…have any examples of people who have taken a beautiful magalog that you’ve done and made it into a website.

When he says website, he’s referring to a simple, single-page sales site. We’re not talking a full-blown corporate type of site with lots of sub-pages.

The quick answer to his question is No. But let me give you a more substantial answer.

In the history of magalogs, I’m sure some company has done what he’s asking. But I haven’t personally experienced it, nor do I think it’s that common.

If anything, it’s more common with my clients to convert website copy (that you can test over time to find a winner that generates sales) into a magalog, not convert a print magalog into a website.

Here’s why…

Print usually has the reader’s undivided attention, even if just for a few minutes.

We have to take into account, though, that they can flip around. That’s the reason for sidebars and making sure every two-page spread has something of visual interest because you can’t guarantee where they’ll be tempted to stop and read.

With a website, you’re competing with e-mail, Twitter and FB updates, music they might be listening to, etc. So it’s best to move people through your website copy as quickly and efficiently as possible before they’re tempted to click away.

That doesn’t mean a landing page can’t incorporate some elements of the magalog, but I think it’s more important to get them to the order form ASAP. So, we’re normally stripping things back for online usage with these types of sites, while in print we’re usually adding design elements to the copy.

The other thing is that online we can take advantage of video and audio. Some of these single-page sales sites start right off the top with a video or audio recording to engage the visitor.

If there’s video or audio we don’t want to then overwhelm them with extra visuals on the page. Instead, keep them focused and moving from top to bottom before they click away.

Another issue to keep in mind is something that is becoming more and more important: keeping your sites mobile-friendly.

Mobile-friendly sites need to load quickly and be readable on smaller screens. Some of the stats I see from time to time about the percentage of hits to a site coming from mobile devices are staggering. But the more elements on the page to load, the slower the load time which does not make mobile users happy.

The bottom line for most people I work with when it comes to their online activities is getting prospects from the top of the page to the order form as easily as possible. I think that goal has prevented them from trying to totally recreate their magalog online.

I’m not saying you can’t recreate a print magalog online. But I think there are some strong reasons not to. Some of the reasons I’ve outlined are probably why you don’t see it done too often.

While the video is intended for visitors to that site, like a lot of people I find it easier to upload (and store) the video on YouTube, then embed the video on my site.

I have to admit that I was close to doing something pretty dumb. Since the page on my site dealt with consulting, the name I was going to give my video was Klassen Communications Consulting. After all, no one on the site would notice the video name since it doesn’t show up.

As I said… pretty dumb.

The fact that the video was being hosted on YouTube meant that I needed to think more strategically about the title. After all, if the video is going to be on one of the most visited sites on the Internet, I might as well leverage it.

So instead of the the accurate, yet boring, Klassen Communications Consulting, I named it, The Value of a Consultant for Your Marketing Material which was the idea behind the video in the first place.

Big difference, eh?

I’ve talked to other people who have made the same mistake… thinking too logically about what to call something instead of considering what keywords might lead to your video coming up in a list of search results. That’s especially true if the video is primarily intended for their own site.

I can’t imagine Klassen Communications Consulting is a popular search phrase on YouTube or anywhere else.

But value, consultant and marketing? That’s a lot better.

As you read this the results could be different, but I just did a search on those terms and my video came up on the third page. Nothing to brag to about, but considering those are popular, generic words, page three isn’t bad.

And in this case, it’s just a happy bonus. As I mentioned earlier, the video is mainly intended for my own site.

Someone with more experience in SEO could probably come up with a far better title than what I came up with. But you’re not always going to have time to consult with an SEO expert when you quickly want to get a video posted.

So when using a service like YouTube or Vimeo to host your videos, take some extra time to consider a name that weighs more heavily on your ideal keywords, even if the video is just intended for your own site.

I used to work in radio as a news director for many years and interviewed people daily.

One of my all-time worst guests for a weekly public affairs program was someone who was in charge of planning the local school district’s Red Ribbon campaign. The gal was very nice, and happy to be a guest. But I learned a little too late that she didn’t have a clue about what the campaign was really all about.

For just about every question I asked, a slight look of terror showed in her eyes as she quietly shrugged and shook her head. You might not know much about radio, but you can probably guess that silence isn’t a good thing.

And here’s something you might not know about media interviews: the person asking the questions often already knows the answers. But the point of the interview is to hear the answers from an “expert.”

Unfortunately, it turned out I was the expert in this interview. So when she didn’t know an answer, I answered it myself. After about 10 minutes of essentially interviewing myself, I decided that week’s 30-minute public affairs program didn’t really have to be that long.

