But there’s an aspect to that project that I wanted to talk about today. And as someone who might need the services of a designer (or copywriter, for that matter) it’s important you be aware of this.

I’ve said in the past that projects that end with log can be more of an investment… magalog, issuelog, catalog, bookalog. These types of projects are typically more complex, especially from a design point of view. Naturally, that will cost more.

Having said that, a common rookie designer mistake (or, unfortunately, an intentional money grab by a more experienced designer) is to price a project based on what it’s called rather than the content.

This bookalog project I’m working on is a perfect example.

When the client contacted me and said he wanted a bookalog, I immediately thought of other bookalogs I’ve been involved with or seen. Many are quite complex.

However, in this case, the copy was very simple and the layout would be very simple. In fact, it wouldn’t be much different than a sales letter. It’s just that the size of the layout would be different. To top it off, there would be no graphics involved, and it was a single color.

So while the project is a bookalog, the layout work on my end is more like a sales letter. And based on that, the price I quoted the client was over 50% lower than the average price of a more complex bookalog. I priced the project more like my average sales letter work.

The point here is that the project price was based on the content and what needed to be done, not based on the format name.

If that seems obvious to you that it should be that way, I can assure you not all creative folks work like that.

Granted, it can be hard for you to know what a fair price is if you don’t have much experience working with designers or copywriters.

That’s why I always encourage you to talk directly with any designer or copywriter you might choose. Or ask business colleagues who they would recommend. In other words, do as much research as you can so you’re as confident as possible that you’re picking the right person.

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About Mike Klassen – The Magalog Guy

Why we should be working together

I have to admit that I sometimes stifle my natural personality when I’m writing content for myself.

And yet I think it would benefit a lot of us to let our personality shine through more, especially in your magalog. But the thought can apply just as easily to your website or other written interactions with customers/prospects.

Try to make a point of looking at your marketing material (including your website) and consider if enough of your company’s unique personality is shining through.

If you use an outside copywriter, make sure you’re giving that person enough information so that they can tap into your unique personality. You want that to come out in the content they’re writing for you.

There are a few reasons for that, but one is that I’m working with a wonderful copywriter who understands how to write copy for a magalog. Not all copywriters can write great copy for a magalog, just like all “designers” can’t design magalogs.

There are subtleties in the various copy and design niches and your skills in one area don’t always translate to another. To give a quick, personal example, my passion and skill-set is with magalogs, books, sales letters and a few other areas. You do not want to hire me to do your logo or website because I don’t have the proper skill-set in those areas.

When it comes to copy for magalogs, I get some clients who want to use existing sales copy that they’re already using somewhere else, such as their sales letter. While we can make that work, it’s not ideal and the process is usually longer to get the copy into “magalog” shape.

Instead, on this project for example, using a copywriter who understands how to write for magalogs has been worth it. The writer understands the value of creating immediate impact with the cover copy… understands how to keep the reader interested enough to read through all the pages… understands how important sidebars are throughout the magalog… and amazingly, wrote the exact amount of copy needed for 16 pages. (That last point is important because too much or too little copy slows things down as copy changes usually result in layout changes of some sort. “Slowing down” is a bad thing when you’re ready to make some sales.)

As I write this, the magalog hasn’t been sent out. Its success will be determined by factors we’ve talked about before… the copy, the design, the actual product, the offer, the mailing list, etc.

But you certainly increase your chances of success when you’ve got winning copy from someone who knows what goes into successful magalogs.

(In case you’re curious, the “wonderful copywriter” I’m talking about is Eileen Coale.)

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I’m making my book, Increase Sales & Build Deeper Connections: How To Get Prospects To Pay Attention To The Story They Want And Need To Hear Before They Buy, and an audio interview about magalogs available as bonus items for people selling marketing-related books and products online. Feel free to contact me for details.

My answer is almost always no.

First, my schedule is usually too busy to accept last minute “need it yesterday” jobs from new clients. Second, I like to get a feel for the company by looking at past marketing material and having a conversation about aspects of their project. That’s difficult, if not impossible, to do under those “last minute” circumstances.

Because I do feel bad for people in that position, I’ve always supported the idea of talking to people you might need before you need them.

For example, I’ve contacted print brokers to talk about potential future projects that I might refer their way even though I didn’t have a specific project in mind at that moment.

I’m calling ahead for a few reasons:

1. I want to know if they’re going to be a good fit for me both professionally and personally. If not, I don’t really want to be working with them and they probably don’t want to be working with me.

2. I want to know the extent of the services they offer. Trying to gather this information at the last minute just creates more stress in my life, the broker’s, and the client’s.

3. I want to know their preferred process for getting projects done. To ensure a smooth project for all parties involved, I have to be sure that my work process can mesh with theirs.

4. I want to be on their radar as someone they know. The reality is that things can happen faster and go smoother with people you already know, even if it’s just from a prior phone conversation or some e-mails.

If you look at that list of how I look for print brokers, it’s exactly the same thing you should be doing looking for a freelance designer or even a copywriter.

Already have a freelance designer you’re happy with? Great… follow those steps to find other designers anyway.

Here’s the deal: “Stuff” happens.

