with ribbon, three inserts, 5 response card layouts, and all addresses printed by us.
29.89 hours: Our highest hours of labor on one custom accessories order (this was one huge wedding!) It included 300 booklet ceremony programs, 300 menus, 300 placecards, and 30 tented table numbers.
88.41%: Percent of custom orders that included return address printing on the back flap of the mailing envelope
31.88%: Percent of custom orders that included guest addresses printed on mailing envelopes (aka computer calligraphy)
71.01%: Percent of orders that were pocketfolds (yup, that’s what we’re known for!)
45.98%: Percent of invitation orders that also included custom accessories

money

At Paper Persuasions we offer various discounts to stay competitively priced, to reward our clients for previous purchases and/or subscription to our newsletter AND for the support of community outreach. Below are statistics that show where our clients saved the most money.

$16, 896.53 in discounts were given to catalog clients for various promotions and sales throughout the year
$3,016 in discounts were given to customers who donated 5 items to the Domestic Violence Project with their catalog invitation order
$1,810 in discounts were given to customers who purchased accessories after purchasing invitations from us
$156 in discounts were given to customers who redeemed money-saving offers from our newsletter Paper Points

survey

We value our clients opinions because without them, we wouldn’t know how to improve….so with almost EVERY SINGLE ORDER we send out a survey and a SASE to encourage its return. From the completed surveys, we have compiled the following information…and let me add that we are humbled by the results. Statiscally, surveys are more often completed by people who have a gripe – as you will see, that’s not the case here!

98% of invitations ordered are for a wedding
100% of customers who responded rated Paper Persuasions as ”Excellent” on the following: Quality of final product, Meeting expectations, Customer service, Clear and concise communication, and Overall ease of process (choices are Poor, Good, and Excellent)
100% of customers who responded rated Paper Persuasions as “Above Average” on those same categories when compared to stationery providers they have previously utilized (Choices are Below Average, Average, and Above Average)
100% of customers who responded said they would recommend us to family and/or friends

thanks

We pretty much said the same thing in our 2008 year-in-review post but it bears repeating: We just cannot believe how much we have grown and how far we have come in the past 12 months. Of course, we wouldn’t be where we are without our past brides. Many of whom we still keep in touch with, many of whom we miss seeing on a regular basis – and all of whom are the reason we were voted BEST INVITATIONS IN AKRON/CANTON for the SECOND YEAR IN A ROW!!! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We eagerly await the blessings and challenges that 2010 has in store for us and we thank each and every one of you for your continued business, support, and referrals!!!

2009 Annual Giveaway Winner #2

January 4, 2010 | Filed Under posts with pics, studio news and happenings | 1 Comment

winner _2

Our former client who received this ticket in their holiday card wins a “Date Night” prize including a $25 gift card to Regal Cinemas and a $50 gift card to Hudson’s Restaurant in Hudson. You must comment on this blog post or the facebook post ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 9TH to claim your prize. Once we have confirmed your prize claim, you may bring or mail your winning ticket to our studio in exchange for the prize. If you do not claim your prize via our blog or facebook fan page by January 9th, a new winning ticket will be drawn and posted January 10th forfeiting your prize. REMEMBER: We do not know who received which ticket….so we have no way of contacting you. The fun is in the surprise!!

Introducing our Referral Program

December 26, 2009 | Filed Under studio news and happenings | Leave a Comment

Tickets

Since referrals are a large part of our business – and many of our invitations are heavily discounted – we simply cannot afford to offer gifts or discounts to every single one…but we came up with a fun way to offer a monthly chance to win. The more you refer, the greater your chances!

______________________________________________________

One winner per month!
(the more you refer, the greater your chances!)

At the end of every month one ticket will be drawn to win a $25.00 gift card (winners get to pick from an assortment of restaurants & stores).
All non-winning tickets are moved into the drawing for our Annual Holiday Giveaway.
Wash, rinse, repeat until the end of the year.
____

It’s easy to earn tickets!
(and we even keep track of them for you!)

