Scrapblog Marketplace: Virtual Goods Make Great Memories

Another web-based company is going the route of virtual goods. Scrapblog, the online tool for creating, sharing and printing scrapbooks online, is soft-launching the Scrapblog Marketplace this weekend with a full release scheduled for Monday. What does this marketplace provide? Additional digital content from companies and designers in the scrapbooking industry through a series of stores. Premium content will include things like specialized backgrounds, stickers, badges, and more. Users will need to purchase credits which can be redeemed in exchange for the extra goods.

It makes sense for Scrapblog to start charging for more premium features and “accessories,” if you will, especially as this is how physical scrapbooking retailers make their money. Not only will this provide additional revenue for Scrapblog but it extends a wealth of features and montization options to end users, brands and designers. It’s a method that many have used in the past, from photo-editing and sharing sites like Picnik to virtual avatar services like Meez.

I would even go so far as to say that the new Scrapblog Marketplace is akin to what we’ve seen from Animoto’s video-creation service, in that Scrapblog is now establishing an entire forum for designers and those already in the industry to provide their creativity in exchange for monetary rewards. The a la carte model that Scrapblog is going after here works with the principles of the long tail approach and also reflects the attitude we’ve seen a number of web-based services take in regards to a growing need for revenue without a heavy reliance on advertising.

That doesn’t mean that advertising can’t be a factor in Scrapblog’s Marketplace, given Scrapblog’s promotion of popular companies’ content along with designers’ content for use in the Marketplace. This makes the Marketplace an opportunity for more engaging advertising, and I imagine some cross-service and cross-network potential for sharing an organic presence within the social media space is a somewhat attractive lure to many brands out there. Scrapblog already has a Facebook app connecting content from your Scrapblog account to be ported onto your Facebook profile. Align the new Marketplace with some of these cooperative applications and advertisers may find even more ways in which to insert their campaigns accordingly.

But as I mentioned before, an established Marketplace for a prominent media-sharing site like Scrapblog could become a great platform for independent designers wishing to sell their work directly to Scrapblog users while earning revenue for their work. This doesn’t seem to be an option just yet, but as I imagine having a system similar to Minted could work well with the Scrapblog demographic it’s good to hear that Scrapblog is planning on a more open marketplace later on down the line.

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.