I take some responsibility in not determining how little my guest knew. (It’s a mistake I don’t make with the Magalog Guy Podcast interviews.) I had assumed that since she was introduced as the person in charge of a district-wide campaign, and someone who wanted to talk about it to get the word out, her knowledge was a bit broader.

Being a radio station guest is an overlooked opportunity for you as a business person. Back in the days before the Internet was popular, most radio stations were always in need of guests for short interviews or to fulfill their “public service” requirements.

Today, that need is even stronger with the popularity of Internet radio stations and podcasts. And with tools like Skype, you can be a guest anywhere in the world.

Because of my experience in this area, I recently contributed some thoughts on someone’s blog about what radio stations look for in guests, but wanted to expand on that list here.

1. Radio hosts look for passion. Radio doesn’t have the benefit of a visual, so all they have is the sound of your voice. Mono-tone folks who give one- or two-word grunts are death. All you’ll do is bore people, wind up on the end-of-the-year Worst-Of reel at the staff Christmas party, and never get invited back.

2. On the other side of the coin, answering with mini essays isn’t good either. Radio is a world of sound bytes and keeping listeners engaged as their attention is often pulled to other things as they listen. Get to the point with your answer and hand it back to the host.

3. If you don’t know the answer to a question, don’t bluff your way through it to look smart. Just say you don’t know. But it’s OK to speculate. For example, “I don’t know the exact answer to that question, but if I were to speculate based on my own experience…”

4. Have some extra topic ideas ready. Generally, when you’ve been invited to be a guest, the overall topic has already been decided. But if the host asks beforehand if there are specific items you want to cover, feel free to mention things that people are talking about right now related to your industry. And bring up things that you know are your strong-suit so you can hit those questions out of the park.

5. Make the host look good. Yup, that’s right… make him/her look good. Coincidentally, their job is to make you look good. But they’re the ones who are there day after day, working hard to maintain an audience. If you do things that make them look bad in front of their audience, you’re not coming back. Or worse, they’ll make you look bad.

Here’s one simple way to make a host look good. After they ask a question, say, “Y’know, that’s a great question and I’m glad you asked because it’s really important.” Obviously you wouldn’t do that for every question, but I can guarantee you, if you’re sincere, the host will love you for making them look smart in front of his/her audience.

As the interview winds up, praise them for asking great questions and giving you the opportunity to share. Again, that makes them look good.

6. Smile and have fun. Believe it or not, a sincere smile can actually come across in your voice. And in terms of having fun, too many people look at being interviewed as an interrogation. OK… if it’s the 60 Minutes news team doing the interview, it is an interrogation. But when it’s just you talking about your area of expertise, the host is pulling for you do well. Because, as mentioned, when you look good, they look good.

7. Send a thank you note to the station or host. Nope, you didn’t get paid, but they gave you free air time. Trust me… you do this and you’ll stand out from all the other guests which may lead to more return trips on-air which means more free publicity for you.

A logical question you might have is, How do I find people who would want to interview me? Glad you asked. An article I wrote, How To Find People Who Want To Interview You, will point you in the right direction.

It won’t surprise you to know that I’m happy to be a guest if you have a program that deals with marketing or freelancing. Get in touch with me and we can discuss specific ideas.

Audio version of 7 Ways To Be A Great Radio Guest

I know I didn’t. I jumped in and figured I’d work things out as they came up. After all, the real fun was in the work I was doing for clients, not the behind-the-scenes stuff that are really foundational to a strong business.

No surprise, then, that I floundered a bit in the beginning. And while I haven’t got it all down perfectly, I certainly wish the things I’ve been doing in the last couple of years were things I had done right off the top.

No doubt I would have started out on the right foot if I’d known Jay Ehret back then. Jay runs The Marketing Spot. He’s my guest on The Magalog Guy Podcast.

Jay and I talk about marketing plans and branding. You’re going to find what I did… Jay makes it really clear why careful thought on these topics will put a powerful focus on our business that will help separate you from your competitors.

That’s really important when buyers are considering their options.

Even if you’ve been in business for years and think it’s too late to be thinking about these things, it’s really not. Jay shares and illustrates where businesses can go wrong and, more importantly, how to get back on track.

There are three ways to hear this interview. First, you can use the MP3 player right here on the blog by pressing the Play button.

Jay Ehret -  Marketing and Branding Principles That Make Sense

You can also get this interview (and others, along with my regular content) on the podcast page. (Episode 25)

Finally, you can access The Magalog Guy Podcast on iTunes. By subscribing, you’ll get new episodes automatically.

If the issues we talk about in this interview are things you’ve been grappling with, get in touch with Jay at The Marketing Spot and see where he can put his expertise to work for you.

