Lighthouse Stickers Project Launch

The November issue of Lighthouse Digest went in the mails yesterday to about 25,000 subscribers who will find a four color full page ad for Lighthouse Stickers on the inside front cover.

This is the official launch of the Lighthouse Stickers project. By tomorrow, the web site's Shopping Cart program should be active.

Initially, you'll find 'Buy' buttons for the sets of stickers such as the state sets and some regional sets (such as Outer Banks, Door County, etc.)

When this shopping cart is fully active, you'll be able to select and order individual stickers. Once the cart program is working, I'll post a reply here and you'll find an 'Introductory Special' exclusively for Forum members.

Over the past week, I've revised each of the almost 650 existing images, tweaking some of the images, but mostly revising and making more consistent the typography on each sticker.

These revised images can now be seen on the LighthouseStickers.com web site.

I have about 140 more images to go before my goal of having at least one sticker for every USA Lighthouse is reached. I hoped to have that done yesterday, but will extend that self-imposted deadline to the end of November.

The first dealer order for multiple products was received from the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum and they should have their stickers, passports and journals by the middle of this month. In the past, orders for single products were received from The Calvert Marine Museum (Drum Point and Cove Point Lighthouses), Hunting Island State Park SC, Fire Island Lighthouse, and the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (Cape May Lighthouse).

Lighthouse Depot should have products in the store and on their web site also within a couple of weeks.

Thanks to the great photographers -- most of them well-known Forum members -- for participating in this project. Meet the photographers here .

In addition to the photographers, I've received a lot of ideas and moral support from many, many of the Forum members for which I am very greatful. This has been a big undertaking (but a labor of love) for me over the past 4 months and the positive feedback from many of you has kept me going. Thanks so much.

In working on this project, I've learned a lot about lighthouses -- especially ones I've never heard of or had heard of, but never saw a picture of before.

On the commercial side, special thanks to Harbour Lights, Lighthouse Depot, the American Lighthouse Foundation and the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum for their early encouragement and support of the concept.

Thanks for all your hard work, John. I will be looking forward to getting my copy of the Lighthouse Digest. I am very interested in getting the stickers so will be standing bye.

Hey John, I'm so honored you have included my work in several of the images you needed. I'm also very excited about this project and promoting lighthouses in hopefully a fun and affordable way!

I sent some LS New Bedford photos to you via the webmaster@lighthousekeepers.com address, but I got back an Undeliverable Message thing...PM me with help!

OK...sent to the stickers address too...still doesn't work...

Great ad, John!

Judy

With about 500 junk emails each day, my mailbox sometimes gets full before I can empty it. Try again. Both the addresses you tried are working.

Still not working...

Do your emails have attachments? Most ISPs have limits on the size of attached files they will accept.

Try sending separate emails without attachments to both webmaster@lighthousekeepers.com and webmaster@lighthousestickers.com and I'll reply when I receive them.

Hi John, my list is ready for the stickers that I need. Haven't been over to the HL dealer yet, but have a trip planned this week and will obtain the information you need from them.

Joyce

OK...that might be it...I was trying to send 4 digital photos so you could choose...will try 4 emails, 1 per photo, to both addresses.

Well all my emails to a dozen or so addresses end up in the same mail box, so don't send copies to BOTH addresses.

John

Just got the digest...LOOKS GREAT! Amazingly, this isthe first time the magazine has arrived w/o the cover torn...

I agree, fantastic ad. Great job, John. Now all I have to do is figure out what I want too get.

I know the magazine has hit some homes. I got an order from a nice woman in Pennsylvania today who is just THRILLED with the idea of having a passport, a journal and stickers of the lighthouses they have visited.

In the meantime, I've scheduled the ad to rerun in the January issue in the same location.

I know the magazine has hit some homes. I got an order from a nice woman in Pennsylvania today who is just THRILLED with the idea of having a passport, a journal and stickers of the lighthouses they have visited.

