Listing your mail order catalogs online is a great way to find new customers
Your company produces awesome mail order catalogs. Now how do you get the word out to potential customers?
- You could have your catalog listed on one of those pull out order cards that appear in magazines
- You could buy advertising in a variety of print publications
- You could have an order form included in a direct mail packet
- You could send out direct mail response cards, inviting prospects to order your catalog
- You could buy a mailing list and send out catalogs to people who match your target demographic
All of these methods have merit, but there is one big problem. In all of them, information about your catalog will only reach people you have decided to target. And if your demographics are off, your catalog will not find your potential customers. That’s money wasted. But there is another option.
Listing your mail order catalogs online means you don’t have to find new customers…they can find you.
How it works
When a company promotes its mail order catalogs online, the customer can search for and find the right catalogs for their shopping needs. Customers search for what they want to buy, and your catalog comes up in the search engine results. A perfect match!
Where to list your mail order catalogs
There are a variety of places to list your catalogs online, including:
- Portal sites like Catalogs.com which attract shoppers who are looking for catalogs to order. These sites attract people who like to shop via catalogs and are savvy enough to search for their mail order catalogs online. They are already catalog shoppers, so you’ll be attracting the right kind of buyers.
- Special interest sites that cater to people who share a common interest, like babies, gardening or classic Mustangs. Choose the sites that match your product line for a ready-made audience for your wares.
- Blogs that target your catalog’s demographic. Like the special interest websites, these blogs offer a preselected group of readers who are likely to need or want what you have to offer.
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Offering the experience of mail order catalogs in an online format
In addition to your paper catalogs, consider offering access to your catalogs in an electronic format. Shoppers who may use mail order catalogs for on-going shopping might not be able to wait for a catalog to arrive to make that initial purchase.
Providing an online shopping experience in addition to traditional paper catalogs gives your customers the best of both worlds — shopping for an immediate need on the spot, and browsing for additional purchases over time.
Online catalog formats
Creating an online presence for your catalog is as easy as using a drag and drop website creator. Virtual shopping cart programs make shopping and ordering easy for the customer and the merchant. And updating a price or product information is much easier than with a paper catalog…a few clicks and the new information is live.
Programs are also available to give the online shopper a virtual mail order catalog experience, compete with the ability to “turn” pages. Many traditional paper catalog retailers have found this format appeals to their demographic who may be unwilling to leave behind their paper catalog experience.
Covering multiple channels is good business
No matter what your catalog offers, creating a virtual channel to compliment your traditional mail order catalogs is good business practice. By using both, your business will reach more customers than either channel could contact alone. Good business for you, and a good experience for your customers. A perfect fit!