29 Mar 7 tips for a professional brochure

7 tips for a professional brochure

Brochures, also known as flyers, folders, or magazines, are a wonderful means of promoting your service or product. They come in many sizes and variations and can be distinguished from each other by the number of pages and finish. A flyer is an unfolded sheet of paper that is (usually) printed on both sides. Leaflets are folded flyers, and a brochure has several pages and resembles a magazine. A magazine is the same as a brochure only usually contains articles whereas a brochure is used mainly for information. Whatever name you give it, the essence is they all serve the same function. Informing your target audience about your company.

A brochure can be used in various ways. At events to showcase your offer, for campaigns, showcasing your product or service range, or simply for information regarding the company itself. In addition to the number of pages, a brochure also comes in different shapes and sizes. The most common format is A4, but the smaller A5 variant is also often used. They come as portrait or landscape versions, folded, or unfolded, with a staple or sewn. In addition, you can also fold a folder in different ways as zigzag, wrapped around or as a large poster format folded to the size of a business card, and so on. The choices are endless and often depend on the goal of the brochure.

The essence therefore is in the content

An effective brochure clearly indicates, in short, what your company does and can do for the reader. A good brochure is essential for attracting customers. When your brochure looks unprofessional, for example, due to grammatical errors or poor photography, the desired effect will backfire and turn the customer towards the competition. Resulting in them getting your sale.

So, you wonder, does my company need a brochure?

There was a moment when the digital world was pushing the offline world to the side. As a big offline (print) enthusiast, I thought ‘No!!!!’ Whereas print isn’t very measurable like the online world, print is making a comeback!

Even though the thought of brochures being superfluous or useless, as everything can be found digitally, in reality, the opposite is happening. Just picture this… You’re at a trade show and meet your target audience. What happens when they leave the event and get home? A professional brochure (or other handout) ensures that the person you were talking to will remember your company. The brochure contains the required information they’re looking for, they’re reminded of your conversation with them, and it can make the difference in whether they become a customer.

What should you take into consideration when designing a brochure?

A brochure provides the customer with information. It radiates reliability, expands the target group, and encourages the consumer to act. My advice is to hire a professional designer who can help you with that. As a company, you provide the information, and your designer will turn this into a great design.

To help you develop your brochure, I have 7 tips to help you:

1. What’s the purpose of the brochure?

To make your brochure as effective as possible, it’s important you know what the purpose is of your brochure. Is it informing? Do you want to market a product or service? Or are you promoting an event?

Gather as much information as possible regarding the purpose of your brochure like text and images. And remember that it’s a means of communication. Everything that goes in your brochure is direct communication with your customers.

2. Who is your target audience?

As the brochure is a means of communication, it’s important to know your target audience. This way you can respond to their interests. For instance, a brochure aimed at people who love everything about cooking. You’ll want to create a design with beautiful photos of dishes or the products you sell. The more you know about your target audience’s interests, the better. This will help you to provide more targeted information.

If you don’t have a good idea of the interests of your target group yet, take the time to research this. Talk to different people from your target audience to get a clear picture.

3. What is your message?

It’s important you have a clear message. Don’t try to put all your company’s successes and goals into the brochure. Also, don’t include all the information regarding your products or services. Too much information will only confuse the customer. Try to focus on what will grab the customer’s attention.

4. Avoid long and difficult words – also known as technical jargon

When using difficult and long words it can discourage your customer from reading. Write in easy-to-understand language, avoid using jargon or explain the term in your text. Replace fuzzy words with clear language and write catchy text. Dare to be a little challenging in your text so you stand out. Write in the style of your target audience. And remember that it’s better to use short simple words. Your customer will understand you better and you’ll come across as credible.

5. How do you convince the customer?

One of the things that should be in a brochure is a call to action. That’s ‘something that motivates the reader to contact you or visit your website’. You can have a great brochure with a lot of information, but without a call-to-action, it misses its use.

So, make it easy for the reader to contact you. Make sure that your name, website and contact details such as a telephone number or email address can be found in the brochure. Does your company have social media such as Facebook or Instagram? Then it’s useful to add those as well. Optionally, you can add a QR code, when people scan it, they end up on your website.

6. Use nice paper

When you have the brochure printed, the choice of paper is important. Depending on your goal, this can have a major impact on how your target audience receives the brochure. A quick action flyer can easily be printed on thinner and cheaper paper. Think of the door-to-door magazines, these are always printed on cheap paper. But if you sell a luxury product, thin and cheap-looking paper will ensure that your customer goes elsewhere. Take a good look at the purpose of the brochure, is it a giveaway, promotion or collectable edition and adjust your choice of paper accordingly. Your designer can advise you on this.

7. Do you have beautiful photos to use?

A brochure without image(s) is not very attractive to a reader. It will seem very boring, and people lean towards a photo with a text. This can clarify or reinforce the text. Therefore, choose images that are relevant, for instance, product imagery or company photos that portray a nice picture of what you do and who you are.

It’s best to have pictures taken by a professional photographer. Not only are you unique in your photography, you also don’t run the risk of using the same image as your competitor. If you do decide to use stock images, there are various websites to purchase these from.

Curious about what a brochure can do for your company?

Book the Style Scan and together we’ll look at which brochure type is suitable for your company.