What is a magalog?

Quick answer: A magalog is a printed sales piece that takes the form of a magazine: articles, columns, images, and editorial layout. Readers browse it as content and drop the defenses they raise against advertising, while every page moves them toward an offer. It works well for products and services that need explaining, where a single ad page is too little. Keryx Design builds them from copy to press: magalog service.

A magazine on the outside, a salesman on the inside

The name comes from fusing *magazine* and *catalog*. The format was born in American direct marketing, where for decades it has been used to sell subscriptions, supplements, and financial services by mail: products nobody buys after seeing one page of advertising, because first they want to understand.

From the outside it looks like a trade magazine. Inside, each article does a piece of a salesman's job: one presents the problem, one brings the proof, one answers the objections, one presents the offer. The reader moves through a complete sales argument while browsing what feels like content.

On this page I answer the question from the point of view of someone deciding whether a magalog fits their case. If you want the complete guide to the format, with a page-by-page anatomy, I wrote it here: what a magalog is, how it works, and when to use it.

Why it gets read while the flyer hits the trash

We all carry a filter against advertising: the moment a piece smells like a pitch, we stop reading. A flyer trips that filter in two seconds. A magalog doesn't, because it presents itself as a magazine, and magazines get read.

The principle works even on much smaller formats, and the numbers show it.

The magalog applies the same principle across dozens of pages: more room to make the argument, more chances to move the reader toward the offer.

The mistake first-time buyers make

The classic mistake is treating it like a brochure with extra pages: big logo on the cover, corporate photos, text that talks about the company. That blows the disguise instantly. The reader recognizes the advertising and the format's advantage disappears.

A magalog lives on articles about the reader's problems. The cover promises something useful to them, the way a real magazine would. The company enters the scene as the solution, after the problem has been told and proven. If every page shouts who you are instead of saying what you solve, you've printed a poorly disguised catalog.

The test to know whether you need one

A magalog costs more than a flyer and pays off on offers that deserve the space. Before falling in love with the format, run this check.

The reverse also holds: if the goal is just getting your name out, with no measurable action in mind, the magalog is the wrong tool and we tell you so before the quote.

The questions that come right after

How many pages should it have? The page count is a consequence of the sales argument your case requires. You start from the copy and count afterward; the path is explained in the complete guide.

Who writes the copy? If you have a copywriter, the copy stays theirs word for word: the design works in service of the text. If you write it yourself, same rule. If there's no copy at all, it has to be written before layout, and that's a separate job. On this point, if you're a copywriter, there's a dedicated answer: who designs a sales letter without wrecking the copy.

How much does it cost and how long does it take? There are two tiers, VAT excluded: if you bring the copy already written, layout alone starts at €2,490; if you also want the sales copy written by us, the full version starts at €3,490. Either way it takes 10-14 business days. The line-by-line breakdown is here: how much magalog design costs.

If you're considering a magalog for your offer

First, look at how we work on the format, with examples and price ranges: magalog service. If instead you'd like to tell us about the project and find out whether the format is the right one, write to us: if a smaller piece makes more sense, we'll say so.