A Simple Brochure Works Hard for Your Business
Of all your marketing tools, a simple brochure may work the hardest. It introduces your company and enhances your image. It can attract referrals and help sell your product or service. It can be mailed, dropped off and carried around.
Before you do any other marketing, create a brochure. When requests for information start rolling in as a result of your other advertising, you'll already have a sales piece to send.
Plan Your Brochure
Throughout the advertising section of this site, you'll hear it over and over. Plan! Before you can decide the content of your brochure, decide who your target audience is. In some cases, that may mean you need more than one brochure. You should also know your Unique Selling Proposition. If that's Greek to you, learn more by reading the
marketing plan outline
section of this site.
Along with determining your target market and USP, write down the following:
- Products and services
- Benefits you're offering the customer
- Information to support the reader's decision to buy from you -- years of experience, number of customers and/or testimonials.
- Contact information such as phone number, email, web site and fax.
- Office locations and directions with a map if you're hard to find.
- Hours of operation if applicable.
- Notes on any graphics or charts to include.
You now have your basic content.
Design and Print
I've combined designing and printing, because your approach to one may affect how you handle the other. Here are several options to consider:
- Use a template to design.
Microsoft Office Online,
the Xerox Business Resource Center
and HP Small and Medium Business resources
provide free templates on their web sites, as do many other sites. The possible down side to using a template is the lack of ad consistency. If you use a template, you could end up with a brochure that doesn't carry the same "look" or branding as your other marketing pieces. Some sites, such as HP, do provide entire
business identity kits.
These "kits" provide templates for brochures, business cards, newsletters, flyers and post cards, all with similar designs.
- Leave the designing up to a commercial printer. If you'll be using a commercial printer, bid the job out to several. Explain how much you'll prepare yourself, such as writing the copy or providing graphics. Then ask the printer to include the cost of graphic design. For a very simple brochure, this hourly charge is usually pretty reasonable. Also, ask to see examples of their designer's previous work. When you decide on a printer, provide samples of other materials that you like. If your other advertising already has a consistent look, bring samples to the printer. The more direction you can provide up front, the less you'll pay for graphic design time.
- If you'll use small quantities, you can use a template to design and print copies on your computer printer. If you'll use larger quantities, it may be more cost effective to send your design to a commercial printer. If you're uncertain which approach to take, you might want to figure which is the most economical. With the cost of printer cartridges, sometimes the "do-it-yourself" approach isn't actually the cheapest. Take a look at the
HP print cost calculator
to help guide your decision.
- Here's something else to think about. Consider using one of the online designers/printers. This approach makes the process so easy. I like VistaPrint.
They have an easy to use site. You can choose a template online or design and upload your own. They take care of the printing quickly and cost-effectively and ship your finished item directly to you.
Remember, your brochure is often one of the first impressions a potential customer has of your company. It should be professional in appearance -- clear, sharp print and no typos. If it isn't professional, people may assume that's how you run your business. The extra time you spend to plan, design and proof will be worth the investment in the long run.
