The Dos and Donts of Catalog Copy

The Dos and Donts of Catalog CopyThe Dos and Donts of Catalog CopyCatalogs are different than most advertising mediums because youre explaining numerous products with short descriptions. Your purpose in writing catalog copy is to get people to order your product directly by calling customer service or filling out an enclosed order form. Use the following catalog dos and donts and youll be on your way to painting a Picasso. Do Write a Catchy Headline No matter what your space constraints, do write a snappy headline. Even a couple of words will do. A good headline will prompt people to take notice. A bad headline or subhead will turn people off, even if the product is fantastic. Dont Write a Product Description in Your Headline There is a time and a distributions-mix for this, and its in the body copy. If youre selling a diet pill, dont use diet pill as your headline. Think more along the lines of Lose Weight Fast or Fit Into Your College Jeans Again. Do Include a Letter Fr om the Manufacturer Flip through your favorite catalogs and youll probably notice a letter from the companys president, explaining the companys quality of products, commitment to customers, and a customer satisfaction guarantee. Sometimes the letter may even be used to call attention to a specific product line. Even a personal letter from the president adds a friendly touch that gives customers that warm, fuzzy feeling. Letting them know theres actually a human being behind the company can make a big selling difference. Do Provide Hard Facts Yourultimate goal is to get customers to buy from your catalog. So your catalog descriptions have to be as complete as possible. From sizes to colors, materials to exact specifications - the copy should still be brief but contain enough details that they can make an informed buying decision. Dont Chop Your Pages Into Equal Parts A bestselling product deserves much more space than something that doesnt perform as well. Give it the atten tion it deserves. Try a half page or a full-page close to the front of the catalog. Your lesser-selling items can be placed toward the back. Do Use Your Sales Techniques Use those selling tools, such as Credit card orders accepted.Free gift for placing an order.Discounts on large orders.Free shipping on orders over $50.Gift packaging available. Dont Bury Your Phone Number Ever found a catalog product you wanted to buy and then you flipped here for the number and there to read the item number? Annoying, isnt it? Consider putting your phone number on every page. No, people wont call and tell you what a wonderful idea you had - but the convenience and ease of ordering will still stick in your customers mind. Dont Forget the Discounts Your product is 20 percent off. So tell your customer. There are a couple of different ways to do this. One is to simply write 20 percentoff Was $84.99 - Now Just $67.99 Or you can just use graphics to cross out the old price and type the new price. Dont Forget Your Graphics So youve got your product pictures and your catalog copy. Dont forget to use those handy, dandy graphics. New product? Use a starburst graphic and it will really stand out. Really draw attention to your items that are on sale, bestsellers, etc. However, use those special graphics in moderation. If everything has a starburst or an arrow, then nothing will stand out and your page will simply look cluttered. Do Give Your Customer Some Space Keep it simple. Design an order form thats easy to fill out, with a lot of space to write their information. Dont Forget the Instructions Print step-by-step instructions on your order form so your customers know exactly how to send in their order.And speaking of sending in their order, provide a geschftsleben reply envelope so your customer can enclose your order form and their check. Unfortunately for customers, most catalogs fail to use the above fundamentals. Those catalogs that lack descriptive, pers uasive copy and are just filled with product specs and model numbers are not only boring, but theyre also ineffective.But fortunately, you have all the ingredients to organize an order-pulling, money-making catalog by utilizing all of these key details.