Today I received a concert catalog from an auditorium of which I’m a regular. I went giddy with joy upon finding the page promoting a Wynton Marsalis appearance, scheduled for February 2011. Giddy enough, in fact, that my eyes flew to the bottom of the page for a phone number or website, because I simply had to buy two tickets right now, here, today, this instant.
Guess what. No such information was there. To order, I had to dig. And dig. I finally found the order form a couple of pages in from the back cover. The creative team had done a good job of hiding ordering information in the last place any rational person would look for it. They also did a good job of printing it on glossy stock that is impervious to most pens.
Don’t make readers work to buy from your catalog, because most readers won’t. Don’t send them hunting for an order page. Don’t even make them leave the page they’re on. Put a phone number and web address right where they look for it: at the bottom of every page, or at least at the bottom right of every spread.
It’s still a good idea to have an order form. If you’re saddle-stitching, make it the center spread so the catalog opens naturally to it. For perfect binding, printing it on thicker stock will provide the same effect. And for heaven’s sake, use uncoated paper so people can write on it.
A huge Marsalis fan, I was motivated to brave overwhelming odds for the privilege of parting with not a small amount of cash. Less dedicated shoppers give in to inertia, which means that if you make buying hard, you will lose sales. This is according to a rare thing in the marketing business known as “common sense.”
—Steve Cuno
Guess what. No such information was there. To order, I had to dig. And dig. I finally found the order form a couple of pages in from the back cover. The creative team had done a good job of hiding ordering information in the last place any rational person would look for it. They also did a good job of printing it on glossy stock that is impervious to most pens.
Don’t make readers work to buy from your catalog, because most readers won’t. Don’t send them hunting for an order page. Don’t even make them leave the page they’re on. Put a phone number and web address right where they look for it: at the bottom of every page, or at least at the bottom right of every spread.
It’s still a good idea to have an order form. If you’re saddle-stitching, make it the center spread so the catalog opens naturally to it. For perfect binding, printing it on thicker stock will provide the same effect. And for heaven’s sake, use uncoated paper so people can write on it.
A huge Marsalis fan, I was motivated to brave overwhelming odds for the privilege of parting with not a small amount of cash. Less dedicated shoppers give in to inertia, which means that if you make buying hard, you will lose sales. This is according to a rare thing in the marketing business known as “common sense.”
—Steve Cuno
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