Guide to Creating a Great Business Brochure

How to get noticed with a simple eye-catching brochure
By Jenni Simcoe

simple brochure can be a powerful marketing tool. You can leave it behind after a sales meeting, make it available near your point of sale or pop it in the mail to prospective customers. Creating a great brochure isn't rocket science. In fact, with just a few simple techniques, you can develop a brochure that entices customers to open it and read more rather than tossing it in the circular file.
A great brochure can:

Educate customers about the benefits of your products and services
Establish credibility and trust as an established business
Provide a long-lasting reminder of your business

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Decide on a concept
Determine how you'll use your brochure – will it be a leave behind after sales meetings, a point of sale offering or a direct mail marketing piece? The information you include will depend on its overall purpose.

I recommend: Download HP.com's how-to guide or PowerHomeBiz.com's online tutorial on creating marketing brochures for help getting started. Discover more about the various brochure types before you start designing and copywriting.

Sell benefits not products
Customers don't buy products or services, they buy the benefits of a product or service. In your brochure, concentrate on offering solutions to your customers' needs. Think about placing a statement or question that sums up the benefits you can provide for your customers on your front cover.

I recommend: Learn the cardinal rules of selling benefits at Marketing-Magic.com

Use headlines, bullet points, charts and images
Nobody wants to wade through massive blocks of text. Break up your text with strong images, bold headlines and other graphic elements that grab the reader's attention. Studies show that readers look at images and headlines first, body copy last. Because of this, try to get your most important information and selling points across in the images and headlines.

I recommend: Learn more about what copy should be included and where it belongs in the brochure at Digital Concepts For Business website.

Include a call to action
Your brochure should always ask customers to take action — order now, schedule an appointment, call to place an order, visit your Web site, see your new showroom, send in a form to receive a free evaluation, stop by your location to pick up a complimentary sample.

I recommend: Learn how to write a compelling call to action at BusinessKnowHow.com.

Create an eye-catching design
Whether you decide to design a simple brochure yourself or you hire a designer for a more complex design, you need to know the basics of brochure design. Get creative with your design to make your brochure more memorable. For instance, if you have a pizza delivery shop, create a brochure in the shape of a pizza.

I recommend: Stock Layouts templates makes it easy to design your own company brochure by simply editing the copy of over 95 existing designs that already include photo, artwork and layouts. You can also find free brochure templates at HP.com. Find out the difference in a c-fold, accordion fold and crossfold.

Hire a professional designer
If creating design seems too confusing or too time consuming, consider hiring a professional designer. Professional designers are often aware of options you may not even consider, including printing techniques such as spot varnishes, die cuts and bleeds.

I recommend: For reasons to hire a pro, check out Agency.Elance.com. To find a freelance graphic designer that specializes in brochures, post your job on IFreelance.com or Guru.com and get free bids from hundreds of designers.

Print it
Once you've come up with astellar design and easy-to-read copy, it's time to print your brochures. If you only need a small run of brochures, you may be able to print them yourself on a high-quality color laser or inkjet printer. In most cases, you'll need to outsource the printing.

I recommend: For quick, do-it-yourself jobs, find pre-scored glossy brochure paper at Avery.com. For bigger runs, get multiple quotes from printers that specialize in brochures at PrintIndustry.com. To get fast printing turnaround on a brochure that's ready to go, check out 48HourPrint.com or OvernightPrints.com.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

Avoid listing prices, event dates or staff information that could change. This could result in having incorrect information in the public eye and be costly to reprint every time a change is required.
Add an order coupon or a postcard to request more information on the back panel without compromising text on the opposite panel.
Make a checklist of what needs to be included in the brochure and who needs to approve it before it goes to print. Have everyone initial the checklist after they've looked at proofs to ensure that all appropriate copy is included and there are no errors.

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