This is especially true when it comes to magalogs.

If you’ve never done a magalog before, all the things that have to be considered can drive you crazy. But they’re important issues that have to be discussed, and worth it since a well-done magalog can really boost sales.

Recently, I started thinking about ways to make it easier for the prospect, especially on that first phone call when I’m gathering information and they’re looking for answers to important questions.

My solution is simple and it’s something you may be able to apply to your business. In fact, lots of businesses already do it in some form.

The idea is this: Create a short PDF checklist that you can e-mail to the prospect, and then go over it with them on the phone.

This does a few things.

First, it makes it much easier for the prospect to see what needs to be done or questions that need to be answered.

Second, for my clients who do their own layout work in-house and hire me to consult, it gives their team a great way to ensure their magalog has all the components for success.

Third, it’s a time saver for the prospect who only needs to jot down a few notes vs. writing down everything I say.

This idea isn’t new. But it’s another one of those things we might miss because we’re so busy with other tasks.

As a guide for your own checklist, let me give you a brief rundown of how I structure mine:

1. I try to keep it to three pages at most, and the first page is just a title and brief introduction.

2. I list items that are important for the prospect to know, and try to keep each point to about 3 or 4 sentences.

3. As simple as it sounds, I include a checkbox next to each item so it’s easy for the prospect to know what still needs to be done or discussed later.

4. I don’t go nuts with colors and graphics. It’s likely this will be printed, so I created something that won’t burn through their printer ink. You can see the cover page of my magalog checklist. Avoid things like full-page background colors.

5. I end with a quick note about my free book that expands on some of the points in the checklist, and invite them to join me on Facebook and Google+. Beyond that, I don’t go crazy on a sales pitch. Here’s why…

These PDFs are only given to prospects I’m talking with on the phone. So it’s not a traditional lead-gen piece. The lead has already been generated which is why we’re talking on the phone in the first place.

Plus, by e-mailing the PDF, I can ensure that my e-mails actually get through to the prospect in these days of over-aggressive spam filters.

So let me ask you… do you have products or services that would benefit from a short PDF to offer prospects you’re talking with?

I can’t imagine any scenario where a prospect wouldn’t love something that would help them better understand what you do, understand what they need to do to work with you, answer common questions, or just save them some time in taking notes.

It shows you’re making a sincere effort to be respectful of their time and make their life as easy as possible.

By the way, I would be remiss if I didn’t extend an offer to talk about your direct market layout projects, whether it’s a magalog, book, sales letter or something else. I offer a free “get-to-know-each-other” call where we can talk about your project and determine if we’re a good partnership. Contact me to setup a call.

Over the last year, I’ve thought a lot about passion in terms of the work we do.

This really came into focus being a guest on Bill Gluth’s Power of Passion in Business interview series.

Sometimes we suddenly realize we’re doing something we’re no longer passionate about. Other times, we may see our passion diminished as the day-to-day grind wears us down.

I’m guessing your passion is the actual product or service you offer. If you’re an ethical business person, you believe beyond any doubt that your product or service can really help people.

Your passion probably isn’t for the little details of running your business… paying the bills, finding suppliers, shipping products, or dealing with your marketing material.

It’s all important stuff. But the real fun is helping people get the results they want with your product or service. It’s that connection between you and your customer or client.

If you’re a public speaker, for example, your passion shines brightest when you’re speaking… not when you’re scheduling speeches, managing your invoices, or waiting at the airport to get to your next speaking gig.

Again, it’s all important stuff. But you probably didn’t become a public speaker because you enjoy airport security lines or making cold calls to line up your next presentation.

You love sharing what you know to help people. So you tolerate the rest and manage it as best you can because it allows you to do what you’re actually passionate about.

As I mentioned, you are probably not passionate about your marketing material. You know it’s important and you want it to be great. But it’s not something you get really excited about when you wake up each morning.

However, your marketing material is my passion. Why? That’s a good question and one I’ve thought a lot about.

I truly believe content helps businesses make a deeper connection with their prospects and customers.

I believe it so much that, not only did I write a book with that concept in the title (Increase Sales & Build Deeper Connections), I’m traveling all the way to Australia this year to talk to a group about leveraging their content to reach far more people than they’re reaching now.

While I’m primarily a designer, I love to write and create my own content to not only generate business for myself, but also to help people in whatever way I can.

You can see that from the book, this blog, the Magalog Guy Podcast, my magalog webinar, and guest articles I do for other sites and publications.

I know the value that unique content has in helping a business stand out from the pack, and showing prospects and customers that you have the answer to their needs.

