by Abby Way

Created on: June 11, 2009

Selling jewelry wholesale is a profitable business to get into, if you do it right. A catalog is one of your most important tools to show off your products via direct mailings once you start selling wholesale. Making a catalog doesn't have to be too difficult, either.

ONLINE OR PRINT
In this day and age, many wholesalers maintain a presence online and also mail catalogs out regularly; direct mailings attract good results with a professional-looking catalog, while online catalogs are much cheaper.

It's probably a good idea to do both. In this article, we'll cover how to design a catalog for print, since the steps for making good online catalogs are different.

PICTURES
First, you'll need pictures to advertise your goods. A catalog without pictures has little chance of getting a successful result. You have the choice between taking pictures yourself, getting a friend to do it, or hiring a professional. Each has its own merits.

If you take pictures yourself, it'll be cheapest, and you'll have the most control over the pictures, obviously. The problem is that jewelry is very hard to photograph without blurry or distracting photos. Compare your photos to those in any other catalog to see if they're good quality. Remember, the photos make the biggest impression on the buyer! Look up tips on photographing jewelry online and keep a neutral background behind the jewelry, like black or blue velvet. Also, make sure you have good l

If you ask a friend to do it, you might get better results if he or she knows more about photography than you, and it will be free or cheap.

A professional will probably produce the best quality photographs, but will cost the most. "Shop around", find the best price and try to negotiate if they seem flexible. An amateur or student photographer will be more willing to negotiate pricing. Ask for samples of their work and ask what the policy is if you're dissatisfied.

LAYOUT
Once you have photos, design the catalog in a program like Microsoft Publisher, or more advanced software, if you have it. This will take time and patience, but is much cheaper than paying someone else to do it and is probably worth it. If you're hopeless at designing, recruit a friend or family member to do it for you.

PRINTING
Once you have your catalog, save it on a CD and bring it into a print shop. This is usually the most cost-effective solution, since you should be printing it on glossy pages and full-colour. The more reputable and professional the print shop, the better.

MAILING
A mass direct mailing is probably best done through a reputable company who either sells the mailing lists, or who will do the mailing for you. You can request a list of people who are interested in buying jewelry wholesale. A company will get the best rates on bulk mailing and they have experience with this.

If you take your time getting good photographs, designing a professional-looking catalog, and having it printed and mailed by reputable companies, you can achieve great results with your direct mailing.

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