Creating a Brochure That is Right for Your Company
Having an effective and compelling brochure is a critical component of your overall marketing efforts. Brochures can be used in multiple ways including selling potential employees on your company, presenting background for media coverage, as a handout at trade shows, and as part of a direct mail package.
Here are some important tips for creating a brochure that is right for your company:
Determine Objectives
Decide on what you want to accomplish with your brochure. Will it be primarily used to present the image of your company or will it be used more as a piece to elicit follow on responses from potential prospects?
Determine Your Target Audience
Who are you trying to reach with your brochure? For example, potential investors or potential customers? If your target audience is potential customers, elicit feedback from your sales and customer service people. Since these people come in contact with customers most often, they will better understand your audience.
Decide on Budget
How much money are you allocating for a brochure? Factors influencing the cost of a brochure include overall design cost, cost in acquiring graphics to be used on the site, the quality of the paper to be used, if the brochure is black and white or color, and how many copies of the brochure you want printed.
Use the AIDA Creating Concept
AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. Your audience probably sees hundreds of brochures every year. What can you say with your copy and graphics to instantly grab the attention and interest of your prospects? What desire can you appeal to that will motivate them to take the desired action?
Add Credibility
Decide what you can do to add credibility to your company. For example, if your company is housed in a large office building, consider putting a photo of the building on the front page of your brochure. Add photos and bios of your executive team if their background is impressive. If your brochure is oriented to prospective customers, include testimonials from current customers.
Professional Copy
If you are not using a full service marketing company to create your brochure, hire a professional copywriter to write copy for your site. Find out if they have written brochure copy in the past.
Make sure the copy is broken up into blocks and headlines to make it easier to read. Also consider placing photographs throughout the site to make it more visually appealing. Include complete and easy-to-read contact information.
Benefits Focus
Make sure your brochure isn’t just focused on features of your company and products, but the benefits readers gain from those features. The brochure needs to be creating from the perspective of the reader rather than your company.
Give Readers a Reason to Retain the Brochure
Many brochures are discarded by those who receive them because they have little lasting value. Give readers a reason to keep the brochure such as valuable product or comparative information.
Maintain Consistency
Use a consistent font style and visual look. Inconsistency makes it more difficult for a reader to fully absorb what is being communicated.
Avoid Reverse Type
Reverse type (white on black) reduces the readability of copy. Avoid using reverse copy unless there is a compelling reason to do so from a design perspective. Extensive use of reverse copy will reduce the impact of what is being communicated.
Take the time and invest sufficient money to have a brochure created that you can be proud of. A brochure can improve your overall marketing communications or adversely impact the perception of your company. Read and apply the aforementioned tips to help insure the creation of a brochure that achieves your objectives.