A big thanks to Jay for being such a wonderful guest, and for making the time to share his knowledge and experience with all of us.

Debra Jason wrote the article: 4 Easy Ways to Get Great Results from Your Copywriter

As you may know, I started as a freelance copywriter before moving into the layout world.

Because of that writing background, I understand how important the copy is, and how important it is to work with a great copywriter. (As a matter of fact, I just finished an interview with copywriter Eileen Coale. It will appear on the Magalog Guy Podcast on iTunes soon. I’ll let you know when it’s available.)

One point Debra made in the article was sharing everything with your copywriter. This was a hot-button issue with me as a writer and now as a designer.

I can’t tell you the number of times a new client will say something like, “I’d prefer not to show you our past marketing material. It’s really bad and we don’t want you to be influenced by it.”

But that’s the wrong attitude! You want your freelance writer (and designer) to be influenced by your past work. That’s something Coale and I talk about in the interview.

We need to know what bombed… why you think it bombed… things you didn’t like… everything! That way, we don’t repeat those elements on our own and waste everyone’s time.

Don’t put restrictions on what you’ll show your freelancers. Let them see it all.

At the end of the day, after walking the aisles and talking to people, I look at the collection of handouts I received – flyers, brochures, inexpensive trinkets – and find a lot of it lacking, or not much different than everything else I’ve dumped on the hotel bed.

I can partially understand why most material is the way it is. There’s a thought that you have to hit the high points fast before the prospect moves on to something else.

But if you’re at a trade show that is really targeted to what you do and your audience, I think there’s a better opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

So let me tell you why magalogs work in these situations.

1. A magalog stands out because it’s different than about 90-95% of the printed material you get at a show. You can test this for yourself with your own mailbox at home. If you subscribe to magazines, don’t they stand out from the other mail you get when you look in your mail box? They’re larger and thicker. For a trade show, that extra bulk stands out even if the physical height/width is the same as other flyers or sell sheets. Standing out in the pile is half the battle.
2. A magalog lets you tell your story better than you can with other marketing material. Brochures, flyers, and sell sheets have to take a more “bullet-point” approach and hit the highlights because there’s not room for much more once you toss in some photos. Having easy to read bullet-points is great, but you can include that in a magalog. That’s the best of both worlds… easy to read bullet points for those who want it, and a deeper story for those who want more.
3. A magalog continues the brief conversation you probably had with the prospect as they walked past your booth. Because of their nature, trade show conversations are often brief. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a business card to follow-up on after the show. But why not have your magalog do some extra sales work for you as well? By the time you get to that call, your prospect will have a much better feel for you and what you offer. And if the prospect doesn’t want to give you any contact info (that happens a lot), your magalog may have to carry even more of the sales load. Try putting that sort of pressure on your single-sided sell sheet. The other printed material simply throws some facts and figures at people. A magalog tells a story and makes a deeper connection, while still having plenty of room to include those facts and figures.
4. A magalog makes you stand taller than your competitors who aren’t using magalogs. I’ve mentioned this point a lot in the past and I believe it 100%. Magalogs take effort… effort that a lot of your competitors simply won’t do because they feel it’s too hard, too expensive, too… whatever. Perception counts for a lot. If you’re perceived to be the leader in your niche, you may get the call that your competitors won’t. Magalogs give the perception that you’re a successful and confident company. Any company can run off a bunch of homemade brochures and flyers. That’s not the case with a magalog.

Is a magalog perfect for every trade show? Not always. I’ve been to some consumer trade shows in the local mall and my general, gut feeling is that a lot of stars would need to line up before I’d use a magalog in that environment.

But industry or B2B trade shows? That’s a different story. The right trade show will likely have your ideal prospect. That being the case, you don’t want to let those opportunities go to waste. You want to put your best foot forward with those folks.

And let me mention another option for trade shows: Publish a book. (Or a bookalog, a variation of the magalog idea.)

I do book layout for some of my clients who have them professionally printed. But these days, you can do some small-scale self-publishing for an incredibly reasonable cost.

You’d only print the number of books you’d need. So you don’t have to worry about buying a huge number and then being stuck with a lot of extra copies.

Think how that would go over at a trade show when you’re handing out a book while most other vendors are handing out a tri-fold brochure and fridge magnet.

As for book content, you probably already have it. For 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, the basis for part of the material was articles I wrote for my blog.

If you have a blog or great case studies, re-purpose that material for a book.

Again, it’s a matter of finding ways to stand out so you’re getting the first crack at prospects, not your competitors.

If you haven’t done so already, take advantage of the free magalog resources I offer. They’ll explain why magalogs can be so efficient as part of your lead-generation and sales process.

