A brochure can be an important piece of marketing for a business. Brochures are used to communicate your brand’s story and important information about your products and services, as well as persuade potential customers to take action. With the right copy and eye catching design, your brochures can act as a salesperson for your business when you’re not there.
Design tips
The two most important features of your brochure are the copy and the design. A good design can catch the eye of potential customers and encourage them to read the copy. Here’s some ways to make your design appeal to your customers.
1. Make it bright and colourful
To ensure your brochure doesn’t go unnoticed, make sure to use bright and eye-catching colours. This should generally be the colour of your brand. Using a single colour can be effective in creating a neat and clean presentation. You can also use colour to break up different sections of content and draw attention to the most important information. Alternatively, a black and white design portrays a classic, professional and timeless brand image.
2. Interesting shape and layout
Brochures are typically vertical, so a good way to stand out may be to create a horizontal brochure to intrigue your target audience. Or why not try unique and creative shapes that will stick in the mind of the reader. For example, if your business is selling sandwiches, try designing the brochure in the shape of a sandwich. Interesting shapes like arrows and textboxes can also be used within the layout to help readers navigate through the content.
3. Beautiful photography
Take care when choosing the photos to use in your brochure. They should be of a high quality and resolution and should complement each other. You may also want to experiment with different filters and photo treatments to match the colour pallet of your brochure and brand.
Brochure copy
The next most important part of your brochure is the copy. You want to engage the customer by keeping copy short and sharp and creating a benefit for the consumer to keep them reading.
1. Understand the customer
The first step in writing the copy for your brochure is thinking about what your customer wants to know. A good way to do this is by considering the order in which your reader’s questions will flow, and present the answers to them in a logical order. The copy should therefore be customer focused rather than product focused. Show the reader you understand their problems, build a rapport with them, then sell to them.
2. Get them to open the brochure
The front cover is the first thing your potential customers see, so it’s an opportunity to grab their attention and make them want to open the brochure. This means putting more on the front cover than just the name of your business or product. Try using thought-provoking statements or benefits that will make the reader want to learn more. This could be a flash that tells the reader there’s something inside for them, such as an exclusive invitation or a special discount. The same goes for the inside pages; at the end of each page, create copy that will make your reader want to turn to the next page.
3. Describe your product
Avoid simply listing the features of your product or service, rather, you should be telling the reader how they are going to benefit from your product or service. Start by writing down a list of all the features and what those features mean for the product in order to determine what the benefits would be to the consumer.
4. Make it a keeper
You don’t want your potential customers to read the brochure once over then throw it away. Including helpful information within the brochure will encourage the reader to keep it, refer to it and pass it on to other people. Helpful information could be little hints and tips related to your product of industry, such as how-to guides.
5. Make it personal
Readers won’t respond well to copy that uses a corporate tone, instead, the copy of the brochure needs to be more personal and conversational. Do this by speaking directly to the audience using words like “you”. Try to also avoid using too much technical jargon that makes it complicated and difficult to read – you want the body of the copy to flow.
6. Get to the point
Avoid rambling on and providing too much information. Long slabs of copy are likely to turn readers away, so get selling fast. Don’t spend time conveying information that doesn’t have a benefit to the consumer, instead focus on what the reader wants and how you can give it to them.
7. Include a call to action
No matter how you choose to design your brochure, it should always end with a call to action, such as a phone number or website. Do you want your customer to place an order? Or do you want them to check out the range of products online? Make sure you tell the reader exactly what they should do next.
Get your brochure noticed
Everything from the colour and graphics, to the copy and information included, needs to be designed to engage and persuade potential customers. For professional printing of your business’s brochures, check out MVP PRINT.
