How to Create the Perfect Brochure

Hotel lobbies and airport terminals around the world all have one thing in common; a stand filled with a myriad of informational brochures. This blog will teach you how to ensure that your brochure stands out from the others in the stand and how to make sure that your brochure is read and not just tossed aside.

Before beginning to design a brochure, you must decide which of the five types of brochures you plan on making. Knowing the goal behind the brochure is instrumental in choosing the correct type of brochure to print.

Drop Off Brochure

This type of brochure is one that can be dropped off at a home or business, or put on a stand for people to pick up and read. This is more of a sales pitch brochure and should be written as such. Primarily this is used to get strangers interested in your product.

Direct Mailing Brochure

These brochures are designed and printed with a certain clientele in mind. This can be an effective marketing tool for a small business. A mailing list is purchased or created and then the sales brochure can be sent to the mailing list in order to drum up new customers. This type of brochure is also used by politicians to reach out to their constituents.

Response Brochure

This brochure is different from a drop off or direct mailing brochure because it is given to people who have already shown an interest in your product. Rather than causing interest in your product, this brochure is written with the intent to close the deal. It will include the information pertinent to ensuring that the sale is made, or the deal is done.

Checkout Brochure

This type of brochure is typically found at the cash registers in stores. These brochures will include other services and products. The goal of these brochures is to “upsell” to existing customers. If a business has a website, a checkout brochure can drive business to this site.

Support Brochure

This type of brochure is not commonly used. A traveling salesman would give these out to his potential clients so that they could follow along with a sales presentation. As the traveling salesman becomes less common so does the use of this type of brochure.

As you might imagine, the language and information given in the brochure will be dependent on the type of brochure you choose to print. For the purpose of this blog, we will assume that a drop off brochure is being created.

Before you begin to design your brochure you must do your homework. Make sure you understand your audience and make sure the tone of the message being given reflects this. Do not use big words to impress, keep the message short and simple. Do not give too much information as you may confuse the audience. Make sure your objective is clear and a call to action is included in the brochure.

Even though there are many fonts and type sets available, do not use many different types of fonts. This will distract from the message you are trying to convey in your brochure. The saying “less is more” is relevant here and try to keep your use of fonts to three or less.

Now that you have decided on your audience, the information you want to include in the brochure and the type of font you will use you can begin to design your brochure. There are several styles that you can choose from.

Flat Page or Flyer

This type of brochure is more commonly used for inserts into local newspapers, or advertisements that are pinned onto bulletin boards. This style of brochure can be in color or black and white; it is usually printed on the cheaper, flimsier paper and is the least expensive of the styles of brochures available.

2 Panel or Bi-Fold

This type of brochure is usually produced in color and on a thick type of paper. A one sheet page is folded in half and then the all four sides are written on. This brochure seems to hold more information than a tri-fold brochure and is usually used for more academic materials than for sales materials.

3 Panel or Tri-Fold

This type of brochure is similar to the bi-fold brochure but is folded in the same way as a letter. This is usually the style chosen for direct mailing brochures. The page is folded into three panels and this allows the designer to write on five panels (using both pages) and then leaving the final panel for the address and contact information.

3 Panel Z-Fold

This is the most commonly used style of brochure for drop off and check out brochures. The layout is similar to the tri-fold brochure but this is folded in a Z formation rather than like a letter. The designer can choose to write on all six of the panels, but most will use only five and leave the sixth panel for contact information.

Other less common styles of brochures include the accordion style; which is similar to the z-fold brochure but may have six to ten folds and the French style which is a multi-page brochure both of which are used mainly for maps.

Now that you have chosen which style of brochure you want to make you are ready to begin the design stage of the brochure.

Top Ten Tips For Creating The Prefect Brochure

I. Use an attention grabbing headline.
Do not make the mistake of using your company’s basic information as the key headline on the front of your brochure. Instead, begin by addressing the product or service you are selling, and include the interests of your audience.

II. Give the audience something useful.
If you start out with giving your audience something valuable, they are more likely to pay your back by buying your product or service.

III. Pick only relevant images.
Pictures must make a bold statement about your business, you want a potential customer to glance at the brochure, find the image interesting and then want to pick up and study the brochure in more depth. At the same time, use the images wisely. Too many pictures are confusing to the audience. The images must also be consistent with your goals.

IV. Make your text readable.
Do not be afraid of white space. Your graphics and text should stand out. Do not be wordy, but use bullet lists so the audience can pick and choose the information that interests them. The size of the font may have to be changed according to the age of your audience (an older audience would be more likely to prefer a larger, basic font).

V. Don’t confuse the reader.
Do not be tempted to list everything about your company, or mention every product you are trying to sell. This will just confuse the audience. Too much print may even cause your brochure to be discarded and send the audience to your competitor. Be proud of your business but not at the expense of chasing away your audience.

VI. Include a call to action.
Do not assume that your brochure will make someone contact you after reading the brochure. Make sure you point out what they need to do now. If possible, give an incentive to call you (10% off the regular price if you call and mention this brochure). Some people need extra motivation to contact you.