And if you have questions, contact me so we can setup a time to talk about where you’re at right now and how we can get you to where you want to be with your marketing material.

But experience has shown me that some clients get a little too involved in minor aspects of their marketing material layout.

I ran across an article that Seth Godin wrote called, How to be a great client. I’ve linked to that article so you can read the whole thing if you’re interested.

One item that stood out is one that designers face a lot:

Cede all issues of irrelevant personal taste to the innovator. I don’t care if you hate the curves on the new logo. Just because you write the check doesn’t mean your personal aesthetic sense is relevant.

Personally, I never dismiss a client’s comment. However, I can tell you that some clients forget that they’re not selling to themselves, they’re selling to other people.

So, for example, the fact that you may not like blue for personal reasons doesn’t really matter unless you have data that says your target audience also dislikes blue.

Again, your marketing material isn’t designed to sell you something.

Good designers can explain why they made certain choices. And especially in direct marketing, certain techniques, colors or design choices are proven to work really well.

So if there’s a reason that something was done, even if you don’t like it on a personal level, at least consider whether your personal preference is really important.

If it’s not, go with the designer’s choice.

Stephen Colbert poked a little fun at their Survival Seed Bank product on his program recently.

Isn’t that great? Wouldn’t you love to have people making fun of you and your product on national TV?

If that makes you wince, I understand. But fourteen years in media taught me that people talking about you, even if it’s controversial or humor at your expense, can be a great thing.

You see, being the target of Colbert actually boosted sales for the Survival Seed Bank. The reason is simple… tons of people watch Colbert, so tons of people were exposed to the product.

That’s every business’s dream!

While the studio audience (and probably lots of people at home) were laughing as Colbert made fun of the product, there were also a lot of people thinking, “Maybe that’s a product I should seriously consider.” From there, something clicked with them and they bought the product.

As for anyone laughing at Solutions From Science… who cares? Let ‘em laugh. It’s unlikely they were serious prospects anyway. The next night, Colbert was on to something new, but now Solutions From Science has a group of new customers because of that “free advertising” on the show.

Let’s be clear: What you personally may think about the product isn’t important here. We’re looking at this strictly from a marketing point of view, and from that perspective this was a thing of beauty.

You see, controversy or laughs at your expense can create big time buzz for your marketing efforts. So don’t be afraid if it happens. Welcome it and send a thank you gift to those folks with  large audiences who are driving new customers to your site and adding new revenue to your bottom line.

Finally, don’t think this experience is an isolated one. Something like this happens every day and businesses have to decide how to deal with it. Maybe it’s some bad reviews of your product or service that are unfair. Maybe it’s one single customer who is on a mission to complain about you all over the Internet. In his book, Linchpin, Seth Godin talks about how a restaurant dealt with some bad reviews. (Google “Pizzeria Delfina Yelp T-shirt” if you’re not familiar with that story.) They definitely didn’t hide. They took advantage of the controversy and got tons of great press.

If you want to see the three minutes and thirty seconds that immediately led to increased sales for Solutions From Science, here’s the Colbert Nation – Survival Seed Bank video.

And isn’t that a great bonus? As if talking about the product on the show and boosting sales wasn’t enough of a favor, they put the segment on their site so that it’s easy to link to.

By the way, here’s the Survival Seed Bank Magalog.

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.

I’d like to pass some of those along today with the hope that you’ll find at least one useful nugget of information from each article that you can apply to your business marketing plan.

1. Firms Hold Fast to Snail Mail Marketing (Wall Street Journal) – Despite Prevalence of Digital Media, Entrepreneurs Find Old Fashioned Direct Mailings Still Key to Winning Customer

(…business owners are creating personalized mailings, which may include special offers or other valuable information, and sending them to a hand-picked list of current and prospective customers.)

2. Direct pays off across borders (DMNews)

The effort [in Canada] launched with a 50,000 piece, 16-page mailer featuring information about prostate health and several offers to try Prostate Health Complex. The mailer pulled four times the response rate as a US campaign launched at the same time.

3. Direct Mail Marketing | Inside the Numbers (Noobpreneur Business Blog)

Using labels will reduce your response rate by 25%. Additionally, using window envelopes can reduce the open rate by up to 50%. Use a good quality paper and envelope. It is best to personally sign your communication in blue ink.  I recommend marking or stamping the envelope with Confidential or Urgent for a higher open rate.  Most importantly, use a real stamp and not metered mail.

4. Don’t Call It a Comeback (Deliver Magazine) – Six ways direct mail will thrive in the new year

Transpromotion and custom publishing are delivering marketing messages in more personal and relevant ways, with information woven right in the content — a plus for both marketers and recipients.