| Introduction: A marketing brochure can boost your sales efforts instantly, and by creating those materials in-house, you can save both time and money. Whether you are a real estate agent or flower shop owner, the power of a good brochure that delivers your message with vivid visual impact cannot be overestimated. |
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| Statistics show that color improves comprehension, increases readership, accelerates learning, and reflects a professional image. |
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| Printing your own marketing brochures saves you money, and provides you with a number of other benefits: |
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| Savings: With a high-quality Officejet or LaserJet printer and the right paper, it's easy to save big with in-house marketing materials. |
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Officejets will give you 50 percent lower cost per page than lasers when you print professional color documents.1 |
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You can print only what you need, when you need it, eliminating the cost of overruns. |
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| Stay top of mind: Brochures are a great way to stay in touch with current customers, build loyalty, and reach new audiences. |
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| Generate revenue: Customers who better understand your business as a result of your marketing brochure will be more likely to spend money with you. Color, in particular, can be a great communication tool—statistics show that it improves comprehension, increases readership, accelerates learning, and reflects a professional image. |
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| Customization: Since you can print your own marketing materials instantly, it's easy to create small runs of customized materials for specific customers, presentations, or tradeshows. |
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| Listen to insights from your customers, employees, and salespeople to create a message describing what distinguishes you from the competition. |
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| Artwork is the first thing readers look at in brochures—make sure the ones you choose look good and help convey your message. |
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| A great marketing brochure delivers a clear, focused message in a visually compelling way. Here are some tips how to achieve this goal: |
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| Study your audience: Understanding who your target reader is will help you craft the right message. Consider the following: |
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Be specific. Rather than describing them as just "women," perhaps they are "stay-at-home-moms" or "single twenty-somethings." |
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Know their demographics—ages, places they go, work they do, cultural data, etc. |
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Determine their likes and dislikes in terms of food, music, travel, and purchases, to help you craft content and images. |
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Think about customers who already know and trust your business as well as new prospects. |
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| Plan your message: Use insights from your customers, employees, and salespeople to create a message describing what distinguishes you from the competition. |
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Create language that is clear, concise, and free of jargon and buzzwords. |
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Be sure to add a "call to action," such as a coupon or special event. |
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You may want to hire a writer or business consultant to help you hone these messages. |
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| Gather your artwork: Pictures and illustrations are almost always the first thing readers look at in brochures—make sure the ones you use look good and help convey your message. |
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You don't need to be a professional photographer to capture products, people, or the spirit of your business. Digital cameras make it easy for anyone to take professional-looking shots. |
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If you don't have many pictures or illustrations on hand, download free images from HP or iStock. |
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It's best to stick with either illustrations or photos to give a consistent look. |
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| HP offers an array of free professional-looking brochure templates that you can download, easily personalize, and then print yourself. |
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| To add your artwork or charts to the templates, first select and delete any text in the box. |
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| Producing a "proof" on plain paper first, allows you to check your picture placement and color. |
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| HP offers an array of free, professional-looking brochure templates that you can download, easily personalize, and then print yourself. Or, you can design your own brochures using marketsplash by HP. Below are tips and step-by-step instructions for using these or other brochure templates. |
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| Insert your headlines and copy: Replace the sample text in the brochure template with your own copy. Remember to proof after you're done—an easy way to catch typos is to read the text and headlines out loud. Ask someone else to read it too. |
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| Communicate with color: The colors used in the template's headline and text boxes are just guidelines. Experiment with changing them to match the message of your business. It's best to limit the number of colors to two or three, and choose complimentary colors that go with the hue and lightness of your art. |
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| Add photos and artwork: To add your artwork to the templates, first select and delete any text in the box. Then, go to the Insert menu, and select Picture. If you're using Microsoft clip art, choose Clip Art. More likely you're using digital pictures or charts. In that case, choose Insert > Picture > From File, then browse your hard drive to locate the right image. |
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| Remember to touch up, crop or improve your images using your favorite photo- or imaging-editing software before inserting the image into the template. |
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| Save your work: Brochure files can be quite large once you have added your image files. If you make several brochures to target different audiences, consider making a backup on CD to save your hard drive space. Also, be sure to save your document every few minutes to prevent disasters in the event the computer crashes or the power suddenly goes out. |
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| Choose the right paper: You've spent the time and energy producing a beautiful electronic file, but now it's time to bring your bring your brochure to life—on paper. |
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| Look for high-quality paper that's thick like a greeting card, but that will allow the colors and pictures to really shine. |
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| Print your brochure: Producing a "proof" on plain paper first, allows you to check your picture placement and color. It also helps you practice your two-sided printing directions and saves the valuable specialty paper you'll use for the final brochure. Follow these other guidelines for flawless prints: |
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Use plain paper and draft mode for your proof copy. |
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Follow Microsoft Word directions for two-sided printing. |
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Try marking the top of the paper before your print, to help you visualize how both sides of paper flow through the printer. |
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Have someone proof again. |
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Use highest-quality setting when printing your final brochures. |
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To avoid ink smears, set the pages aside to dry completely in between printing on the front and back. |
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To extend the physical life of your brochures, store them in a dark, dry place. |
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| HP Officejet printers are versatile, offering print-shop quality color plus affordable black-and-white printing for everyday documents. |
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| HP LaserJet printers offer outstanding print quality and are designed for businesses of all sizes. LaserJets work with toner rather than ink, delivering legendary reliability, speed, and higher print volumes. |
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| HP Glossy brochure paper allows you to create brochures that include vivid color pictures and graphics. |
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| Creating professional-looking brochures is easy when you have the right equipment. HP offers an array of printers and supplies that will help you create the perfect marketing materials. |
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HP Officejet printers are versatile, offering print-shop quality color plus affordable black-and-white printing for everyday documents. Officejets also let you save marketing materials to the cloud—and then print instantly—and PC—free—with HP Print Apps.2 These printers also offer HP ePrint.3 |
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HP LaserJet printers offer outstanding print quality and are designed for businesses of all sizes. LaserJets work with toner rather than ink, delivering legendary reliability, speed, and higher print volumes. Some models also offer HP Print Apps and HP ePrint. |
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HP Glossy brochure paper allows you to create brochures that include the most vivid color pictures and graphics. |
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HP Matte brochure paper is great when your brochure design incorporates color graphics and images that include gradients and drop shadows—it will provide a gentle glow. |
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| 1. |
Majority of color laser AiOs < $600, June 2008, OJ Pro with highest-capacity cartridges. Energy use based on HP testing using the ENERGY STAR® program's TEC test method criteria. For details, visit www.hp.com/go/officejet |
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Requires a wireless access point and an Internet connection to the printer. Services may require registration. Apps availability varies by country and language. For details visit, www.hp.com/go/ePrintCenter. |
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Requires an Internet connection to the printer. Feature works with any Internet- and e-mail-capable device. Print times may vary. For a list of supported documents and image types, visit www.hp.com/go/ePrintCenter. |
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