How to Publish a Lookbook Online

Whether it’s a new clothing collection, the latest yarn or fabric, or a fresh set of accessories, people will not put themselves out to try products if they don’t feel an emotional connection. Specifically, consumers invest in products they believe will improve their lives or lifestyle.

So, how does one create this connection with their target audience? The answer: A lookbook. Not a catalog that lists products in a sterile manner, but a vivid, imagination-stirring series of compelling pages that not only sell your products; it sells your message.

What is a lookbook?

Like much of mass media, lookbooks started in print, and some well-known brands still engage in this practice. However, it is now much more common for lookbooks to be a digital interaction between a brand and its audience.

Stylists, fashion designers, and e-commerce sites use lookbooks to show off their collections using compelling images and sometimes even videos. Unlike typical e-commerce pages filled with product information, lookbooks are immersive experiences, fuelled by engaging visuals (especially photography) that showcase designs and products at their best. Great visuals mean more views, clicks, and conversions.

Don’t just show the products, tell a story with them.

The Benefits of Lookbooks

Incorporating lookbooks into digital marketing strategies can benefit brands in many ways, such as:

Stimulating and educating your audience – Lookbooks don’t show your products as single items, but an entire “look”; not only can they be inspired to put together pieces from the collection, with lookbooks, influence audiences to wear the “look” in a distinctive setting. This “how-to-wear” guide is far more compelling than a product listing.
Sharing the collection’s story – Build brand loyalty with trust and rapport. These are things that cannot be bought but are the building blocks of brand success and ROI. The best collections are not a set of aesthetically pleasing products, but a story physically manifested. To go from good to great, let the consumers experience the story behind the products.
Establishing brand awareness and word of mouth – Generate “buzz” around the brand and its collections by providing something distinctive and above industry standard. Create organic engagement around the brand with highly shareable images and lookbooks.
Increasing sales – Of course, a digital lookbook shouldn’t only be images and visuals. Live links to the products within the lookbooks are a great way to bring convenience to the consumer. Or, easily accessible product information to be noted and looked up later. Whatever method, the customer should be able to access the looks as they are inspired.

Making a lookbook

Production and distribution will be the bulk of the work put into a lookbook. That is, the images and visuals should be appealing individually and cohesive together; and then strategize optimal conditions for how and where to promote the lookbook.

First and foremost, think of what to accomplish with the lookbook. A targeted look means a targeted audience, which will make designing and conceptualizing the lookbook that much more fluid. Of course, being a stylist or fashion designer is different than being a graphic designer, but never fear, Issuu is here to help- from providing examples to being the one-stop-shop tool to getting those views and shares.

Production

Design

One can never go wrong with simple elegance. The focus of the lookbook should be the products- everything else is dressing. Avoid complex templates and let the merchandise and story shine. A solid color background, like classic white, for the pages is the way to go. Pairing great aesthetics with a minimalist approach paves the way for not only standing out but also presenting a brand that is respectable and legitimate.

Elements

With Issuu, readability, sharing, and navigation are a given. So, the focus can be directed to what matters: an attractive cover page, pleasing and engaging visuals, and to top it all off, interactive links.

Attractive Cover Page

Believe it or not, consumers do judge a book by its cover, so make it count! Attention-grabbing covers reel in customers by presenting them with the essence of the story. The cover should include an enthralling image with a title that has the fashion season.

Pleasing, engaging Visuals

The essence of the lookbook and most vital piece. Here, avoid plain white background to prevent the sterile catalog look. Have fun and be intentional with every aspect of the photography and presentation- lighting, color, staging, props, etc. all matters.

(Optional) Interactive Links

Inserting links to a lookbook will make shopping a breeze

Distribution

E-Mail Marketing

Forbes says that E-Mail Marketing is the most effective and least challenging digital marketing tactic. It’s ready to share and easy to navigate at home or on the go. Issuu’s Visual Stories embed option makes this even better! Check out this incredibly useful recorded webinar to find out how to embed Visual Stories in E-Mail campaigns.

Social Media

Use social media to increase leads exponentially, with a single share visible to an average of about 150 friends or followers. Visual sites like Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook are the best places to promote lookbooks for an increase in traffic, leads, and sales.

SEO

Optimize the lookbook for internet searches. Hone in on the target audience and the brand keywords, including them in meta descriptions, title tags, alt text, and URLs. While doing this, make sure that images are a balance of good quality and quick load times, alongside ensure ease of user interface when checking out.

Conclusion

Lookbooks are not just a showcase of a brand’s collections- it is a powerful marketing tool that helps create an emotional connection with consumers through visual experiences.

With a properly implemented lookbook, more leads, sales, and conversions can be secured. Its success depends on using suitable visual content and text to bring out the story, while also utilizing effective tactics for promotion.

Already published a lookbook? Let us know your experience on how you did it on Issuu in the comments below.

Give Issuu a try today to get started with publishing your PDF content in an accessible way across platforms and devices. Whether it’s for social sharing, internal communications, or reaching a wider audience, Issuu is the right digital publishing solution for your content.