What’s on the iPod: Darlin’ Do Not Fear by Brett Dennen
When Copywriting Queen (my term for her) Eileen Coale said something in a comment here about magalogs, little did she know she wasn’t escaping with just a mere comment. I asked for more – and like the pro she is, she delivered. Thank you, Eileen, for the following post and for sharing your wisdom!
Feel free to ask Eileen questions!
Writing magalogs: tap into your inner drama queen
By Eileen Coale
Perhaps you’ve never heard the term “magalog” before, but chances are you’ve seen one. The term is a hybridization of “magazine” and “catalog.” These full-color glossy publications look like a magazine, but they’re actually sales pieces in disguise. You’ll find them most often in the alternative health and financial newsletter industries, but in theory they can be used to sell almost anything. Most are B2C (e.g., dietary supplements, financial newsletter subscriptions); some are B2B (e.g., seminars, software).
A magalog is one of the most coveted assignments a direct response copywriter can get. That’s partly because the pay is so high ($5,000-$25,000 and up per magalog), and partly because they’re just so darned much fun to write.
While marketers are always looking for fresh freelance talent to write magalogs, winning an assignment is tough. Effective magalogs require a specific architecture, and it’s not something most newbies can pick up right off the bat. Seasoned pros can turn out a short to medium length magalog in as little as three weeks, but few like to work at that pace. The best magalog writers in the country are booked months, even years, in advance. Magalog clients would rather forego the effort altogether than settle on a writer they don’t have confidence can deliver. That’s because magalogs are expensive. Copy, design, printing, lists, and mailing costs add up to a capital-intensive marketing effort. Response rates are calculated to one-tenth of a percent. Many marketers take a loss on an initial magalog mailing and count on making it up with lifetime customer value.
Magalogs are all about story. In the case of B2C magalogs, the more dramatic the story, the better. The magalog formula is simple, but it’s not easy to execute: dramatize a problem, offer the reader the solution, and tell a compelling story to tie it all together. Developing the right cover concept – a combination of headline and imagery – is crucial, because it’s what compels the prospect to open up the magalog and read it. There’s plenty of space to tell your story and build your case. Magalogs are, at a bare minimum, 12 pages. Most are 16-24 pages, and some are even longer. Most magalogs ask for the sale and provide multiple ways to order. A small minority are used not to generate orders, but to generate leads instead.
The best magalogs are a combination of useful information that the reader can apply right away and a tantalizing promise of what they can expect if they order the product. Sidebars, callout boxes, charts, quizzes, diagrams, testimonials, and photos keep the prospect engaged. Magalogs should be full of fascinating stories, fun factoids, and useful information. The best magalogs hang around on coffee tables and in bathrooms for months.
My colleague and friend, Mike Klassen, is a magalog designer with whom I’ve collaborated on a number of projects. Mike offers a wealth of free information about magalogs at his website. Among those resources, you’ll find a podcast interview here (Episode 5) with yours truly, where we talk about magalog writing. If you’d like a PDF copy of a magalog I collaborated on with Mike, contact me through my website at eileencoale.com.
Eileen Coale is a direct response copywriter specializing in copy for natural health, libertarian issues, sustainable living, and the preparedness and survival industry. She can be reached through her websites at www.eileencoale.com and www.thenaturalhealthcopywriter.com. You can follow eileen on twitter at http://twitter.com/eileencoale.
Writers, have you done magalog work? What clients do you work with currently could you sell the idea to?
18 responses to “Guest Post: The Magalog Market”
I fit well into that type of writing, because I use my playwriting and fiction skills and bend it to that type of writing. I haven't done a lot of it, but it is fun.
I knew nothing about it — I landed my first one when I picked one of them up, thought, "I can do that" and just pitched to the publisher/editor. He thought my letter was so funny that he gave me a shot. Wish he was still there, it would be a great steady gig!
Eileen, how did you go about getting your first magalog gig? Accidental or something you sought?
In the same vein as magalogs, custom publishing can be a good source of assignments. Before I jumped ship on the corporate world, I was an editor at a custom pub company, and we probably FL'ed 80% of the content for all of our magazines.
If you dig around on the Custom Publishing Council web site, you can see who some of the players are.
