Month: December 2020

A line sheet is a marketing material that companies use to present their products to the retail stores and make an order. The last feature is crucial because the primary purpose of the line sheet is to sell. 

In the past, PDF and printed line sheets were the only options, so an order form was usually included. Unless this presentation format is still popular and proves its effectiveness, some of the companies are shifting their marketing materials online. In the case of a digital line sheet, there is an ordering function that is already inbuilt in the file. Moreover, when there are any changes to the product information, the printed line sheets become outdated. 

From the retail buyer’s perspective, a line sheet is a document with all the essential information presented clearly. So, they can quickly and easily make a decision if the product is the right fit for their store. Additionally, some retail stores have a list of requirements of how the line sheet should look like. 

Long story short, every wholesale business uses a line sheet to present their products. This statement is true across almost all categories – apparel, jewelry, furniture, toys, etc.  

The Line Sheet Structure and Design 

A good line sheet has a well-organized structure. The main rule to the line sheet design is to make it absolutely clear. A line sheet is a reference guide for the buyer to find product details. 

So, the client can easily search for the information needed. The buyer should see the product range, how much it costs, and where to order it from the first sight.

 

Usually, a line sheet has a landscape layout. On the top edges, you can find contact details, such as company name, email address, phone number, website and street address, and company’s logo.

A line sheet is a few pages long. The shorter, the better. So, the products are placed on the page in a grid format (2×4, 4×4, etc.) with several lines of product details. These details usually include price, sizing, color options, and any other important information like that.

Plain background and high-quality images are two contributors to the professional-looking design of the line sheet. This is where a designer departs from lifestyle photography and focuses more on straight product shots.

As we have already mentioned, a good line sheet has an order form, and all the information needed to fill it out. 

A line sheet is also often customized for each client. So the “one size fits all” approach does not work in this case. Different retailers have different needs and expectations from suppliers and their products. 

The line sheet is an essential part of the sales process. So the B2B businesses put time and effort into using the best practices and strategies to create them.

What’s the difference: Line Sheet, Catalog, Lookbook?

A line sheet is sometimes referred to as a product catalog or even a lookbook. However, each of them is a separate and unique way to present products to the buyers. 

A lookbook is a visual guide to the brand. It is a compilation of fashion and lifestyle photographs of the product with minimum product information. Lookbooks are usually used in the B2C market. So, they are appealing to the emotional part of the clients. In a most common scenario, a lookbook will have one product per page layout with eye-catching font and colors. 

As you can see, a line sheet is opposite to the lookbook. First of all, it appeals to the buyer’s rational part with a clean design and structure. 

A catalog is in between a lookbook and a line sheet. A catalog often has several products per page, with appealing images and a limited amount of text. Usually, it includes product price, variances, and description. So, it is more information compared to a lookbook and less compared to a line sheet.

A line sheet contains pure facts about the products, while a catalog will discuss this fact in the advertising way. A catalog is also usually bigger compared to the line sheet in terms of the number of pages. This structure allows the companies to use a catalog for B2B and B2C markets. 

Overview

A line sheet is an essential part of the wholesale business in any industry. This is why today, some software programs help businesses with this issue. Here is a list of some examples of what can be done with the help of the line sheet creation platform.

– Creating a PDF and digital version of a catalog alongside the linesheet. 

– Automation of product detail updates.

– Professional-looking templates and advanced design functions. 

– Online Ordering and Payment System embedded in the digital line sheet.

Catalog Machine presents all the features mentioned above. Click https://www.catalogmachine.com/line-sheet-template to check it out. 

 

The importance of fundraising in the modern world can’t be overestimated. This practice is widely used by non-profit organizations or some governmental institutions, such as schools. However, it’s not easy to convince people to participate in it. Let’s see what could keep your potential donors away and how you could deal with these barriers with a straightforward move. 

The fear of fraud 

Donation is a sensitive question for some people. On the one hand, if you are sure that the money you spend will make a difference for the better, you will feel good about yourself. On the other hand, if you find out that other people used you for their purposes, you will feel fullish. This concept is tight to the idea of “self.” 

Self-concept is a way how someone thinks about, evaluates, or perceives themselves. People tend to feel good about themselves as far as they can. Because, when the self is heart is a psychologically painful process. This is why you will prefer to stay away from the experiences that could threaten your self. For example, the threaten of feeling foolish after donation. 

To overcome this barrier, a fundraising company should build trustful relationships with the clients. It’s easy to say and not that easy to achieve.

First of all, make the organization’s processes as transparent as possible, especially regarding the payment process. 

Secondly, give a tangible asset in return. It would be nice if the asset has an emotional connection with the purpose of the fundraising. For instance, you are collecting money for the orphans center. Send a picture to drawn by a child. It will cost you almost nothing, but the donor will feel great about himself. 

Thirdly, create a brochure that will include information about your goals and current achievements. The impression that other people have also participated in it gives the feeling of safety.  

There is someone else to help 

It’s called the Bystander Effect. The presence of others discourages the individual from intervening in an emergency. Moreover, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is for any one of them to provide help to a person in distress.

If a person understands that you are asking for money from many people, he will be less likely to donate. 

To overcome this effect, you should make the message as personal as it can be. For example, if you target other organizations or public personas, create a catalog with the product that would be interesting specifically for them. For example, you are fundraising with a help bakery done by school parents. It appears that the major has noticed your school. Send him a catalog of pastries done according to his preferences. Ask him about it before and then offer something based on his answers. Such a personalized approach would be highly rewarded at the end of the day. 

In this case, you want to make the catalog production as automated and straightforward as possible. Catalog Machine may help you with that. You can create a PDF and online catalogs in minutes by using the 50+ beautiful templates, connection with external platforms, and many more. Click here to know more and to start creating a catalog. 

Online fundraising

Online fundraising is challenging all along the way. It’s not easy to get people to pay attention to you instead of the massive volume of other causes (and videos and games and news stories and pictures and messages) battling for their attention.

To overcome this barrier, you want to make an eye-catching fundraising catalog and share it on all possible platforms – your website, social media, has a separate page indexed by Google. 

We have already created a list of advice on catalog design, which you can find in our blog article “User Experience: Make your Catalog Appealing.” At the same time, if you decide to go online with the fundraising catalog, Catalog Machine will give you a chance to share the one all over the platforms fast and easy. You can inbuild a catalog to your website or even share it across your email list. 

Now you know what you can expect on your way to successful fundraising and how to manage these obstacles. The best solution is an integrated platform where you can display your products in an appealing way, share with people online, and collect payments from this catalog. 

 Start your fundraising catalog today with Catalog Machine!