As a designer, this love for content has translated into a focus on projects that put the spotlight on content… magalogs, books, sales letters, and training material.

What those projects have in common, even when the intent is to sell a product or service, is content that educates and helps people achieve certain goals or solve specific problems.

My goal for those projects isn’t to show off what I can do as a designer. It’s to put content into the best possible light so it’s easy for people to get your message.

Those types of projects also allow you the space to really go into your passion about what you do and what you believe.

My desire is to work with people who are passionate about what they do. These are the folks who believe so strongly in what they’re offering that they can’t help but tell other people about it.

Being around and working with these people makes my work even more fun.

Do you have that passion for what you do?

If so, let’s find out how we can work together to ensure that your target market catches your passion through your marketing material. Let’s make sure you’re leveraging your content so that it resonates with the people you want to reach. We want to use that content to build credibility and trust in what you’re offering.

In a similar way, I want to build credibility and trust with you. That’s why I offer a free call to talk about your needs in the area of content and marketing. It’s why I offer a number of free resources so you can get to know me better.

Most of my clients have been with me for a number of years. That’s because they trust me to be looking out for them and sharing their passion for what they do. If that’s the type of person you want on your team, contact me this week to setup a time to talk by phone.

If we both find there’s not a good fit, no harm done. I still think you’ll get some good ideas that you can apply to your business.

If there is a good fit, I’ll look forward to combining the passion for what I do with the passion you have to reach your goals with your product or service.

If someone tells you they’re a writer, what instantly pops into your mind?

Both those words cover a lot of ground. Music can cover rock, country, jazz, classic and more. Writing can cover fiction, non-fiction, technical, marketing and more.

While not as wide-reaching as music and writing, the word magalog (or catazine as some people use) now covers a lot of territory. While it is commonly considered to be a combination of magazine and catalog, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

First, magalogs are not new. I’ve been seeing that assertion a lot recently. Magalogs have been around since at least the 80s, possibly earlier.

The reason magalogs might seem new to people is that other industries are starting to see their value. For them, magalogs are new.

If you’ve been in the health and financial industries, magalogs are far from new. Those magalogs tend to be what I call the sales letter style. They’re a long-form sales letter, supplemented by lots of sidebars, graphics and colors.

Some people looking at classic magalogs for the first time are a bit taken aback by that. “It looks so… sales-y,” they say. Yes!! That’s the point… to make a sale.

I realize it may not look high-class like a New York lifestyle magazine, but that’s not always the style we’re after in direct sales and marketing. In fact, I once had a client turn thumbs-down on a magalog cover draft I did because it looked too much like a magazine.

Having said that, new industries are adopting the magalog format and turning them into something more like a traditional, high-end magazine.

Both styles have their place, and both styles work. It’s simply a matter of what you’re going for and what your target audience responds to. You can’t dismiss any style based strictly on your own feelings of what marketing material has to look like.

I encourage you not to become a slave to the word magalog. Just this week I read someone’s blog where the writer got annoyed because the magalog he got in the mail was only selling one product.

He was getting hung up on the catalog portion of magalog. In his mind, if it’s a catalog, it must sell multiple products.

Again, don’t get hung-up on the word… focus on the purpose that we use a magalog for and go with the style your target will respond to.

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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Need a designer to help boost sales and response?

Contact me for a free consultation to discuss your marketing projects

About Mike Klassen – The Magalog Guy

Why we should be working together

A bookalog is a variation of a magalog. As you might guess from the name, the bookalog is much like a small, paperback book.

As with magalogs, bookalog sizes vary, but 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches is pretty common.

For page count, it can be all over the map. The one I’m working on now is 32 pages. I’ve seen one that’s over 70 pages. (And like magalogs, bookalogs tend to be done in page increments of four… 24, 28, 32, 36, etc.)

The style can vary as well. Some are just as colorful as a traditional magalog. Others are just like a fiction or non-fiction book with no graphics and a single, black color for the text.

For the binding, bookalogs can be saddle-stitched (stapled in the spine) or perfect-bound which is the same as the paperback books you buy at the bookstore. The page count will help determine what type of binding you’ll need.

Like others formats in the magalog family, bookalogs have their place.

Because bookalogs tend to have more pages, they have a bit more weight which helps them stand out in the pile of mail you get each day. I’ve talked about this numerous times in relation to magalogs, but simply the fact that a bookalog looks different from the rest of your mail gives it an extra glance when other marketing mail in the pile is being ignored.

