Sales Brochures: A Brief How-to for the Uninitiated

An effective brochure is one that gets read. A brochure that gets read is one that is planned for and has a clear focus. Brochures can be used to

• Keep your product or service at the top of customers’ minds.
• Differentiate you from your competition.
• Reinforce your marketing message and your brand image.
• Present new info or update info about your company to your customers and prospects.

Brochures have a lot of capabilities, if you design them right. If you haven’t created a brochure, or want to improve your current brochures, read on for some tips to add creativity to the brochure printing process.

1. Decide on your brochure’s purpose. Do you want to let people know about your new product line? Do you want to inform customers of your new location and all the amenities there? Create one brochure for one purpose. If you mishmash a lot of information just to fill up the brochure of if you think you’ll save money by combining all your brochure purposes into one brochure, you’re brochure will not get read. Too much clutter turns people off and they won’t even look past the cover of your brochure.

2. Choose your target audience. The potential buyers for your product or service should have some characteristics that identify them as prospective customers. Don’t just send your brochures out to everyone in the phone book. That’s a waste of money. Carefully target your audience so that you can craft your message for that audience. Brochure copy that is targeted toward a Baby Boomer audience should differ from copy that is target to teens. You need to appeal to each group individually since they won’t both respond to the same motivations.

3. Next, create a plan. Bad or decent brochures can be written and designed in a few hours. Awesome brochures that have higher readership take weeks or even a couple of months to create. Some development timeline rules of thumb: Give the writer 3 to 7 business days. The designer gets 7 to 14 business days. Add the printer’s timeline of 2 to 14 business days and you’ve got about a month before your brochures can get to your customers.

If you’re planning a brochure for your store’s grand opening or a new product launch, give yourself at least a month to prepare the brochures and then another week or so for mailing, if necessary.

4. Implement your plan. Hire a writer and designer if necessary. Compare different brochure printing companies and don’t forget about online printing companies. They can often beat out your local printer with sales and specials.

Of course, this is a simplified step. There’s many more details to implementing your plan, but I just wanted to give newbies the gist of what takes place when creating sales brochures.

Printing Brochures and Postcards

If you are looking for an extremely powerful marketing tool look no further because brochures and postcards are considered the best way to maximize the impact of your messages. Brochures and postcards are used most frequently as a form of print communications medium.

When advertising with a full color information booklet you require a big budget. Not so with printing brochures and postcards. They have the same advertising affect but at a much lower cost. There are certain features you should be aware of for brochure and postcard printing before making your final decision.

There is a lot of versatility with brochures and postcards in both content and use. By changing the format they can be used as a booklet or a poster. Always remember that it is vital to make a powerful and lasting first impression.

Preparing the design is the first step in the printing process. The purpose of the brochure or postcard is to define why your product is better than others and by using this printing method you can accomplish that goal without lengthy, monotonous texts. Put emphasis on the unique and significant features of your product with crisp dialogue and captivating language.

Be sure to choose fonts and colors that look attractive and professional. What looks great on your monitor or the proof could be totally different from the completed printed copy due to the inherent limitations of the commercial printing processes. Your printer is a professional in this field with usually many years of experience. Be sure to have a consultation before finalizing the color scheme.

Of late, digital printing has solved many such problems associated with brochure and postcard printing. Now, you almost get the color you see on the monitor with much more versatile options. Another great advantage of digital printing is you can customize your brochures and postcards according to your needs.

The paper and any other material you select will depend on your requirements. If you are sending brochures and postcards by post the weight of the paper should not be too heavy. When speaking with your sales representative, always ask about the paper quality for your brochure or postcard. Using a thick, coated paper that is great for personalized business presentations can produce a more vibrant look and feel, for your brochure and postcard.

Using commercial printing processes like offset lithography will enable the printer to deliver a quality product when printing the brochure and postcard. Ask to see samples from the printer and check their references too. Post-finishing operations like varnishing or lamination would be an important process for adding the finishing touches to the printing of brochures and postcards.

Owing to the tough competition, the cost of printing is getting lower everyday. Find the right combination of design and print that fit your budget and can give you the best value for your money.

Originally published by: Jacques Di Salvia