@Devon: You're not the first person who has told me you pitched in a unique way to get a magalog assignment. They get a lot of pitches, and most aren't very good. If yours really stands out, you have a much better shot.
@Lori: I was writing other types of copy for one of the big magalog mailers, and they passed my name around the company. Someone from a department that needed fresh magalog talent contacted me. That first magalog was pure torture and took forever. I vowed after I did it I would never do another. The second gig I got was a referral from my graphic design buddy Mike, and the previous magalog gave me the portfolio sample to land the next one. That second magalog was a blast. I've never been invited back to do another magalog for the first company, but I'm doing them regularly for the second company.
Very cool, Eileen. I knew I loved the word magalog, and now I know why: They're an amalgam of the various kinds of writing most of us love to do.
I'm glad you didn't stop after that first experience!
Paula, me too!
First, thanks to Eileen for mentioning me and to Lori for putting up the article.
Wanted to mention something about referrals.
Eileen and I met online years ago and then bumped into each other at a conference.
I already knew she was a good writer, but meeting face-to-face, we hit it off personally. That is a major, major thing when it comes to referrals I give.
Clients don't want to work with someone who is a pain no matter how good they are. And if I'm referring someone who is a pain, that makes me look bad.
Your reputation for your writing skills is very important, obviously. But I think your reputation in terms of your personality is equally important.
That's an aspect you want to get across in your marketing material and your interactions with prospects or potential collaborators.
Just my 2-cents.
Wow. I had no idea that this even existed. I love learning new things. Thanks for the info. Eileen!
I can't help but think about a couple of writers, who claim there are no good-paying opportunities available. Those writers are pretty overdramatic about why marketing is a "waste of time". They probably would be perfect for something like this, since it says that in some cases, the more dramatic the better.
@Wendy: tell your pessimistic writer acquaintences to get into direct response writing. Example: A few months ago, I wrote a multi-component direct mail package (brochure, order form, sales letter, etc), probably totalling no more than 30 pages of copy. My fee was $13,000. I say that not to brag, but to open up people's eyes that some writing pays very well indeed. I did, however, have to spend a few years working my way up to that level of expertise … but I'd say it's worth it, wouldn't you?
I didn't know magalogs existed either. Indeed they really do sound fun to do (and very interesting financially…). Thank you very much for sharing this info, I'll definitely have to look more into this (and work on acquiring the writing skills)!
If you want to learn more about magalogs, one of the best ways to do this is subscribe to any newsletter put out by Boardroom, Inc. or Agora Publishing. Then order a dietary supplement from Sun Chlorella or Health Resources. In about 2 months, your postal mailbox will be flooded with magalogs. Save them, study them, and start what's called a "swipe" file.
Thank you so much Eileen! This is all really helpful…sometimes there's just so much new info about different types of writing, I find it hard to get my head around it all. But with these kinds of concrete tips I can actually start somewhere I know will be useful (and "organize" my thoughts). Thanks again!
You're welcome, Caroline (one of my favorite names, BTW).
Eileen, thank you again for your post, and especially for sticking around to answer questions.
Quick question – have you ever convinced a client to go with this type of content? If so, how?
Lori, no. I wouldn't even try. Magalogs are a big investment for any company, and there are too many variables outside my control – the major one being the list they mail to. If they mailed, and it was a flop, I'd take the heat. The other thing is, many companies take a loss on their first mailing (but then make up for it with lifetime customer value). A company without experience using magalogs might really freak out at that initial loss. If you're looking for a marketing format that has the same persuasiveness and the same story-driven focus, a multi-page sales letter can be a great tool. You can have them printed in 2-color and even include a few diagrams or photos, and you can get as good a response.
In my role as Copy Director for my main client this year, we are producing at least one major long copy project every month. Some products are "worthy" of a magalog, but others don't quite fit that large a project. For many of those, we'll be doing 8 or 12 page sales letters instead.
I suspected that was the answer given the price involved.
Thanks for sharing your post and it was superb .I would like to hear more from you in future too.
Regards: http://www.blackitsoft.com/inventory-pos-software.aspx
Thanks for sharing your post and it was superb .I would like to hear more from you in future too.
Regards: http://www.blackitsoft.com/inventory-pos-software.aspx