A magalog looks and feels like a magazine… but it’s not. A magalog is an infomercial in print. A powerful sales piece for consumer and business-to-business marketing.
Because the magalog looks so much like a magazine, it is hard for your prospects to resist picking it up and reading it.
And, done right, it commands response.
Giving your magalog personality
We are all familiar with the term “judging a book by its cover” and we all know the value of a positive first impression. That’s why a successful magalog needs a powerful cover.
On the cover, you must demonstrate a clear and concise personality from the instant your prospect looks at your magalog.
While there is no doubt that the copy plays a make it or break it in a magalog success, personality is mostly demonstrated by the image you use to grab your reader’s attention.
Just like an A-list movie star on the cover of a magazine makes us more likely to read the headline, the same is true with magalogs.
Here is a recent magalog we did for an investment newsletter client. Note the personality.

Picking a picture or image that sizzles and compels
Show a picture or graphic your prospects can relate to and understand the instant they glance at your magalog.
First, people relate to people. So this approach often outpulls other images. Having people in the picture impacts your target audience. By using a person on the cover, your reader can relate to the gender, age or interests portrayed.
Remember, you want your readers to believe that your magalog contains the answers they are looking for, so it must convey credibility and trust.
Take a look at the two covers to your right. Cover A (the top cover) shows an elderly woman with a rake all alone in her front yard. Cover B shows an elderly couple sitting on a bench swing staring at each other; the woman has a cat on her lap.
If you’re curious to know which cover had a higher response, scroll down to the “Testing Corner.”
While one cover generated a higher response than the other, both magalogs did the job of grabbing the reader’s attention. Why? Because people could relate to the images on the covers.
Below are other magalog covers with personality that I have created for my clients:
Business to business:
Surfcontrol— Steve Purdham, president and CEO of SurfControl, with an image of burning money on one cover and a second cover depicting a hectic office setting

See our case study on the Surfcontrol magalog, here.
Consumer:
Vector Vest—an image of Bart DiLiddo, Ph.D—”America’s #1 inventor of investment software” confidently holding up a computer mouse with an image of his software program displayed behind him on a computer

See our case study on the Vector Vest magalog, here.
If you’re interested in magalogs, be sure to look at our video brief, here.
Or you can call me at (310) 212-5727 or email me at [email protected]. We can discuss a magalog idea that will work for your next direct marketing campaign.