Bound to Succeed

Particularly with the recent postal rate increase, Klassen reported he is seeing magalogs in smaller sizes, such as 51⁄2x81⁄2 ", or full-size, but folded in half to fit into a 6x9" envelope. “Most successful marketers test their magalogs like crazy, including cover copy, bonus offers, size, certain design elements and even the price of the main product. It can take time and money to find something that works—not everyone has that kind of patience or budget,” he said.

Happily Ever After

All of this is good news for distributors looking to expand their businesses. Whether the need is for a magalog or a more traditional volume, almost anyone, said Parisi, is a good prospect for a custom book. “We [produce books] for a wide gamut of clients, from large, sophisticated publishers producing many books, to individuals who want a book one time in their life—maybe it’s their thesis or dissertation, a book of poetry, a novel or [a book of] short stories. They’ll request two or twenty professionally produced copies to see if they can generate interest among publishers or bookstores. It’s great when we see those types of orders get larger and larger because [it means] the [authors] made it.”