In 2007, I was contacted by Print Professional Magazine for an article they were writing that would touch on magalogs. Having spent 14 years in the media, I know what it’s like to interview someone who grunts out short answers; it’s a rotten experience. I swore I’d never be like that when someone asks me questions. In fact, I’m at the opposite end of the spectrum… my answers can be mini-essays.
So it wasn’t any surprise to see about three pages of answers whittled down to six paragraphs in the published article. However, it occurred to me that some marketers new to magalogs would find this information useful. Since the interview was done via e-mail, it’s an easy task to copy/paste the magazine’s questions and my answers here on the magablog.
So, you’ve been warned… this will be lengthy. But if you’re new to magalogs, I really believe this will be helpful.
What is your definition of a magalog?
When I get that ‘definition’ question, it usually comes from marketers who have experience in other areas, but not with magalogs. They’ve already heard that it’s a combination of magazine and catalog, but for whatever reason, that doesn’t seem to create a clear picture for everyone. So, to keep things simple, I tend to describe it as a sales letter on steroids. Like many sales letters, a magalog will start with a big idea or promise headline, include graphics and charts, some sidebars and an order form to go along with the main body copy. But with the magalog, we’re usually creating something with a stronger visual appeal, much like you’d notice in a magazine or even a high-end newsletter.
Magalogs also remind me of theater actors who have to project and make bigger movements so people all the way in the back can see and hear. In this case, the magalog has to stand out from the other mail that people get and that’s why you often see bold headlines and large cover photos.
They do contain advertising, correct?
Primarily, yes. But it’s not always as direct as “Read this magalog about our product, then order the product when you’re done.” For one client, the thrust of their magalog was to get people to go to their site to take a quiz. Obviously, once the quiz is complete, their intent is to sell their products and services, or at the very least get contact information. But there wasn’t an order form at the back of the magalog where you could actually buy something.
I’ve also been contacted by individuals, primarily consultants, who feel that a magalog would give them a vehicle to contact their current and potential clients throughout the year without it coming across as a blatant ad. Again, the ultimate goal is to sell a product or service they offer, but they want to provide more than just sales copy…perhaps some inspirational articles or tips related to the industry they target. Their hope is that people won’t throw the magalog away as junk mail…they’re hoping the reader will find the articles useful and keep the magalog or pass it on to others so their name is visible throughout the year.
Is the term synonymous with bookalog?
Not completely in my mind, but we could debate the point where one becomes the other. Some would say it’s physical size, some would say it’s page count, some would say it’s the binding that’s used. (At a certain point, saddle-stitch might not work so you’d use perfect binding and thus slip into bookalog territory.)
Personally, I don’t spend much time on terminology. I try to listen to what the client is wanting and give it to them. Whatever they want to call it is fine with me.
Which industries are among the biggest users of magalogs?
Health (normally alternative health) and financial products like investing newsletters, by far, are the most popular topics for magalogs that I see. And for a couple of reasons this makes sense. First, those two areas have to deal with a lot of skepticism. So having a long-form magalog allows you the space to “build your case,” so-to-speak, and include all your supporting information…testimonials, charts, graphics, etc. And in the health field, large, full-color photos of healthy people enjoying the benefits of your product look better in a glossy magalog. (Of course, all sorts of paper types are used in magalogs…they’re not always glossy.)
Do you see use of magalogs growing?
I think I see it evolving and that will really determine whether it grows, stays the same for a while, or drops in popularity. One reason is the new postal rates where mailing a traditional magalog is more expensive. Generally speaking, a magalog isn’t cheap to produce to begin with when you factor in copywriting, design, printing and mailing. So with a rate hike, you really have to consider if it’s cost effective.
What I have seen in just the last couple of weeks is magalogs in smaller sizes, like 5.5 x 8.5, or full-size but folded in half to fit into a 6×9 envelope. That’s not a totally new idea, but I think you’ll see more of it if marketers find it’s less expensive, yet still generating a good response rate.
I do feel strongly, though, that there will always be a need for long-form marketing pieces like magalogs or bookalogs. But it won’t be for marketers who casually jump from one marketing method to another. I think a lot of people jumped on the magalog bandwagon when they probably shouldn’t have. Those people won’t find increased costs very attractive and will likely move on to something else.
Those who continue with magalogs or start using them will really need to feel confident not only in what they’re offering and the premiums they offer, but also in their mailing lists. With the costs involved, mailing to a weak list is probably going to lead to disappointment.
Earlier I mentioned consultants and I think that is a potential, albeit small, growth area for magalogs. The people I’ve talked to want to get away from a traditional brochure or sales letter and they don’t feel their target audience has the time or the desire to be visiting a website to get information.
They want something similar to a magazine that will be kept and handed around or left on a lounge-room table because there is useful information included, not just a list of their products or services. But because these people are not always a large business with lots of money for marketing, they may only do a small print run of their magalog. The downside for them is that it will be a bit more difficult to track the effectiveness of their magalog because there might not be an “order now” offer that would tell them immediately if the magalog is a success.
What makes this an effective format compared to, say, a brochure or other type of printed promotional piece?
