Catalog Doctor: The Lost Art of Effective Cataloging
2. Be Very Clear in Design and Copy
It's a courtesy to your readers and increases sales for you. Clarity makes it fast and easy for your readers to focus on products and buying them, not on finding products or figuring them out. Clarity is truly important. It includes simple, but increasingly rare techniques like keeping your copy close to its image; product photos that show clearly how the product looks/fits/works; and copy that clearly answers questions readers have so they can make a buying decision.
Susan J. McIntyre is Founder and Chief Strategist of McIntyre Direct, a catalog agency and consultancy in Portland, Oregon offering complete creative, strategic, circulation and production services since 1991. Susan's broad experience with cataloging in multi-channel environments, plus her common-sense, bottom-line approach, have won clients from Vermont Country Store to Nautilus to C.C. Filson. A three-time ECHO award winner, McIntyre has addressed marketers in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, has written and been quoted in publications worldwide, and is a regular columnist for Retail Online Integration magazine and ACMA. She can be reached at 503-286-1400 or susan@mcintyredirect.com.