In the meantime, I've scheduled the ad to rerun in the January issue in the same location.

I cannot wait to get my issue and see the printed ad! Glad to hear you have already gotten an order from the ad!

The LD arrived here yesterday.

You can't miss the ad...it's prominantly positioned!

I've got to settle down and get my order to you John. Wish I could have done this at The Keeper's Weekend, but as you know, that would have been difficult. Just to let you know...it is coming!

Judy

I've been following the progress of the delivery of Lighthouse Digest across the country starting in Maine. I do this by seeing where the requests for samples of the Lighthouse Stickers come from. Generally delivery is in the midwest right now, but there is one request from California out of about 50 received since the issue was mailed Oct 31.

I've worked up a mock-up for a display rack that will be available to dealers. This one is hand made from foam-core board, but the final will be made from clear lucite.

There are four rows to hold (from front to back), individual lighthouse stickers, Passports, Journals, and sheets of stickers by state or region.



The rack is about 12.5" wide by 6.5" deep by 18" high including the backer board that holds an 11 x 8.5" promo poster.

The dealers I've spoken to in person have been enthusiastic about having such a rack and this one takes up just over half a square foot of space. And counter or shelf space is at a premium in any store.

For retail sales, all the products are in sealed clear cello envelopes (except the journals are shrink-wrapped.)

Nice job John with this entire project and product. I think the display is great and have one idea (which you have probably already thought out). Will the lucite displays have the ability to be hung on a wall? I plan to show this to my dealer and to encourage her to carry the jounals, stickers and passports.

Ron
(CT Keeper)

It's great to see my picture of Marblehead, Mass made it into the ad!

Great display! I like it!

I got some good critical feedback from the retail director of St. Augustine's gift shop, Michael Cunningham today, which will cause me to redesign it somewhat.

In the meantime, they put the stickers and products out for sale yesterday and I stopped by this evening to see how they were displayed. They looked great and report that sales were going well -- and the staff said they WILL sell well, they loved them.

That display looks fantastic! Congratulations, John, you're moving right along with this!

Judy

Wow! Looks great! Up there with some prominent merchandise, too!

We've made Google! I've searching for "lighthouse sticker" periodically and not finding it -- now it shows up at the TOP of PAGE 1 on that search! Hip-Hip-Hooray!

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=lighthouse+sticker

Way to go, John! You're doing a fantastic job with promotion and it's beginning to pay off.

Judy

It has been said many times here on the forums, but it never hurts to hear it again. This project is just great. Your dedication has paid off. Lots of great business for a great looking product.

Derith

This is exciting John. You continue to improve this products marketing. Nice job and keep up the good work.

Ron
(CT Keeper)

I'm looking for someone with good readable handwriting who could make up some sample Passports and a few Journal pages which I can then scan and include on the website AND perhaps can provide to retail dealers as 'examples' that people can pick up and look at.

(My printing and headwriting is barely legible to myself!)

In the St. Augustine gift shop image you can see that they made their own example passport.

If you'd be willing to do this, I'll trade you Passports, Journals and Stickers for your own records.

Let me know at info@lighthousestickers.com I may send you some copy to handwrite and fax or email back to me as examples.

----------------------

BTW, I packed up my mock-up brochure rack and shipped it home as checked baggage. When the TSA went though the printer box (from top to bottom), they forgot to put the collapsed brochure rack back into the box.

I know they opened and inspected the contents because they always put a flyer in the box or suitcase that indicates they opened it -- and they resealed the box with TSA tape.

There goes about 4 hours worth of work!.

Darn airport security... too bad about the rack John. I hate it when you put that much time into something to have to start all over.

Sorry to hear about the missing rack John.

If you still need the help with the handwriting just let me know!

Hey John...I could make a mock-up passport, etc. on my computer...I am REALLY good at Publisher! (Amazing what that program can do!)

Thanks for the offers. I'm all set on the handwriting help.