In the beginning, the magalog’s newness is what made it effective. All of us do a pretty good job of filtering out the noise in our lives, including the attempts to sell us something. So when something new comes along, it takes us a while to put up the barriers to ignore it. And to a certain extent, as we sift through our daily mail, a magazine-size magalog, or a thick bookalog, seems a bit more important than a regular envelope enticing us in some way to open it.
If a magalog is a self-mailer and looks just like a magazine with a great cover, a strong headline, or some interesting bullet points to pique interest, there’s really not much effort involved for the reader to thumb through it. At that point, any number of things could catch their eye and entice them to invest more time reading it, and, hopefully, placing an order.
While brochures and other printed pieces can be self-mailers, quite a lot of the “junk mail” we receive has to be opened because it’s in an envelope. If you’ve got a stack of mail and you see something in an envelope that appears to want to sell you something, it gets an even lower priority rating than the bills you get.
Also, a magalog is well-suited toward people who really want to be convinced to buy a product or service. We tend to think that all people hate all advertising, but that’s not true. If I’m interested in alternative health, for example, I’m willing to read a lot of copy – far more than you could fit in a traditional brochure or other promotional piece – to get information that might help me be healthier. I want to see charts and graphs in full color and I want to see people who look healthy and are having a good time. It doesn’t mean I’m a sucker for every marketing piece that comes my way, but because of my interest in the topic, I’m willing to invest the time to see if the product might be right for me. So a magalog typically allows a marketer far more space to build and support a case for a product or service compared to other methods.
What would be three to five general dos and/or don’ts to keep in mind when designing a magalog?
I’m not sure any one idea is more or less important than another because if you drop the ball on one of these points, it could bring the whole magalog down.
A quick summary would be:
DO talk with a printer early on in the process. Because of a magalog’s complexity compared to some other print pieces, it’s really important that the printer is part of the discussion (along with the designer and copywriter) right from the start.
DO spend lots of time on the order form. It needs to be as complete as possible so that if, for some reason, it gets separated from the rest of the magalog, the customer can still place the order and know exactly what they’re getting.
DO spend a lot of time on the front and back cover. Depending on how it arrives in their mailbox, either the front or the back cover is what the customer will see first. If you don’t grab them at that point, the inside of the magalog won’t get read.
DO highlight the word FREE anytime in your copy. Despite our inclination to be skeptical about such things, FREE still has power.
DON’T think that photos on your website are high enough quality for print. Traditionally, website photos are smaller and set at a lower resolution so they load quickly. That usually means they’re not going to be appropriate for print.
DON’T get overly fancy with fonts. Fonts are a whole world unto themselves, but more people have been sunk by using some fancy font that they thought would help them stand out or look clever, when all it did was make it hard for people to read the copy.
DON’T proof a magalog design on the screen. Print it out and look at it because that’s how your customers will see it.
Are magalogs typically big-budget items?
Relative to many other methods of print marketing, yes. But with variables such as page size, page count, color usage, mailing costs…the price can be all over the map. And since magalogs usually have more content than other marketing methods, that would mean your copywriting and design costs will be higher. (That’s assuming you’re not doing that work in-house.)
Magalog marketers also like to make the offer enticing, so you’ll usually see a variety of premiums added which will also add to your costs to some degree. It might only be a downloadable bonus report, but someone still has to write, edit and lay it out.
I have been approached by some online marketers to design magalogs, but not for use in print…they want to try them as a PDF download. That cuts down on the printing and mailing costs. I’m not convinced that’s a great route to go, though. Online is more about instant gratification in a number of ways and I don’t think many people want to download a PDF when the same information can be presented in HTML or Flash.
Who would not be a good candidate for magalogs for business-building purposes?
In theory, if you have a solid product and the right mailing list, I’m not sure there’s anyone who wouldn’t be a good candidate for a magalog, but I think you’d want to ask a lot of questions up-front if you’re a first-timer including:
1. Why am I doing a magalog in the first place? I’ve run into people who want to do a magalog simply because they’ve heard it’s popular or someone they know had success with one. From initial idea to mailed piece, magalogs can take a relatively long time to produce and mail compared to a brochure or traditional sales letter, so it’s not something you do on a whim.
2. Do I have a list that I trust? I think so much rides on the mailing list. Because of the costs, you just can’t afford to send magalogs to any name you come up with, unless you have an unlimited budget. You’ve really got to feel you have a list of solid names and that you understand what motivates them to buy the product or service you’re selling.
3. Am I confident with our sales copy? Design is certainly important, but the copy needs to make people want to turn the page to keep reading. Like a great action movie, you want to start with a bang right on the cover and keep the excitement and interest high on each page. By the time the reader gets to the order form, the case for buying needs to be air-tight and that takes a skilled writer to pull off.
4. Am I willing to test? Most successful marketers test like crazy, including their magalogs. This includes testing cover copy, the bonus offers, the size, certain design elements, and even the price of the main product. So it can take some time and money to find something that works. Not everyone has that kind of patience or budget.
So a short answer to your question of who might not be a good candidate is someone who lacks patience. (Lacking money is kind of obvious.) It takes time to get things set up for any type of print marketing, but magalogs, I believe, are at the higher end of the time scale. And if you’re committed to testing, multiply that time schedule by the number of different tests you plan to run. That’s quite an investment.
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And now you know why the magazine had to edit out so much. But as mentioned, it’s useful information if you’re considering magalog marketing.
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