There can also be a perception of higher value with a bookalog because, generally speaking, we place a higher value on books. And, it’s not every day someone is marketing to you in the mail through a book. Again, it stands out.

Some people use the bookalog format for long copy that’s currently converting well for them online. Realizing that not everyone is online or will stumble across them online, they want to reach “offline” prospects as well.

If the copy has been working well as a traditional printed sales letter, they might try the bookalog format as a test. If the style is remaining basically the same as the sales letter, and we’re not adding lots of new graphics or colors, the bookalog can be a more affordable format to test compared to a traditional magalog, at least in terms of the design cost.

Health and financial topics have been the biggest focus of bookalogs. But just like magalogs are now being used in all sorts of new arenas, bookalogs may follow that trend.

One area where I think a bookalog could be a strong consideration is coaches/consultants/trainers who offer higher-end workshops or seminars.

The bookalog format could be a mini book filled with business- or success-building ideas, but with a strong sales component leading people to sign-up for those workshops or seminars.

A bookalog might also be used to provide multiple samples of books that a company markets.

Whether it’s a good option for you is something to think about. And that’s why I wanted to talk about bookalogs today… so you’d be aware of another option for your marketing.

As always, I’m happy to discuss your marketing projects with a free call. Feel free to contact me in which ever way suits you best.

Finally, if you’re new here, let me take a moment to explain why we should be working together on your next project.

Since all of my design work is for print, I know it’s not. But that doesn’t mean print is as strong as it once was. Or that it’s the best option for certain sales and marketing goals.

But after two project consultations in the last couple of weeks, it certainly became even clearer to me why print still matters.

In these two calls, I was talking with businesses that primarily market online. In one case, the business was an online service with no physical product to sell.

Here’s what both discovered: Many of their ideal customers don’t know to be looking for them online. Both companies had valuable services, but their audience is not the type who sit around at the computer, magically coming up with the right search terms for services they don’t know exist.

So how do you reach those people? Well, you need to get a little more direct. You can’t keep waiting around, hoping your ideal customers stumble across you.

It was at that point that these two businesses contacted me. They knew that despite whatever success they were having marketing online, they were still missing valuable customers by not reaching out to them directly through print, whether it’s a magalog, a sales letter, or something else.

The print piece would certainly drive readers to their websites. But they felt the first step of engagement needed to occur directly through the mail.

Even if these two companies could reach their target audience through e-mail, it’s getting a bit trickier to cut through the clutter. And in one case, it was unlikely the key person they really needed to reach at each company was the one checking e-mail anyway.

I want to be clear: I’m not saying print is for everyone, for every project, for every niche. It’s not.

I am saying that print, in my experience at this time, is not as dead as some people make it out to be. And I am saying it’s still a vital piece of the sales and lead-generation process in many situations.

Let me give you three more examples.

1. In the business-to-business world, print is still a huge part of the initial lead-generation and sales process. In some companies, the approval process can take months and go through various layers of approval. While you should always use your print piece to drive people online, by and large the companies in the B2B sector expect to see something in print.

2. Speakers and consultants can be in a similar situation to the two companies I mentioned earlier. They may be easily found online… if people know to search for them. But often that’s not the case. Unless there’s an immediate and specific need, people probably aren’t sitting around in their free time searching for speakers and consultants. To start the conversation, get a strong print piece into their hands.

3. Some people, especially in the older generation, tend to be more trusting of print material. We see that a lot in the health industry. Traditional print marketing is what they grew up with. Not that scams don’t exist in print marketing, but there can be a perception that if you have the budget to actually mail something to someone, you’re more legitimate and more worthy of attention. Again, we know that’s not always true. But the perception is there.

So, for those reasons and others, I think print still matters… it still has a place… and when you’ve got a great list, great copy, great design, and the appropriate format, it still delivers.

For any type of layout project – magalog, sales letter, book, brochure, etc. – your designer likely is using some professional-level design tool like InDesign, QuarkXPress, Photoshop or Illustrator.

When he/she sends you a proof, it’s usually a PDF that’s easily viewed on just about any computer. Sending you the actual source (or native) files from those professional level tools would be pointless if you didn’t have that software yourself. You wouldn’t be able to easily open the files, if at all. And most projects are made up of many source files.

That’s why PDFs are so great… one file to see the completed project. That makes your life easy.

Print shops sometimes want to print your project from source files. Other times they’re just as happy with a press-quality PDF. It depends on the printer and the project. Designers are happy to provide the printer with source files if required. (If they’re not, they’re not doing you any favors. Consider finding another designer.)

