Creative: Do’s and Don’ts for Great Catalog Creative

Do remember that copy actually does move merchandise -- no kidding. Fletcher bemoans the catalog creative directors’ penchant for replacing stylishly written copy with bullets. “Copy should read like you’re being talked to by a great salesperson,” she notes.

Also on her eye-roll list: creative directors who put in only a small bit of copy and a price. Such a bare-bones design treatment may look hip, says Fletcher, but it doesn’t sell merchandise. “The idea that no one reads copy anymore is plain wrong, and frankly, I’m sick of hearing that,” she notes. “When people are ready to buy a product, they read the copy. Good copy, then, means the difference between a sale and no sale.”