VII. Include a useful tool.
Brochure graphics advise to add a calendar, checklist or another useful item (small map, coupons etc.) to your brochure. Potential customers will be inclined to keep your contact information for a longer time and they will be reminded of you each time they use that tool.

VIII. Be consistent.
Your brochure should be consistent with the rest of your company materials. If your company colors are purple and white then your brochure should be done in the same colors. That way, if your audience comes across other marketing material, they will instantly connect this brochure with your company.

IX. Remember The Basics.
Always remember to include the basic information about your company. Make sure you include at least two types of contact information; a logo and tagline are also useful. If you have a website then the address should also be included in the contact information. Depending on your budget, the cost of the product or services may or may not be included. Obviously if your budget is small, or the costs of your products or services tend to change frequently, it would not make sense to add this to the brochure.

X. Don’t be flimsy.
A firm brochure is the equivalent of a firm handshake. The quality of the brochure will give a first impression of your company to your audience. A brochure written on high-quality paper with a glossy finish will give a better impression that one done on flimsy paper.

By keeping in mind the above tips you will guarantee that your brochure is eye catching, informative, and worth keeping around. An effective brochure can bring new customers to your business as well as keeping your business forefront in the minds of your existing customers.

Q & A Session with Alison Corey, GIS Specialist for Weber County.

1) What is the biggest mistake you see being made in a brochure?

The front page of the brochure needs to be the most interesting page. It has to capture the attention of the customer and make them want to read the rest of it. Afterall, no-one can force someone to read your brochure. Having too much text on the front page can be off-putting to a potential customer.

2) I’ve read that it’s important to have a good headline on the front page. Do you agree?

Definitely! After-all, you want to stand out from the other brochures in the stand.

3) Does it make a difference if you use black and white or colors in your brochure?

Not necessarily. For me, it’s more important that you are consistent throughout the brochure. A black and white brochure can be classy, whereas too much color can seem crass and cheap.

4) Is there anything you see in competitor brochures that makes you cringe?

I HATE when contact information is out of date or the information given is obsolete. One time I was in San Deigo and picked up a brochure for para-sailing. It looked like a lot of fun but when I tried to call to make a reservation the phone numbers listed were no longer in service. My son was really upset about this. Another time, the prices for an attraction were cheaper than the competition so of course I chose that particular company. But when I called, the prices had changed. A lot. That made me mad. Again my son was disappointed.

5) More or less information? Which is best?

It really depends on what the brochure is being used for. In my area, most of our brochure is used for maps of the trails and other geographical information. Written text is limited to keys for the maps, basic information on what trails will suit what type of person, what type of sport etc. and then one of our panels always has basic survival information that all people should adhere to. I can see where say a medical brochure would have more text. I guess you need to make sure you write with your audience in mind.

6) How often should a brochure be updated?

Well, in my work, it doesn’t happen very often. We are state funded and so our budget is limited. At the same time, it’s not very often that new trails are completed and added to the maps. But when it does, we try our best to update our maps as quickly as possible. Obviously not all businesses would be the same. If I were a small business then I probably wouldn’t want to put the price on the brochure, that way, even if my prices went up, my brochures could still be used. If you have too much current information in your brochure then it could become very expensive to maintain an up-to-date brochure.

7) “A firm brochure is like a firm handshake.” Agree or disagree?

That’s a good way to put it. Unless your brochure is a multi-page brochure, or like mine, one with a detailed map on it, then the quality of the paper would be important. A light papered brochure would make me think that the company hadn’t put a lot of thought into the brochure. Also, it would tear easily and just give the wrong impression.

8) What about photographs? Images?

What about them? If you mean should you use them? Definitely! But make sure they are relevant to what you are selling. Having a photo of someone in a ski suit, smiling with a photo of a mountain behind them might be a great photo, but if you are trying to sell say a carpet cleaner, then the photo doesn’t make any sense. We always have photos of the local area that is featured on the map. Obviously we want to make sure that the photo shows the area in a good light, but we want it to be recognizable for what it is.

9) What kind of call to action should be included?

For us, it’s all about getting people out there and enjoying all this great land surrounding us. We talk about how this can bring families together, how it’s a healthy way to spend time together and also that it doesn’t cost anything to do it. I think if I were selling something, I would probably give an incentive to buy now. Say, if you call now and mention this then you get something extra, or a percentage off, something like that.

10) Anything else you want to add?

A brochure has to be professional; but at the same time, have fun with it! Make sure you put some personality in it.

Alison Corey received her BS in Applied Environmental Geosciences at Weber State University and has been working for Weber County since 2001. Many of the brochures you see around town showing the trails to be found in and around Weber County were designed by her. The trails were mapped by her and then written up and passed on to her printing department for publication.

Resources Used

The Different Types of Brochures: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Different-Types-of-Brochures&id=1676067
Create the Best Brochure: http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/marketingideas/article179020.html
How to Make a Great Brochure: http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6554630_make-great-brochure.html