But quite a number of designers will do just about anything not to hand over source files to the client. This is a very controversial subject and I don’t make many friends in the design community when I discuss it because I’m very pro-client on this.

Why some designers don’t want to give you source files

Some designers are afraid that if you have the source files, you’ll simply do future projects yourself, or hand over those files to someone who will work cheaper. By having the source files, it may save another designer lots of time creating similar projects. Personally, I don’t want clients to feel they have to work with me. If a client doesn’t see any of the extra value I bring to a project, we’re probably not a good long-term fit anyway. So if it’s just a single project and they’re going to use that as template for years to come without using me, so be it.

Other designers fear that the client will muck up the files and create a mess that either makes the end-result look bad (with the blame being unfairly placed on the designer), or cause the designer extra work to fix the mess. To be honest, that’s a valid point; I’ve seen it happen. My personal method of dealing with that is to be clear what the results may be if the client does alter files. If they insist on tampering with the files and causing me extra headaches, I simply stop working with them. (I value my sanity.)

And then there are designers who are happy to hand over the source files… for a price. That’s not something I do – I give them to the client for free if they want them – but charging extra for source files is very common in the industry. It’s a discussion to have with your designer before the project starts and have that included in your agreement.

How I came to my “You can have the source files” policy and why you should care

Unfortunately, “stuff” happens. Real life experiences opened my eyes to why clients should get their source files.

Let’s say you have a magalog that’s working great for you, but you change your company’s phone number, address or a URL. If you’re still working with the same designer who created the magalog, no problem.

But what happens if the designer went out of business and you can’t get in touch with him? (Freelancers going out of business is an unfortunate reality.)

What happens if you have a falling out with the designer and they refuse to talk to you or do anything to help you? (That happened to a client of mine with his previous designer.)

What happens if you’re unknowingly working with a designer who has a terrible back-up policy? Computers crash, files disappear. Happens all the time. I’d like to say that most freelancers are good about making regular back-ups. Experience tells me that not everyone does. How safe are your files with your designer?

What happens if you want to print more copies of the magalog with a new printer, but your designer is out-of-business (or not speaking to you) and you have nothing but a low-quality PDF proof?

Well, here’s what happens: A quick, inexpensive change turns into a brand new project for a new designer. That costs you, the company, more money and takes extra time.

It didn’t have to come to that if you had the source files to hand over to someone else. Or could hand them back to your original designer if something bad happened on his end.

The argument that should cause you to consider finding a new designer

If a designer ever gives you the old “Well, does a restaurant give you the recipes for meals on their menu?” argument for not handing over source files, kindly remind them they’re not a restaurant. But if that’s how they want to be judged, ask them if you’ll get “free refills” on certain design services or get “Happy Hour” pricing.

It’s a silly argument and any designer that uses it on you should be embarrassed. Consider whether you want a long-term relationship with a designer like that.

Here are some things a designer may not be able to hand over

1. Fonts – Most fonts have copyright restrictions of some kind. It’s usually OK for the actual fonts to be packaged and sent to the printer for printing along with the source files. But sending you, the client, the fonts with the source files can be a legal no-no. Your options are to simply take the source files without the fonts, or get a list of the fonts used by your designer and buy them yourself.

2. Unique creations – For this article, my focus is really on copy layout projects. I am, however, sensitive to designers who create logos or other unique pieces of art. But designers can “flatten” an image so that you can still have the source file, but are prevented from editing the pieces that make up the final result.

A logo is a good example. You may need to give that logo file to another designer for a different project. Having the flattened source file allows that designer the maximum flexibility to add the logo to a letterhead, banner, business card, or some other project that the logo designer doesn’t handle. Most logo designers understand that and will provide you with the appropriate file(s).

3. Plug-ins – Plug-ins are software extensions that designers can add to their design tools to help automate tasks or create some unique design element. It’s likely that the plug-in has copyright restrictions that prevent the designer from handing it over to someone else. That might mean that while you have the source files, you can’t edit some portion of the project, or even open it, because you don’t have the plug-in. That’s another case where you may need to buy the same plug-in assuming you have the same design tool your designer is using.

There may be other valid reasons, but I simply want to make you aware of some common situations where it truly is an issue.

Beyond that, it’s always in your best interest to get source files and store them in a safe place on a company server or back-up DVD.

Boring, I know, but essential.

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.

I get occasional calls from potential clients who tell me they want/need a magalog. That comment is immediately followed by, “Oh… and what exactly is a magalog?” I’ve tackled the “What is a magalog” question here, so today let me focus on why I might try to talk someone out of using one.

