To be fair - it is all about design.
People often share good brochures (with good design) between each other - because they are useful, funny and unique.
On the other hand - poor brochures can be unique also (but not in a way that anyone would like).
What is the difference between good brochure and bad brochure?
How to create a brochure which will present your business in best possible way?
Here are a couple of steps which will help to create a perfect brochure:
1. Branding
Main page of the brochure is the most powerful: make your logo and your company name visible. A combination of colors and slogan should be a good reason for a customer to take a look at your brochure and (hopefully) keep your brochure.
2. Describe your product or service
A picture is worth a thousand words, BUT do not just put images of your products and expect everyone to understand what your key product or service is. If you are producing specific pipes for gas installation, do not just put images of your pipes + price. A better version is to get one image of your product (the most popular one) and the other products can be described by words.
3. Call to action
*Call to action* is an influential part of almost every graphic product. Use phrases like: Call us, Visit us today - and get 20 % off… Do not worry if you provide service which is hard to get call-to-action, but try to present a clear message to your customer about what he/she should do.
4. Keep a simple design
Don’t put too many colors to draw attention, don’t put too many products/services in the brochure, don’t use too many different colors, etc. Brochure has a limited space - so use it wisely. Present your best product/service, the most popular one, or most interesting, most innovative product. You have to show your customers whom you are, what your niche is, why you are different from others… Keep it simple and silly = KISS.
5. Present your discounts
Use brochures to present your unique offers. That is the best way to be different from your competition, and that is a good way to stand out from competition and easily get your customers’ attention. But don’t stop here: use the brochure as a discount coupon, so anyone who brings you your brochure back can get a discount. This way you can check how effective your discount offer is and how people are using it.
6. Tell a funny story
This is an easy way of offering an interesting brochure: funny stories could be about how you got an idea for your company name, why you chose your logo, your projects with popular people, etc.
7. Contact + social networks
Present your social networks: Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Blog… People have different needs and use different channels to research and explore. Don’t limit them only to phone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses and websites.
8. Size of the brochure
You have different sizes of brochures, from 4″ x 10″ to 17″ x 22″. Don’t use the biggest size of brochure because it will be highly hard for a customer to take it with themselves (especially if he/she already has a couple of brochures). Big size brochures will help you present your company on many levels, but you should remember one thing: brochures should be taken by the customer (not for staying on a desk).
9. Quality printing
This is a truly powerful element: it will give you style. Brochures are made to present your business, and they can be reused for months or (sometimes) years. You will never know whom will be your potential customer, don’t try to cut cost on quality of printing. If you want to save costs - better print small number of brochures (with high quality printing) instead of high number of brochures (with low quality printing).
10. References
Present your partners, your famous customers, use their testimonials, etc. Maybe you did a great project with a company who is not in your niche, but it is truly influential in other business niches - it may attract similar companies to work together.
These are some of the advises. If you are already familiar with important elements, your next step is to visit your local print company for brochure printing. But if you are new in brochure printing - you should follow these rules, or at least follow most of them. Don’t get in the situation to print a brochure without any rule, any idea. Brochures can get you new customers, more business… Don’t waste it. You should remember one thing: allow easily sharing of your brochures. You never know who will see your brochure (even if you gave to some kid), but try to imagine what could happen if you create a badly designed brochure - it may end up on the list of “Brochure fail”.
Citations:
Alessandro.S is blogger, jogger, and likes to share his opinion. Likes to write about subjects with direct answer who to fix the problem…
