Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 1: Create your own product catalog
• Tips

Creating a product catalog is an effective way to expand your customer base and show your customers all the wonderful products that your company sells. With a catalog, you may be able to reach those customers who will never enter your store. Knowing what information to include in your product catalog and how to present it in a structured and visually appealing way will help you turn your catalog idea into reality in a short time and have a tangible means of promoting your products .

To step

Method 1 of 1: Create your own product catalog

1. Collect the content. Make sure you have gathered all the information for the catalog before you start designing it. Before creating the catalog you will need content such as product images, a list of all products and their attributes, and a list of all texts that need to be written, such as information about the company, customer testimonials and any other information that your customers helps to make the right decision.
2. Create visually appealing product images. You may be tempted to take your own photos to save money, but unless you are a professional photographer yourself, it is best to hire a professional to take the pictures for you. The product images are among the most important parts of the catalog, as they are the first to be seen by customers. An attractive image will entice customers to read the description and hopefully buy the product.
   • If you are a good photographer yourself, think you will be able to take attractive photos yourself and have a digital camera, then get started. Set the camera to the highest resolution and follow the rules for taking product photos: put the products separately and not together in the photo, use a light background, create a drop shadow so that the products jump off the page, as it were, and upload the photos with a resolution of at least 300 dpi.
3. Know what properties the products have. Before you make a product description for each product, you need to know the technical specifications of all products. You can also assign item numbers to all products and determine prices, including the original price and discounted price. You can also write down any benefits that come to mind when organizing all of the products. You may want to give readers all the information there is to find about a product, but you should only give them the information that will help them make a decision. You can refer customers to your website if they want more information about a product.
4. Choose a suitable format for your catalog. You have to choose a convenient format for catalog for when it is closed somewhere. Depending on where your catalog will be viewed, for example on an airplane or a counter in a waiting room, you need to think about the most convenient format so that your customers don't get overwhelmed by a very large catalog or frustrated by a catalog that is too small, making they cannot properly see the images and information about the products they want to buy.
5. Choose the correct number of pages. Your product catalog should be thick enough to give your customers all the information they need, but also thin enough to hold their interest. You shouldn't bore your customers with all kinds of extra details. Don't forget to add a table of contents and think about which products you want to give an entire page. Also think about additional pages with information, for example about the history of your company.
   • Make sure you use page numbers consistently. You can make it easier for your customers to find your website address and phone number by listing them on every duplicate page. You can include your phone number in the bottom right corner of each page and your website address in the bottom left corner, or vice versa. You can also put your phone number at the top of the page and the address of your website at the bottom.
   • Make sure the total number of pages is a multiple of four. Printing companies print four pages on a sheet of paper (two on the front and two on the back).
6. Write product descriptions. Keep the descriptions short and do not exceed 50 to 150 words. You want to write something about the properties and characteristics of each product, but don't forget to mention a small advantage for each property. Also tell what the essence of the product is and what it can do for the customer. The golf gloves that you sell, for example, have a good grip, so that people can hold the golf club better. More importantly, with these gloves, customers can play golf like a professional golfer (essence of the product). Help customers choose the right product when you write about it. Tell us what you know about the products, from price to weight or dimensions.
   • Consider hiring a copywriter if you need writing help.
7. Write additional content. When writing texts for your catalog, you should use short, easy-to-read sentences and paragraphs, and avoid technical terms and very technical words. Each section of your product catalog should have a cover page or introductory page with a photo of someone using one of the products in that section, as well as a short article about the benefits of the entire product category. You can also include a brief history of the company in your catalog so that your customers will find your products more reliable.
   • Also design an order form if you accept orders by fax or e-mail.
8. Organize the content. You will have to determine which content will be on which page. Make sure to group similar products together. Also put products that belong or fit together. For example, if you sell luxury dress shoes for men, you can put shoehorns that keep the shoes tidy for a long time on the same page. Customers interested in smart shoes may also be looking for this. This is a great way to show customers something they didn't know they needed.
   • In order to effectively organize the content of your catalog, you not only need separate sections for the different product categories, but also an introductory section at the front of the catalog, an informative section for adding items, and a section on warranty and returns. of orders. You can include the items in various places in your catalog so that the customer always keeps thinking about buying products.
   • Consistently use fonts and layouts so customers are not distracted. Make it easy for them to find a specific section by giving the bottom, top, or side of the pages a different color for each section.
9. Use powerful texts to fill up your catalog. To ensure that the total number of pages is a multiple of four, you may need to include a few pages of filler text in your product catalog. Make sure that with these texts you promote your products and persuade customers to buy them. If you also tell something about the history of your company, customers will find your company more reliable and will be more likely to buy your products. This also applies to customer testimonials and warranty schemes. All things that reassure your customers and show that your company is reliable help you to sell as many products as possible.
10. Make an impressive cover. The cover is what potential customers will see first and what makes your product catalog successful or not. If your cover doesn't draw attention, a customer tosses the catalog in the scrap paper before even opening it. By highlighting certain products, mentioning special offers or discounts, and using beautiful images, you encourage the customer to browse your product catalog. If your product catalog pertains to a particular season, choose a theme that matches the time of year or a holiday coming up.
11. Design an order form. Creating an order form can be tedious and time consuming, but remember that a customer may not purchase a particular product because the order form is too complicated. Include the customer service phone number on the form so they can call if they don't understand something. An order form that they can tear out of the catalog and bearing your company's address also makes placing an order a lot easier for customers. Do not forget to add a box in which you can indicate how many products you want to order. It is also useful if customers can provide both a shipping address and a billing address. If your customers can also order the product online, clearly state that this is also possible.
12. Make a mock-up. It is important to create a mock-up or sample version of your product catalog before ordering hundreds of catalogs and finding out that you have made mistakes in the layout, layout or images. This way you don't waste time rethinking a layout for your pages and you also get an idea of ​​what your catalog will actually look like. Unless you're a graphic designer yourself, it's best to hire a professional or ask for advice to come up with the best layout for the pages in your catalog.
    • Discuss your budget, the printing company you want to hire, forms that you want to be able to tear from the catalog, and the images you want to use. When you or the graphic designer knows which components the catalog consists of, you can come up with a way to structure the information and place as many products on a page as possible without cluttering it up.
    • You can use figures or other things to temporarily fill the places where you want to place images. When you have everything ready you can use the real images, check the catalog for errors and let potential customers take a look at it to give you feedback before getting the catalog printed.
13. Print your product catalog. If your catalog has only four pages, you could print it yourself. With a professional, however, this takes less time and you can be sure that the result is of good quality. A printer also solves problems with page order and catalog assembly (if the outer pages are shorter than the inner pages when folded). In addition, a printing company will also be able to bind the catalogs in a sustainable manner. Some printers even offer a shipping service to make it easy for their customers. Make sure to find a reliable company that offers reasonable prices and professional quality.

Tips

• Don't use templates, as they limit your creativity and make your catalog less original.
• There are a lot of other factors to consider when creating a catalog. Catalogs are different from postcards and brochures because they contain more information and are often used for research purposes.