Sometimes your freelancer will be busy. Sometimes you’ll want nothing more to do with him. Sometimes she’ll want nothing more to do with you. Sometimes you’ll want something outside your regular designer’s skill-set.

Finding a new freelancer to replace your old one is not something you want to be doing as a project deadline is getting close to slamming you against the wall.

I have yet to meet a professional freelancer who is offended by a potential client calling and honestly saying, “I don’t need your services now. But I do want to have some names in my rolodex of people I think I could work with if a need comes up down the road. So, I’d like us to get to know one another and see if there’s a potential working relationship.”

If they’re offended by that and feel you’re just wasting their time, congratulations! You found out something important about them before you’re in a crunch. Scratch them off your list and move on to the next name.

The sad thing is, very few business people reading this who use freelancers will bother to take my advice.

After all, they’re busy… or they’re totally happy with how things are going now and can’t imagine it will ever change.

Fair enough. But experience has shown me that things outside of our control can put us in frantic situations that can have real financial consequences for our business. That’s not the time you want to be finding a new member to add to your team.

While any number of mistakes can cause a magalog to fail – such as a bad mailing list, weak copy or design, a poor offer – I’m going to tackle three common mistakes that are relatively easy to avoid.

1. Not enough sidebar stories.

This is important for a variety of reasons. First, magalogs are longer than most other marketing material. So you’re asking a lot for your readers to stick with it until the end. Even the best copywriters realize readers have only so much patience.

Sidebars break up the main copy and give the eyes some visual relief from page after page of flowing sales copy.

The second reason is related to the first. Readers are often more accurately called scanners when it comes to marketing material. Before they decide to invest the time to read your magalog, they’ll probably quickly thumb through the pages to see if anything catches their eye.

Page after page of plain copy with no breaks? A likely candidate for the trash can. Some sidebars to break things up? Your odds of converting the scanner into a reader just shot up.

Third, your sidebars can tell stories that don’t quite fit within the main copy. Maybe it’s a testimonial, maybe it’s a quick history of your company that helps the reader make a deeper connection with your product or service.

A skilled copywriter with magalog experience already knows that sidebars are vital to its success. If you’re writing the copy yourself, look for stories that support the main message you’re wanting to get across.

2. Too much information, too little space.

This may seem a bit at odds with the first point, but let me explain the difference.

Magalogs aren’t cheap to produce. So if you have a budget for a 16-page magalog, but 18 pages worth of information, it’s tempting to push the limits of what can actually fit in 16 pages while still being readable. Direct market designers have all sorts of tricks to make things fit. But there comes a point where you have to be realistic about what’s possible.

Generally speaking, if you add pages to a magalog, you add them in 4′s. In other words, a 16-page magalog would increase to 20 pages, then 24, etc. Obviously, that page increase means an increase in your costs… from design, to printing, and possibly mailing.

For good reasons, you want to avoid increased costs. But remember the point about the layout being enticing for a reader. If we’re cramming in copy, it’s far less enticing and then what have you gained? Certainly not more sales.

Instead, and I know this can be painful, it may be time to start hacking away at the copy.

Safe to say the copywriter felt all that copy was important which is why he or she has it there in the first place. But as someone who had a long career as a writer prior to becoming a designer, I can tell you that there are usually places you can cut. For example, something that was said in four paragraphs can be said in one. Or, a sidebar might be dropped if there are plenty of other sidebars and visual relief points.

3. Not bringing in creative and production people until the last moment.

It’s not a surprise that creating and printing a magalog takes more time than creating and printing a business card. The latter can be done in a matter of days if all the pieces are in place. The former can take at least a week or two in the best of circumstances.

From a design point of view, part of that time relates to the second point above: trying to fit all the pieces into a given amount of space.

Layout is a bit like a puzzle, but a puzzle that has multiple valid solutions. So it takes time to make all the pieces fit just right and find the best solution for your project. But that’s why you’re paying a professional to handle it, otherwise you’d do it yourself.

I’ve had more than a few calls over the years from potential new clients who want to get the copy to me by that afternoon and have a completed magalog done within a few days.

I’m not saying it can’t happen in that time frame. I am saying you should be worried if your new designer says it can. Here’s why…

Magalogs are a bit of a specialty item in the direct market realm. A lot of work goes into putting the pieces together properly and that comes with experience.

As in any industry, experience not only comes with a price, but it usually comes with a waiting list for new clients to get the benefit of that experience. In other words, a skilled designer in any niche is likely already busy with existing clients. That means ultra-quick turnarounds can be a bit unrealistic.

Plus, any creative person worth working with is going to want to know about your business before jumping into a project. For a designer, that usually means looking at past marketing material you’ve done. That includes material you’ve used that makes you cringe.

Both the good and the bad help the designer get a better sense of what you’re looking for and come up with ideas that will work for you.

I also mentioned production people and by that I mean your printer. For larger projects like a magalog, some printers may need more time to work that into their schedule.

From a design point of view, your designer actually needs to know some things about the eventual print process before he or she starts work.

Choosing a printer after the design is done is asking for trouble. In fact, working with a designer who doesn’t ask some questions about the print process right at the start is asking for a double-dose of trouble.

Here’s the takeaway: Magalogs are not rush projects. When you treat them as such, the odds of success drop dramatically. When you’re serious about getting your magalog done right, contact me.