Discover Marketing

6 Responses to “10 tips to improve your Mail Order Catalog”  

1. 1 Ben T White Mar 13th, 2008 at 12:05 am

   Tip Number One - Take advantage of the most visible spots.

   The most visible, prominent pages are the front cover, back cover, center two pages and the first two pages. These are pages that will be looked at before the customer has committed to reading your catalog.

   The covers: “Hmm… What’s this? Say that looks neat.”
   The center pages; having been interested by the covers, they open to the middle far a “random” selection of your products. They proceed to…
   The first pages for information.

   These are highly visible areas. It would be logical to use these pages to sell your strongest and most interesting and useful items. Think of these pages as a hook which grabs the customers attention and promises more things of interest in the other pages.

2. 2 Ben T White Mar 13th, 2008 at 12:08 am

   Tip Number Two - The Cover

   Your catalog cover is the icing on the cake. It is based on this that first-time readers will decide to look inside. A simple decision but without it you won’t sell a thing.

   If you’ve done any kind of creative writing, you know of the narrative hook. The cover is your first narrative hook. It make the prospect want to look inside instead of throwing your catalog into the trash can as junk mail.

   Your cover also relates some important information to the prospect.
   
   1. Category or type of good being sold.

   2. Price range of goods being sold.

   3. Your target, who you’re selling to.

   4. Your image or the type of people you are.

   5. To what season the good are related.
   
   My opinion as to what to put on your cover is simple. A picture that relates numbers 1, 3, & 4, a logo or business name that stays the same for Brand-ability, and a call to action like “look inside”.

   I leave out price all together until they’ve decided they want to see what I’ve got. You don’t want price shoppers. That’s my opinion, again. I want customers who are willing to pay the price that supports my profit margin; because my profit margin supports the business enterprise. Most people are more than willing to pay your price if want your product; if only to avoid spending the time to find the lowest price.

   If your catalog sells shoes, a picture of shoes is obvious and it covers number1. However, lets put in the others, too. If its sports shoes include something to call up thoughts of those sports you’re targeting. Someone playing those sports and having a great time. That gets number 3 involved. Number 4 is almost automatic because those reading will build an image of you in their mind according to what images and text you show them. To expound upon your image, you can go in depth with a mission statement inside the catalog, but the cover gives the first impression.

   Your logo or business name is part of number 4, too. I use this as an opportunity for Branding. I don’t change a logo unless I want to change customers. A highly visible and recognizable logo will ensure that whenever a prospect sees your catalog they know its you. This also build customer loyalty by exploiting the comfort of the expected.

   Your call to action. Its pretty simple. Tell them to do something. Something related to browsing your catalog. e.g. “Look inside”, “see inside for details”, “find out about the new item on page 14″.

   I consider number 5 to be a bonus (as it concerns the pictures). If you sell pretty much the same thing year round, then its not necessary. If you’ve got a few seasonal specials, then a simple word will suffice. i.e. Spring, Winter, Fall, Summer. Although, I would recommend a complete theme change for seasonal specials like Christmas, Easter, Halloween.

3. 3 Ben T White Mar 13th, 2008 at 12:13 am

   Tip Number Three - The Back Cover

   The second most visible area. For any publication, books, magazines and catalogs, too, once you’ve decided what on the cover warrants spending your time to pick it up, you turn it over to see the other side. Its your second biggest impression. So big in fact that if you display an item there, it will generate about 33% more sales than other items in your catalog.

   All the space in your catalog is valuable. Especially this area. Instead of time is money, space is money. Spend it wisely.

   So, if the item featured on the back cover bring a third more sales, we need to be picky about what we put there. Not just a random item, you want a strong seller and one with as large a profit margin as possible. The last catalog I consulted on had a product with a 20% profit margin. The client had stronger sellers hidden within the catalog. The biggest profit margin was around 500%. i.e. bought for $1.00, sold for $5.00. Not only did sales go up, but profit was increased. He was happy.

   Some other things to increase the value or your catalog real estate are credit card logos, telephone number for ordering, guarantees and beaming testimonials, and teasers or hooks that entice but don’t give away the whole story promised inside.

4. 4 Ben T White Mar 13th, 2008 at 12:13 am

   Tip Number Four - Layout

   Layout is nothing to get nervous about. Its the format of you catalog. To break it down simply, your pages need ads for your products. An ad in you catalog will have a picture of the product and copy to sell it. Your copy will have a headline or title.

   The pictures:

   There are may ways to format your pictures; a simple picture, a picture with a border or with a drop shadow. You can place the picture above the copy below, or to one side. You could even place it between the main copy and headline. If you want to make the product stand out, cut our the background in a image editor and apply a drop shadow. The product will appear to leap off the page. You can also mix and match these type of picture formats. For example, using photos with the background removed can be placed next to one with a border will highlight that product an lend diversity to the layout.

   The words:

   A simple layout might have a block of text taking up roughly the same space as the corresponding pictures. But that can be boring. Its a lot easier to let the text be what ever length you need to sell the item. You may place all the product descriptions in a column to one side of the page using letters to connect pictures with their copy.

   Avoid using the same size and shape of ad on every page. Mix it up and make sure that it is very clear what product your copy is talking about and what picture refers to it. Keep in mind that space on you page is valuable real estate. Bigger ad should feature stronger sellers.

   Now, allow me to explain the best way to inspire yourself for building your catalog’s layout… Your mailbox. Look at the catalogs you receive in the mail. Many of these have been designed my professionals and have been tested on the market.

5. 5 Ben T White Mar 13th, 2008 at 12:14 am

   Tip Number Five - Copy

   Pictures are great but the copy is far more important. Its what really sells the product. To do this you must know the target market before writing can begin.

   Give good physical description but don’t spend too much time on that. Remember to sell the value. Solve a problem. Show the customer how this product will solve the problem facing them. Talk up the benefits. Make sure they know your product is the best available to them. Allow them to feel comfortable buying from you. Guarantee your items. They need to know if something goes wrong you’ll make it right no matter what.

   Also, sell to the heart, not the head. There are many logical reason to buy something. But its your emotions that make you buy. Its your head that uses those “logical reasons” to get what you heart wants. Let me explain via example…

   Back to shoes:

   “These shoes have soft soles and are made of strong leather and will last for a long time.” Good. There’s a benefit.

   “Soft soles ensure your comfort and because they’re made of strong leather we guarantee them for a year with free replacement.” Much better. There’s an appeal to how you will feel and a strong guarantee. I’d buy these shoes.

6. 6 Ben T White Mar 13th, 2008 at 12:15 am

   The following tips coming soon

   6) Seasonal

   7 ) Captions

   8 ) Type Face

   9 ) Sales

   10 ) Order Form