10 Questions with LynnAnne Cutler, Founder of Jewish-Scrapbooking.com

LynnAnne Cutler, a mother of three, runs Jewish-scrapbooking.com, a website specifically focused on Jewish scrappers and those scrapbooking about Jewish topics. I recently had the opportunity to talk to LynnAnne and discuss the challenges associated with starting and maintaining a website dedicated to a scrapbooking niche.

1. There are so many websites dedicated to scrapbooking. What made you decide to start your own?
   
   I got online pretty quickly after I started scrapbooking. I found that inspiration for particularly Jewish page themes was rare, and most sites had one or two other Jewish scrapbookers at most. Often, I was the only one. No one seemed to know much about who made or sold Jewish papers or embellishments, or had tips to compensate for the lack of products there was at the time. The places I loved to hang out were always complimentary and supportive of any pages I created, Jewish or otherwise, but the scrappers seemed spread out and the manufacturers and retailers seemed spread out. I didn't want to feel so spread out, I wanted everything in one place, a hub for Jewish scrapbookers to come kvell and kvetch and share our pages with each other. After five years of searching on and off and not finding any such place online, I modified that old motto "if you want something done, you've got to do it yourself" a little and created the place I'd been looking for.
   
   
2. How did you get the website started?
   
   I started taking a fresh look at online scrapbooking communities, paying attention to the formats, and which ones I found easier and more difficult to navigate. I found a free website for hosting sites online and created a couple of sample sites to see how easy or hard it would be. I wrote to administrators of sites I liked and frequented, and asked questions about their website-software experiences. When I thought I had a good idea of what it would take to host the site, technically-speaking, I sought out members to help me test it out.
   
   
3. How did you reach out to find members for your site?
   
   First, I tried to remember the places I'd met Jewish scrapbookers online. I contacted ladies through a Yahoo group called JewishScrappers. I wrote to one person here, another there. I did a couple of general announcements on sites that allow them. I then invited all these people to "beta test" the website and provide feedback. Good thing I did because the registration process didn't work right on the free hosting program I was trying out. I had to move to a different system before we even opened. When I thought most of the kinks (at least, the most annoying ones!) had been worked out, I put out a Design Team call and started planning a big Grand Opening. Jewish manufacturers and retailers (and even some supportive general interest lines) were very excited about the site concept, and generous with the prizes they provided. The Grand Opening and Design Team contests combined with the publicity surrounding them provided us with many of our initial members.
   
   
4. How did you find sponsors for your website?
   
   For the Grand Opening, I wrote to just about every manufacturer I knew of who produced at least a selection of Jewish papercrafting designs, plus the couple of online retailers who specialize in crafty Judaica. Our initial design team sponsors were enthusiastic companies from our Grand Opening sponsor list, and since then we've had an even mix of companies emailing me to ask about sponsoring, and companies I've contacted myself.
   
   
5. What advice do you have for someone who wants to start a web site dedicated to a particular scrapbooking niche?
   
   It seems to me that a good way to approach it is to build a site that will fit the needs of the community you hope to attract, do as much as you can to find and invite those whom you'd like to include, provide new content as often as you can, and then allow lots of time for growth. The site will grow best if you're on it every day, and get a core of active people around you who are committed to the site as well. When members stop by, they want to see that something new has been posted since last time they visited. Work on finding ways to center the community around your niche, without being exclusionary to other interested parties who want to be part of it also. Jewish-scrapbooking.com has non-Jewish members who are absolutely vital to our community, even though conversation often centers around Jewish topics that would be utterly confusing to others if we tried to have them on general-interest message boards
   
   
6. What is the most challenging thing about founding a website dedicated to a scrapbooking niche?
   
   I don't think the founding was the hard part. The maintenance - keeping the community new and vital - is much harder. While this is true for any website, in a niche like ours we're lucky to get one new product release a year, instead of a show-full every CHA. When new manufacturers pop up only occasionally (and not usually with a full line), finding new products and information to keep everyone interested takes a little more elbow-grease.
   
   
7. You recently had a baby and you have two other young children. How do you find time for everything?
   
   I tried listing all my jobs and responsibilities for someone a couple of weeks ago, and it sounded really overwhelming when put all together like that! I think I get done what I get done by prioritizing, taking things one project or day at a time, and then forgiving myself when something falls through the cracks. (I'd be lying if I tried to pretend I got everything on my to-do lists checked off every day!)
   
   
8. I know that your husband scrapbooks and even posts his work on the Internet. How did you get him started?
   
   Ian had been critiquing my work for a year when an online community I was part of hosted an online crop. I got referral credit for bringing in someone who completed two challenges, so I insisted he participate! After the first two layouts his manly competitiveness gene kicked in, and he probably did another five and at the end, he was sent a prize just for being the only man at the crop! After that, he was hooked just like the rest of us.
   
   
9. How would you describe your scrap style?
   
   Cyclical. I'm all into different uses of paper and cardstock for a while, then I'm all about new, artsy techniques and mediums...and then back again. Right now I'm into keep-it-simple...but I'm expecting some metal-embossing equipment in the mail any day, so we'll see how long that lasts!
   
   
10. What is the best part of it all?
    
    The best part of it has to be having the community I'd been hoping to find and being able to make so many new friends I automatically have something in common with. And of course, being among the first to learn about new Jewish designs becoming available from our manufacturer friends is a big bonus, too!

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