How about about the "headwriting" help?

Hey Paul - where you been, man?! It's been ages. Welcome back.

IMing with Shortcake tonight and found out that she showed up at the St. Augustine Lighthouse Museum Gift Shop about 45 minutes after I left on Saturday.

Sorry I missed her -- but glad to hear she bought a bunch of stickers.

The Shopping Cart feature is now finally working. You can read about how to buy from the Lighthouse Stickers web site at:

www.LighthouseStickers.com/shopping.htm

You can pay for your purchases using either a personal check or money order OR with a credit card or debit card through PayPal.

Details on the payment methods are on the shopping page linked above.

On the shopping cart check out page, if you enter the discount code 'forums' (without the quotes), you'll receive a 10% discount. This discount code will be active at least through December 20, 2003.

My new goal for completion of images for all 700+ USA lighthouses is the end of this year. I believe there about 88 lighthouses currently not represented by images. I have a number of images from our group of photographers yet to process.

One feature that looks like it is going to be a BIG job is allowing the purchase of individual lighthouse stickers. You can see how this will work on this page:

http://www.lighthousestickers.com/stickers/DE_stickers.htm

With a total of over 750 individual lighthouse stickers, that means creating those 'Add to Cart' buttons 700+ times. There may be an easier way. I'm exploring options within the shopping cart program.

Thanks for all your encouragement and patience. Look for the full page color ad to rerun in the January issue of Lighthouse Digest.

I just received my order of a book and 60 stickers to start my collection, as well as a passport, and I think we can give them a certified WOW (with due respect to Bill H. for stealing his phrase). The stickers are bright and vivid and will be a great reminder of lights that I have visited. I must also say John, that I couldn't believe how fast they got here. That priority mail really does work faster. Keep up the good work, I think you have a winner.

Thanks Jim...

Glad you liked them! :p

I'm using the www.usps.com website to print labels for priority and express mail which allows you to print labels with or without postage. It's a neat system and saves time waiting in line at the PO.

Because you have traceable prepaid postage affixed (as opposed to stamps), you can drop them in a mail box instead of having to take them to a window.

By using the online system, you get FREE delivery notification and they'll send the recipient an email notifying them that a package is on the way.

Just thought I'd bring this topic back to the top and see how things are going for the project.....

Haven't had any updates from John lately, and I'm really excited about this taking off. How close are you to having every light?? Also, once you get all of them, will you begin looking harder for weather and low light shots for them?

And to echo what's already been said, you're doing a fantastic job, keep up the good work.

Thanks, Mike...

I counted up 71 lights yet to go (out of about 700.) And for probably one-third of those 71, I have an image; just haven't processed it yet.

My biggest hole is in that Champeen Lighthouse State of Michigan. Missing a bunch. www.LighthouseStickers.com/stickers/MI_stickers.htm

If some of you have submitted images that you see are missing, please email a reminder to me as to which ones you've sent me and the format you submitted.

I was ready to send out my 'want list' yesterday, but figure I owe it to all the participating photographers to make certain I haven't overlooked some that have been sent to me.

Once those 71 are done, I'll be looking for seasonal and 'after dark' images as well as Lifesaving Stations and Lifeboat Stations.

Far as I can tell, once these 71 missing images are included, this will be the ONLY site on the Internet where you can view an image of EVERY USA lighthouse.

My goal remains to wrap this up THIS YEAR which means I'll be working hard between the holidays!!

Sales to individuals picked up briefly after I emailed out a reminder. I have held off promoting widely to lighthouse gift shops until about late February or early March with some exceptions. One of the things I've learned from the gift shops is that is the time they generally place orders for the 'up-coming' season.

I will do an accounting of sales of images in 2003 and send that out to each of the photographers.

The full page inside-front cover ad that ran in the November issue of Lighthouse Digest will repeat in the January issue which should hit the mails within a few days of New Year's Day.