How to Create Your Own Product Catalog

A product catalog is where a vendor stores all information about the product it sells to the customer. A product catalog enables the customer to access information about all of its vendors' products in a single, structured format with consistent definitions of all the items.

If you set out to create your own product catalog, the most important step on your way is planning. A sound planning will obviously result in a better catalog production. As part of your planning, you must decide beforehand for whom, why and how you are going to create your catalog.

To begin with, decide what kind of catalog you want to create. Will this address your consumer or will it be a B2B (business to business) catalog? How many products do you want to display per page? Also decide whether you require other supporting elements like order envelope, sales terms, table of contents, index, etc. What should the catalog cover contain - products for sale, highlighted products, or no products? Estimate the number of catalogs you need to create and how many times a year.

The next step involves the selection of a suitable designer. Production of a good product catalog requires high technical and designing expertise. You must look for a reliable company that is experienced in producing catalogs. Inexperienced designers are likely to make a mess of the job by going over budget or missing deadlines. Make it a point to let the designer know what style you are exactly looking for. Since designers create a design according to the needs of its client, an experienced designer can give you the style you want for your product catalog.

Decide how much money you can spend on creating your product catalog. Tell the designer to create the best catalog that fits within your budget. The designer will then be able to choose formats, paper, printers and design styles that will better achieve your goal without surpassing your budget.

Once your planning is over, it is time to gather a complete list of all the products you want to include in the catalog, along with all non-product copy. Explain to the designer if you prefer some items to be grouped together as one catalog photo block. Then further sort the list into categories or spreads. It is generally observed that very few companies maintain proper product name and descriptive copy. Product descriptive copy must be attractive and should be between 30 to 60 words long for general consumer catalogs. It is better to consult your designer for guidelines on preparing your product information.

You then decide what style of imagery you will prefer in your catalog. Do you want a standard no-background format or on-location shots required? If undecided, talk to your designer to create a style that is right for you. You can save photography time and expense by removing packaging and labels, and cleaning or dusting the product if required.

Producing product catalogs is a specialized process. While looking for a printer, you should consult your designer to find the right one. Better yet, let your designer get the quotes for you. As designers have a better understanding with printers, they will make sure you are comparing the right numbers and specifications. Finally, get your mailing list ready in advance of your print date and dispatch your product catalogs as soon as they arrive.