Ultimately, a client knows his or her business far better than I do. But it’s fair to say that some clients aren’t as clear about the positives and negatives of certain types of marketing material. So it’s natural that if you hear people talking positively about some type of marketing – such as a magalog – you’re going to want to learn more about it. You might even think it’s a magic bullet that will have customers jamming your phone lines to place an order.

But that’s where a designer you trust is going to pay off. A good designer is not going to get hung up on terminology. He or she isn’t going to assume ‘magalog‘ just because you used that word. Your designer is going to ask questions about your copy and even ask to see it if it’s available at that point. Based on that, the designer will have a good idea of which direction to go if you’re not sure.

Even more important, if you actually do think you have a direction, a good designer isn’t going to be shy if he disagrees with you. That doesn’t mean your designer indulges in endless arguing. It just means he’ll give you other options to consider and explain why he’s presenting those options.

What sometimes happens when I talk to people who think they want a magalog is that they really need a sales letter. No, it’s not quite as glamorous as a magalog, but based on the content the client has, along with other factors, a sales letter is best for the job. (And we can make a sales letter look great even without all the extras that go into a magalog.)

That doesn’t mean you can’t make adjustments and additions to the copy to create content more appropriate for a magalog (or slim jim, or bookalog). It just means that, as it stands, your copy isn’t to that stage yet, in the designer’s opinion.

By the way… if you haven’t guessed yet, this situation normally occurs with clients who write their own copy or are considering taking existing website copy and converting it into a magalog. A good freelance copywriter is going to know from the beginning what he or she is writing for… magalog, sales letter, white paper, etc. In that case, the designer simply takes the copy and applies it to the proper format.

Content alone is not the only reason to question whether a magalog is the best choice. The cost of producing and mailing a magalog can be quite a financial hit… it’s not for the financially timid.

Just speaking from the design side, a magalog costs more than a sales letter because there’s far more work involved. A very basic rule of thumb: if it ends with ‘log’, it’s not going to be inexpensive… magalog, catalog, issuelog, bookalog. And that usually not only applies to the design, but also the copywriting, printing and mailing.

While I love getting paid for magalogs, I don’t steer clients down that path if I really don’t believe it’s the best marketing vehicle for them. That’s why I’ll ask any number of questions to ensure that the client is picking the right format.

So if you’re considering a magalog, but not sure if it’s right for you, find a designer you can trust and discuss it. In particular, focus on whether the content currently supports the magalog format, and whether you have a budget that will allow you to get the most out of your magalog.

I’m not one to get too hung up on terminology. Part of my job is to listen to what you need, then we can put a label on it if we need to. (Steering someone away from a magalog, and it’s relatively large financial investment, is something I’ve done a few times. I’ll discuss that in a future article.)

As you’ve probably guessed, the word magalog is traditionally considered to be a cross between magazine and catalog. I say traditionally because the way words and names evolve over time, I have no doubt that someone has another origin for the word. But for now, magalog + catalog is good enough for us in the realm of direct marketing.

When I was interviewed for Print Professional Magazine, I gave my own definition that I thought direct marketers could relate to:

I tend to describe [a magalog] 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.

Of course, there’s no law that says we have to do things a fixed way. In fact, the magalog has a few variations including slim jims, issuelogs and bookalogs. (Again, something else I’ll be tackling in the future.)

But the “sales letter on steroids” phrase seems to click with most direct marketers I talk to who are learning about magalogs for the first time.

At that point, the sky’s the limit… or more accurately, the budget is the limit.

We want the magalog to be something appealing to read. Obviously there will be sales copy, but a great copywriter is going to find nuggets of information to sprinkle throughout the magalog… info that people might actually want to share with other people.

In my prior career in a radio newsroom, it’s what we’d call the “Hey, Martha” story. You’ve probably heard that phrase before. You can read a bit more about that in my free 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, on the MagalogGuy.com homepage.

Designers take all that and put it into something that’s going to stand out when the recipient gets his or her mail.

Magalogs can sell a single product or service, or many. Most I’ve dealt with have been a single product, with the copy focused on creating the desire and supporting the claims that are being made.

Magalogs have no set size or page count, although 8.5 x 11 is a common size and 12-16 pages is a common page count. Once you start significantly changing those variables, the discussion moves into things like slim jims and bookalogs. Yet another topic for another day.

For today, I just want to keep things as simple as possible and give you a fairly common definition of a magalog.