A well designed brochure is a marketing staple. What I love about them is their versatility.
A brochure can be a softener; send them out and they'll start selling prospective customers, helping to form a desire to buy.
But they can also be clinchers, persuading the customer to take that last step and commit to buying when you leave a brochure behind.
And they're so convenient when it comes to answering customer questions. Want to know what colours it comes in? What different designs are available? What the product's dimensions are? It's all in the brochure.
So how do you create a great brochure?
1) First, determine what kind of brochure you want to create. As Apryl Duncan explains in 5 Types of Brochures (About.com Advertising), different brochures fit different steps in the buying process and you need to know what your brochure is trying to do before you write it.
2) Then apply these 12 Tips on Effective Brochure Marketing from Julie Hyde (About.com Marketing). Julie covers everything from how to motivate your readers to look inside to whether or not you should have a table of contents.
3) And last, ensure you get professional results by following these 5 Tips for a Great Brochure from Randy Duermyer (About.com Home Business). Knowing about things such as print bleed and selecting the right resolution can make all the difference in your brochure's apearance.
Using a brochure as part of your direct mail campaign? Here's how to Write a Sales Letter That Will Wow Them.
Image © Tim Niblett
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Keys for brochure design:
1) Use a photo, illustration, graphic design (or a tag line highlighting benefits of your product) to make your front cover interesting! As it mentions in the 12 tips: “motivate your reader to look inside”.
2) Use quality illustrations / photographs / a graphic designer. It is hackneyed advice, but do not use clip art!
3) Focus on the benefits of your product. Don’t just explain the process or the features but what it provides your customers.
4) Use calls to action. “Buy now …”, “Visit our website …” or “Call us today …”.
Alec
Director
DesignBay