As a small business owner, you may be thinking about refreshing your business image in 2011! The ultimate print marketing tool for your business is the brochure. If you are struggling with your brochure content, here are some useful tips on creating your company brochure:
1. Your main company message, product, service or sales message should be on the front cover
Think of your brochure cover as a print ad. The impact has to be immediate and capture interest. It’s difficult to get customers beyond the front cover! You have to make them WANT to look inside.
As well as your logo brand, your cover should include:
o A strong headline
o A powerful image
o A question, a proposition, a reason to make the viewer want to read more!
You can’t depend on the inside information to coax peoples interest. You have to get customers “in the front door.”
2. Keep your cover uncluttered and simple – stick to one image
One large photo or illustration is far more effective than lots of small pictures. A viewers mind can’t process lots of little pictures as quickly as one big image!
When it comes to advertising, less is more!
3. Create a business concept that distinguishes you
As well as having an original design thread that runs throughout your brochure, you should also continue a strong company proposition.
Think of something that sets you apart from the competition, i.e:
o Other companies cannot offer this kind of service
o You will benefit from our product
o You need this in your life!
4. Make your visuals interesting and persuasive
Your images should not only tell the viewer about what your company does, but the effect it will have on them!
For instance, it would be a good idea for a local brewery to visually show you the vats, the brewing system, and the way the beer is produced, but it’s more important for the brewery to illustrate people enjoying themselves drinking the brewery beer (drinking and enjoying beer is the whole point of the beer!)
In advertising, the eating is more important than the cooking!
5. Choose pictures that tell a story
For instance, if you are marketing your hotel, take the viewer on a journey through your hotel, as if you were actually visiting it! A story that has a beginning, middle, and end is much more appealing than a selection of random pictures or thoughts that don’t connect!
6. Put captions on all your Photographs
People often don’t bother reading the long copy and try to “get the gist” of your company message through the pictures and captions.
7. Always include long copy in your brochure
Granted, there are those customers who won’t bother reading the long copy, but there are also those essential target customers who want to know everything about your business.
These are customers who may have requested your brochure and are using it to compare and contrast the services of your company and that of your competitors…so be as detailed and interesting as possible!
8. When writing your long copy, highlight your major assets
If you think your company has the best company service, the greatest location, offers the best quality product, has the most dedicated employees, etc, then tell everybody! Offer as many facts up to the viewer as they need to distinguish your company. Use illustrations, graphs, charts, or other graphical elements to help you tell your story.
The following may not apply to all businesses but here are a few assets that you should include in your company brochure:
• Prices
• Product details
• Service details
• Location
• Business ideals
• History
• Major Successes
• Company growth
• Mission statement
• Contact details
9. Call to Action!
What action do you want the reader to take? Write, call, buy your product as soon as possible? Every piece of literature must contain a clear call to action.
Use tried and tested sales techniques such as discounts and special offers to convince the viewer to act.
10 Give your brochure product a quality look and feel!
Think of your brochure as a “salesperson.” It should be the graphical equivalent of a sharp suit, not a worn out old t-shirt and jeans! Print a quality brochure that doesn’t look cheap or flimsy. You don’t need to spend a fortune, but you should use a quality print supplier (such as OvernightPrints.com) to produce the best brochure promotion possible.
To celebrate our new Z Fold brochure option, Overnight Prints is offering 30% off custom brochures for a limited time only! Order now, and kick off your New Year business promotions in style.
