Marketing Tools: Creating An Effective Brochure

Online, it’s your website that’s there to “sell” your business when you’re not. Offline, however, it’s most often your brochure. Therefore, it’s important not to just slap some pictures and information on a piece of paper then call it a day. Hardly! Though a seemingly insignificant part of your overall marketing efforts, brochures really can be powerful marketing tools...if you create them to be.

Here are some tips to help you create an effective brochure for your company:

• Determine The Purpose of The Brochure
  Since most brochures are tri-folds, which is often an 8.5” by 11” sheet of paper front and back, you’re limited on space. Therefore, the brochure should be as focused as possible. Decide what area of your business the brochure will focus on as well as who it will be target at and stick to it. Do NOT try to tell everything about your business and its products / services to everyone in one brochure. The effort will be futile. Instead, plan to create multiple brochures to address the different services you offer as well as your different target markets.
  
  
• Decide On The Action You Want The Consumer To Take
  Once you’ve decided on the purpose of your brochure, you need to decide what you want the reader to do. For example, are you trying to get the customer to call and order a product after reading the brochure? Perhaps the brochure is meant to entice the person to get more information by calling you—at which point you can work your sales magic—or by visiting your website. Knowing your action is key as it will help you to decide what information—text and images—should be included in the brochure and how they should be used.
  
  
• Keep The Content Simple
  Brochures are meant to provide a potential customer with an overview. Therefore, be direct with the copy that you use. Use short, catchy headlines and sub-headlines. Bullet points are great when attempting to convey large amounts of information in a limited space. Plus, bulleted copy is “glance-friendly,” which is perfect since most people only glance at brochures when they first receive them. Reserve longer copy for information that requires more of an explanation, such as helping the consumer to understand how a service works.
  
  
• Match Your Brand
  The design of the brochure should exemplify your company’s brand. The voice of the writing in the brochure should also match that of your other marketing material.
  
  
• Look Professional
  Your brochure is an extension of your company. Make sure it’s as professional as you are. Hiring professionals to create the brochure will produce the best results (with the least amount of stress for you). However, if that’s not an option, use a template provided by a printer to create your own.
  
  
• Remember: It’s Not All About You!
  The most important note to keep in mind when you’re creating your brochure—and any other marketing material—is that the content should convey consumer benefit while it educates the reader about your company / the goods your offer.

If you keep the above tips in mind, you’ll be able to create an effective brochure that can sell your business when you’re not there. After that, all you’ll have to do is get the brochures in the right people’s hands or make them available in key locations. You can handle that, right? Of course, you can. Good Luck!