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Keeping Your Brochure Out of the Trash
© 2002
by
Cathy Kessler
Brochures are one of the most popular marketing tools.
They have the potential to be highly effective.
However, let me share a startling piece of information with
you. It is estimated that over half of all brochures
end up in the trash without ever being read.
Considering the cost involved with printing brochures, it is
important that every effort is made to gain the attention of
the reader immediately and to provide information that will
cause them to act.
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There are several key elements to consider when planning
your brochure. You may choose to use the following
list of "do(s)" and "don't(s)" as a
checklist during your next printing.
Do.
1) Create an innovative, interesting,
and applicable cover for your brochure. If your
business centers around allergy-relief products, you might
consider placing a photo of a mother comforting her daughter
as the child sneezes, or a man slumped over his desk with
watery eyes in place of your company logo.
2) Use photos on your cover if at all possible.
Photographs can be costly, but they are huge
attention-getters. Visit "stock" photo sites
such as www.photospin.com
to find professionally taken pictures costing between $9.95
- $75.00. These types of sites offer a wide selection
of photos for use at very reasonable prices.
3) Use full color on your cover. Why all
the attention on the cover? It is the key to having
your brochure read. If the cover does not catch the
eye of your prospective client, the rest of the material
will go unread. For this reason, spend the additional
money and have your printer use full-color processing.
4) Use your copy space wisely. Most tri-fold
brochures offer limited space for copy (text), so be sure to
use that space wisely. Focus on benefits to the
customer, use definitive calls-to-action, and leave at least
one key piece of information out of the copy (such as the
price or the size) so that the reader will be more likely to
contact you.
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Don't.
1) Print "homemade" brochures.
Brochures that do not portray a highly professional image
are received with a bit of scepticism. The low quality
presentation of a homemade brochure immediately gives the
impression that your business is of low quality, too.
2) Skimp on proofreading. This is without
a doubt one of the most common errors novice marketers make.
Typos, the misuse of words, and blatant grammatical errors
are very damaging to your reputation. While most
programs now offer a spell-check feature, these tools can't
differentiate between words like your and you're, no and
know, or peek and peak. Not to mention, their ability
to check for mistakes in grammar is inadequate.
3) Try to close the sale from your brochure.
Most brochures are simply not designed to take the customer
through the buying process and to the point-of-purchase.
That's not their purpose at all. Brochures are
designed to give enough information to spark the interest of
the readers and to cause them to ask questions and want
further details. If you attempt to include every ounce
of information about your product or service in your
brochure, most likely it will be too crowded and overbearing
to bring about positive results.
Concentrate on creating a brochure designed to do its job
and present your company attractively. By enticing
your prospects, and then providing excellent contact
information, you will soon find that your brochure will open
the door to many more sales
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Cathy Kessler is a Certified Professional Virtual Assistant
specializing in proofreading, copyediting, and research. Do
you have books, ebooks, brochures, websites, articles,
newsletters, or other documents that need to be proofread or
researched? Visit http://www.kesslerva.com
today for additional information, or contact Cathy directly
at mailto:cathy@kesslerva.com.
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