With the vast amount of information experienced by the average person daily, it is essential that your brochure is:
1. Attractive to the eye
2. Easy to understand, and
3. Instantly able to communicate the benefits of your products
or services to your customers.
It’s tempting to cram it full of as much information as possible, but the real goal is to get the reader to take action, not overload them with information. Taking action could be anything from visiting a website to calling a phone number and will vary from business to business. So let’s take a closer look at what makes up a great brochure.
Panel 1 (The Cover): The purpose of the cover is to grab attention and get the reader to open your brochure. So use a benefit headline, emotional appeal, or a provocative question. If your front panel just shows your company name and logo, you will get disappointing results. With great brochure design, the front panel is an advertisement.
Panels 2-4: The center spread should cover everything from the introduction to the first call for action. But lead with the benefits – don’t bury them. Feature your key benefits in headlines, subheads, and captions. You must entice the reader simply to get them to read your brochure. And then you must motivate them to take action. Here are some tips to remember:
- Use white space – crowded copy is hard to read.
- Stick to two typefaces and limit your use of bold, capitalization, underline, etc. By emphasizing everything, you emphasize nothing.
- Use short sentences, short paragraphs, and clear visuals. You want your brochure to be inviting and easy to read.
Panel 5: This is a good place for testimonials, before and after pictures, statistics or even frequently asked questions. You should also include your call to action such as: Call now or visit our website.
Panel 6: The final panel should emphasize your call to action. Tell the reader exactly what you want them to do, how to do it, and to do it right now. List all your contact information so that it’s easy for them to do so. This panel can also be used for the mailing portion of your brochure, if you plan on mailing them out.
If you’d like to showcase your business and increase your marketing exposure with a well-designed brochure, contact JR at 405-478-4080 or jr@back40design.com.