Once you’ve decided Paper Persuasions is the place to be, be sure to talk about us to your friends and family that might need our services. When they visit us and mention your name, you will earn tickets as follows:

Earn 1 ticket for each client that mentions your name. The client does not have to buy from us – just meet with us!
Earn 2 tickets for each client that mentions your name AND any internet messaging board / chat room / networking site!
Earn 3 tickets for each client that mentions your name AND brings you with them to their first meeting with us!
_____

Grand-Prize winner at year end!
(the more you refer, the greater your chances!)

At the end of the year, all non-winning tickets from previous months are combined and eligible for our annual Holiday Giveaway. Prizes include a romantic getaway for two and other gifts which support local area businesses. (check out 2009’s giveaway gifts here)
_____

We are truly humbled by the wonderful things our customers have said about us, and we’re so thankful for the new customers that we meet because someone recommended us. Word of mouth is simply the best possible advertising for a small business. It’s responsible for our continued growth over the past 4 years, and we are excited to say THANK YOU for raving about us by offering this referral program!

We’ve been featured!

December 1, 2009 | Filed Under posts featuring other vendors, studio news and happenings | Leave a Comment

Just a quick post to let you know that Paper Persuasions has been featured on another fabulous wedding blog!!

as featured on the blog of heratige studio and gallery!

Last week Amy Cameron from Heritage Studio and Gallery interviewed Stacy and I asking about how we got started, some of our favorite products and trends that we are seeing for 2010. Be sure to check out the post about us here…and while you are there, you’ll want to spend some time admiring their work!

Here’s a little tidbit about them: Heritage Studio and Gallery combines the talents of two professional photographers, Dave Ruegg and Amy Cameron. Each is a skilled lifestyle photographer who specializes in photojournalistic wedding photography especially in the Akron, Canton, and Cleveland areas. Senior pictures and family portraits are also available in studio or on location. Please visit their studio, art gallery, and custom frame shop in Canal Fulton, just over ten minutes from The Strip in North Canton.

Thanks to the both of you for selecting us! We are honored to be featured alongside your amazing work!

Killer Save-the-Date discounts start…..NOW!

November 17, 2009 | Filed Under accessories, catalog invitations, posts with pics, studio news and happenings | Leave a Comment

Today 500 of these postcards were mailed to brides who attended the Today’s Bride Show and whose weddings fall within the 2010 calender year. But – I’m feeling super nice today (stacy is back from vacation!!) so this year we’re going to extend our annual “Save-the-Date Sale-a-bration” to more than just 500 bridal show brides. You too have the opportunity to save by printing the postcard and bringing it in with you when you place your save the date order!! Hurry in – the sale-a-bration doesn’t last forever! To qualify for the save-the-date AND the future invitation purchase discount, your save-the-date order MUST be placed with all final content and a 50% deposit submitted to Paper Persuasions by 4:00 pm on January 8th.

paper persuasions save the date sale-a-bration!

Bridal Show Recap – Today’s Bride / Sheraton Suites – October 2009

October 26, 2009 | Filed Under catalog invitations, custom invitations, do it yourself, posts featuring other vendors, posts with pics, studio news and happenings | Leave a Comment

In four years of Today’s Bride shows, this was our first year doing the October show. We’ve always hesitated because we were worried people would miss our booth since they have to snake in and out of the Sheraton’s conference rooms with heards of people in front of and behind them. Plus we happen to love our corner booth in the perfectly aligned wide aisles of the January JSK Center show. But I have to say we were surprised! We were located in the Medina Room (aka: the hotdog room) with Acme Fresh Market Catering and the lovely Krista and Bob from Focus on You Video and Design. Now, after smelling and watching people eat hotdogs for 6 hours straight, I may never eat another one….but free food does wonders for foot traffic! Thanks to those of you who took the time to stop by or booth and meet us – we look forward to seeing you in the studio where we can hear a little more about your weddings and help you find or design the perfect invitation! In the meantime – enjoy these pictures (many of which were shared with us by Focus on You – thanks Bob and Krista!). Oh – and if you want to see something super-cool, be sure to check out the time lapse video of the show on their blog - an entire bridal show in 2 minutes.