Brochure best practices

Brochure best practices _ Pel Hughes print marketing new orleans

Contrary to popular belief, the age of brochures isn’t dead.

Yes, digital is the new normal, but that doesn’t mean that print lacks punch.

Brochures are a fantastic way to quickly introduce your product or service, and they act as a physical reminder of your brand.

But it’s easy to get them wrong….

We’ve all seen the bad ones, right? They’re in horrible fonts with offensive colors and feature low quality images.

And what does that say about the brand? Nothing too great, that’s for sure. We make thousands of snap judgements during our day to day, and how could we not?

We’re ambushed with endless messages, and the ones that look the least promising end up dismissed.

But there’s a way around getting tossed to the wayside! It just requires you to make marketing materials that are relevant, sharp, and ultra-clear in meaning.

 

Here are our 5 Tips for making the best brochure possible…

 

  • Determine your objective

 

 

In short, know what you’re trying to convince your audience to do. Are you trying to increase sign ups to a class? Drive sales of a specific product? Educate people about your business?

Figure out what the specific purpose of your brochure is, and then keep that objective in mind as you create each sentence of copy and add images. Everything should relate back to that objective.

Ask yourself: what am I trying to get my customer to do?

 

 

  • Focus on the headline

 

 

Your headline should reflect your objective.

Are you trying to sell something? Educate? Drive sign ups? Figure out what that objective is, and then create a headline that tells people what you want them to know.

For example, if your brochure is advertising a product or service, the headline should let your customer know what that product or service is and what it can do for them.

It’s all about clarity and brevity when you’re trying to grab the attention of a busy person, so use the headline for all it’s worth.

 

 

  • Use concise language

 

 

Who has time (or is willing) to look words up or read a sentence twice?

No one.

At least, no one wants to have to work that hard.

Keep your language easy, and make your point. Use active language rather than passive (“do” rather than “be done”) whenever possible, and make sure that the information essential to your objective makes it into the brochure.

Whatever you do, do not get bogged down with excessive information or accolades your company earned. While these are important, they will bore readers if not limited.

Make your reader know that you are an expert only where it is relevant, and even then, keep it brief.

 

 

  • Limit your font use

 

 

We beg you – pick only two, maybe three fonts to use within your brochure.

It’s easy to become enamored with the options, but too many styles will come off as unprofessional, inconsistent branding and might just distract readers from the important information you are trying to convey.

They say that less is more, and we can’t disagree.

(And we probably don’t need to mention this, but remember that the answer to “should we use Comic Sans??” is always NO. A resounding no. We don’t care if it’s just a bandwagon thing by now. It is ugly.)

 

 

  • Get amazing images

 

Last but not least, please make sure your brochure images are high resolution, high quality, and preferably original.

If you need to, hire a photographer. If it’s not in the budget, invest in finding other professional images. This is absolutely vital to maintaining the integrity of your brand. A low quality image immediately reflects poorly on your business, and it does very little to inspire confidence in your readers.

Ready to make some gorgeous, sales driving brochures? Give us a call today!