A great marketing brochure delivers a clear, focused message in a visually compelling way. Finding that focus requires forethought about who will read the brochure and how you can convey a unique benefit to them. Below, you'll learn tactics for targeting the audience for your brochure and receive tips for crafting your message.
Start with the audience
Knowing whom you want to read your brochure will help you craft the message. Begin by narrowing your audience to the customers who will best help you increase business. Your individual business situation will dictate who that is.
Sometimes it's best to target customers who already know and trust your business -- especially if you're introducing a new service. But often you'll have more success marketing to new prospects. A small business consultant who specializes in your industry can help you research potential customers and tailor a message for them.
Pinpoint what makes you unique
Glean insights by listening to your customers, employees, and salespeople. You might be surprised by what draws people to your business and distinguishes you from the competition. Maybe it's that they can always find a parking spot near your store. Or maybe it's that they trust your real estate advice because you live in the same neighborhood where you sell homes.
Ask your customers for their opinions in an offhand, personal way -- they'll be more likely to tell you the first thing they think of, which is often the most honest answer. Write these thoughts down so you don't lose or forget them. They don't have to be complete sentences -- short fragments that express the point will work perfectly when you need to write headlines and captions for your brochure.
Prioritize these thoughts and ideas based on the business objectives the brochure is helping you meet. But keep your message focused; you'll want to emphasize just one or two of your objectives.
Understand what the reader sees
It's a good idea to mock up a brochure on a piece of paper and decide in advance where the photos and text will go. Years of testing has found that readers see elements on your page in a certain order almost every time:
1.
Pictures or illustrations
2.
Headlines
3.
Charts or graphs
4.
Captions
5.
Body copy
Many readers, even if they have a vested interest in the brochure, will only skim the body copy. Knowing that, spend your time and energy appropriately. Make sure your headlines, illustrations, and photos tell most of your story. Body copy is important, but don't bury your most important points there.
Plan your message
Now it's time to gather your notes and get down to the business of writing. Write clearly and plainly, avoiding jargon and buzzwords, and always aim to explain your point in a unique and interesting way. Remember to make your headlines tell your story so that even if someone simply skims your brochure, they will still receive the main points.
You also may want to hire a writer or business consultant to help you hone your message.
Present a call to action
An often-overlooked step in planning and writing brochures is the "call to action." It's important to call out the next step for the reader. For example, if you want the reader to come into your store, find a way to make that action more compelling. Perhaps a coupon, in-store discount, or special event would spur them into motion.
Say it with pictures
Pictures and illustrations are almost always the first thing readers look at in brochures. Think about it: No amount of text description, however well written, is going to convey the beauty of a real estate property to a potential buyer.
It doesn't take a professional photographer to capture the products, quality, and spirit of your business. Digital cameras make it easy for anyone to capture professional-quality pictures that can be downloaded for use in a brochure.
Artwork that works
Bearing in mind what your main message is, find artwork that complements it. Be very discriminating; remove any artwork that doesn't fit with the message. If you don't have many pictures or illustrations on hand, you might consider free clip art. HP offers free art you can download, or you can look through the free Microsoft Clip Art Library. You can explore it by opening Microsoft Word, then selecting Insert > Picture > Clip Art.
Experts also suggest staying with one style, so choose either photos or illustrations.
Choose the right equipment
To create a professional-quality full-color brochure, you need the right combination of products. Here's a look at two of the most important components:
•
Printer -- Produce print-shop quality marketing materials and color documents in-house with the HP Color LaserJet CP1510 Printer series. Get crisp text, bold graphics, and vivid images with HP ImageREt 3600 and HP ColorSphere toner.
•
Scanner -- Get all your photos organized and enjoy great scanning at your fingertips. HP's Scanjet 8300 Professional Image Scanner is the best way to quickly and easily convert stacks of traditional standard-size photos into digital files for printing, e-mailing, and storing.
Choose a brochure template
While you could hire a freelance designer to create the brochure, HP offers several free professional-looking brochure templates that you can easily manipulate in Microsoft Word, then print yourself. The next section will give you tips and step-by-step instructions for using these templates.
To download the latest Adobe® Reader®, please go to the Adobe website at http://www.adobe.com. Adobe and Reader are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Printable version
