Creating a product catalog can effectively expand your customer base and enable your customers to learn about all the products your company has to offer. Product catalogs provide potential customers who might not normally walk through your door the opportunity to get information about you. As long as you know what needs to be included in your product catalog and present it in an organized and attractive format, you can transform your product catalog from an idea to a tangible advertising tool in no time.

Collect Content

Before any design work begins, make sure all the materials you need are in place. Things you need to prepare before making a product catalog include product pictures, a list of the product and its features, and a list of other content that needs to be written, such as company information, customer testimonials, and anything else that will be helpful to customers to make the right decision.

Use Visually Appealing Product Images

To save money, you may want to use pictures you take as product images. However, unless you are a professional photographer yourself, it is better to ask a professional photographer to take pictures of your products. Product photos are one of the most important aspects of your entire catalog because they are the first thing customers will see. If the photo is attractive, it will encourage the customer to continue reading the details and, ideally, make a direct purchase.

• If you are a skilled photographer, enjoy filming yourself, and have a digital camera, first, turn the resolution to its highest resolution, and then follow these instructions for working with product images: Place individual product images against a bright background. On the page, don’t use too many images. Then, add a shadow at the back to make the product stand out from the page. Finally, upload the image at a resolution of no less than 300 dpi.

Know the Characteristics of Your Product

Before you write about each product, you need to know their respective technical specifications. You can also give the quantity and price of the item in the content, including the original price and the discounted price. As you organize your products, you may also want to write down all the advantages that come to mind. Although you want to let your readers know every little detail about each product, you’re better off telling them only what will allow them to make a choice that’s beneficial to you. If they want more information about a related product, you can ask them to go directly to your website.

Pick an Appropriate Catalog Size

You’d better choose a directory size that makes them easy to put together. Depending on where the product catalog is placed, such as on an airplane or a table in a waiting room, you need to consider the most convenient size. Don’t make customers want to flip through the catalog because it’s too big, and don’t make the catalog too small so that they will not be able to see the image and size of the product you are interested in carefully.

Choose the Appropriate Number of Pages

Your product catalog should be long enough to allow customers to get all the information they need, but short enough to keep customers interested and not let unnecessary details distract them. Don’t forget to include a table of contents, a full page of featured products, and pages with additional information, such as company history.

• Make sure your pagination is consistent. Placing your website address and phone number on two pages that span your content will make it easier for customers to find the information. You can list phone numbers at the bottom right of each directory page, the bottom left of the web page, or vice versa. In directories and web pages, phone numbers should also be placed at the top of one and at the bottom of the other.
• Please make sure that the number of pages is a multiple of 4 because the printing company prints 4 pages on one full sheet of paper (two pages on the front and two pages on the back).

Write Product Description

Please keep each product description short, between 50 and 150 words. You may want to include every product feature in your description, but make sure each feature is beneficial. For example, the grip characteristics of a certain golf glove are that it enables a person to hold the club more firmly when playing in the club, but more importantly, wearing the glove makes the person look very professional (core benefit). When you write product descriptions, you should aim to help customers choose the right product and tell them what they need to know about it, from price to weight or dimensions.

• If you want help with writing, you might consider hiring a copywriter.

Write Additional Content

When writing copy, you should use short, easy-to-read sentences and paragraphs and avoid using overly technical language. Each section of the catalog should include an interview or introduction page about someone else using a particular product, as well as a short article about the benefits of the entire catalog. You can also write a brief introduction to the company’s history in the content, which can make customers feel more comfortable with the product.

• If you receive orders by fax or mail, you should also include a reservation form.

Organize Directory Content

You need to plan the content on each page of the table of contents. Make sure content for similar products is placed together. In addition, related products should also be listed together. For example, if you sell high-end men’s shoes, you could include a shoehorn that keeps the shoes in good condition for a long time on the same page, because customers who want to buy a good pair of shoes may also need a shoehorn. This can also give customers an idea of something they might not have thought of buying.

• To effectively organize the content of the catalog, you not only need to include the content in the product section but also add an introduction section at the front. If you want to add articles, you can also write a tutorial, and you can also add return and warranty information. You can arrange several articles at intervals in the catalog so that customers will be more likely to buy your products.
• Make sure to use consistent typography and design so it doesn’t distract your customers. However, you should add color coding at the top, bottom, or side of each section to help customers find specific pages.

Use Valid Filler Pages

If you try to set the number of pages to a multiple of 4, you may need to add filler pages. These filler pages should reflect your purpose for selling your product. Including company history in your content can make customers feel more comfortable purchasing your products. Customer testimonials and guarantees can also do this. Anything that puts customers at ease and legitimizes your company allows you to make the most of your company’s assets.

Design an impressive cover

The cover is the first thing potential customers see, which can make or break your catalog. If your cover doesn’t grab people’s attention, customers may just throw it in the trash without even opening it. Covers that include product features, special offers or discounts, and stunning images can encourage customers to open the catalog. If your product catalog is seasonal, match the time of year or theme of an upcoming holiday.

Design Booking Form

Although designing a reservation form can be a bit tedious, remember that if the reservation form is too cluttered, customers may abandon the purchase even if a particular lamp is unique. Give customers a customer service number so they can contact you if they feel they don’t know what to do. Using a punched form with your business address printed on it also makes it easier for customers to mail in their orders. Don’t forget about required options like quantity options, and shipping and billing address options. If your customers can also order online, let them know that this is an option.

Run a Simulation

Before printing hundreds or thousands of product catalogs, it’s important to make a mockup so you can realize if you’ve made some organizational or visual mistakes. This process will prevent you from wasting time redesigning your page layout, and it will also give you an idea of what your product catalog will look like. Unless you have a graphic design background, you should hire or consult a professional to find the best way to lay out your page.

• Budget, printer to use, how to tear off the order, images to use, these all need to be discussed. Once you or your graphic design expert has some ideas for the content, you can find ways to arrange it so that you can list as many products as possible without them being cluttered together.
• You can use shape outlines or other placeholders in place of your final image. Once you have everything laid out, before sending your catalog out for printing, you can add real-life images, print out a catalog proof, and have potential customers read it and make suggestions.

Printed Catalog

If your catalog is only 4 pages, you can print it yourself, but having it professionally printed will save time and guarantee quality. Additionally, commercial printing companies will pay attention to certain aspects such as page realization (page order) and distortion (outer pages being shorter than inner pages when folded). Printers can also use more durable bonding technology. Some printing companies even offer mailing services for your convenience. However, make sure you find a printing company that is trustworthy, affordable, and professional.

Tips

• Avoid using templates, which often limit creativity and uniqueness.
• There are many other factors to consider when creating a catalog. They differ from postcards and brochures in that they are better reference materials than the marketing media mentioned above.