Sending and Receiving

Back when I was Director of Marketing for a B2B catalog company, I constantly battled our Product Managers over the catalog content and layout. Let's call it having a "creative difference".

The product managers would always want to load up the copy with every conceivable benefit and feature. They were looking to make the presentation as comprehensive as possible - to cram their entire story on a quarter page.

Now don't get me wrong - attention to detail is a good thing. As long as all the work you're putting into sending the message is being received by the customer. If we were lucky, a customer might spend as much as two seconds looking at a product page. What really mattered in getting readers to linger, was great page layout design, a compelling headline and a fantastic photo.

Think about how you leaf through all the advertising that comes in the Sunday paper. Is it the compelling copy that gets your attention? Probably not.

Taking a day to tweak copy for a product that gets a fleeting glance may not be the best use of your time. Understanding that just because you send the message, doesn't mean it's being received as you'd like it to be.

Don't believe me? Take a look at this designer who radically improved newspaper circulation by dramatically improving it's design. Same columnists, editors, just a different design.



First, you need to capture attention. THEN, your message has a chance to be received.