Beyond the Fad by Kaye Z. Marks

Brochures are an old standby of print advertising and color printing. They've endured the test of time, but sometimes they get overlooked in the rush to hop on the latest marketing bandwagon. Some will say that brochures just aren't as hip and sexy as their online oriented alternatives.
I think a lot of this sentiment comes from the fact that designing an attractive brochure takes more thought and consideration than spamming a list e-mail addresses. It doesn't have to be difficult or time consuming, though. Let me give you a few quick and easy to follow guidelines for brochure printing that may help you out.

Start Strong - The ever increasing demands on consumer's time coupled with an overabundance of advertising ensures that people will, without a second glance, pass over a brochure that doesn't offer them a compelling reason for them to pick it up and read it. You have to win them over with the headline on your brochure's cover. If you really want to put your logo at the top of the brochure you can.

Just keep make sure you leave room at the top for your headline and make the text of the headline itself the prominent feature. Personally, I prefer to lead with the headline and save company information for the bottom of the brochure or the back of the brochure. Using the space on the back of your brochure for your logo makes for a very sleek and professional looking brochure, in my experience.

Focus on Image - After reading your headline, the second thing that's a reader is going to focus on is the imagery you employ on the cover of your brochure. Your image should be bold enough to catch the eye but should be complimentary to the overall color scheme of your brochure.

I also recommend using a single image that will convey what the reader should expect from the remainder of the brochure. This will prevent a cluttered and unprofessional impression. Also, make sure the image you are using is of a high enough resolution to not look grainy or distorted when it is printed. The sharper your image, the better the impression it will make on your customer.

Establish Your Offerings - Once you've established your reader's initial interest and engaged them enough to open your brochure to page two, you have to have substance and an answer to their wants or needs. The reader of your brochure is looking for a tangible offer from your company. Your brochure's interior should feature the benefits of a select family of products or services.

If you haphazardly throw random products together in the hopes that one will stick you'll likely just dilute your sales effort and confuse your reader. Include products in your brochure that logically go together and make a selling point for the entire line, while offering enough product specification to allow your customers to differentiate between products and find the one that suites their needs.

Avoid Info Overload - On the flip side of providing product information, providing too much detail can be as detrimental as providing too little detail. In other words, cover the basics of each product and the features that make it stand out. Avoid turning your brochure into a full spec sheet filled with data that is going to be lost on the customer. You're goal is to establish interest and get the reader to call and inquire about a product or, better yet, stop by your store and check it out for themselves.

Business brochures have stood the test of time for a reason. They continue to be effective long after the latest marketing fad has either faded away or become old hat to consumers. Brochures work because they are simple and direct. Your customers will appreciate that, and you'll appreciate the boost in profits they can provide.