The average success rate of direct-mail advertising through brochures should be taken into context. Brochures or brochure printing should be treated as a supplementary advertising material to a well-formulated marketing strategy. These can ably support and not as independent agents.
Although brochures sent through direct-mail have higher readership compared to other advertisement, the medium is only as good as its message. Brochures can create hype about your product, but it will not guarantee a sale. Yet, it has the capacity to do so and you must wield its full potential to generate sales for yourself.
Ideally, brochures are a printed resource sent to the right demographic to educate them and guide them to make the right purchases. The brochure should contain in-depth discussion of the specific features of a product and its consequent benefit.
Given these premises, here are a few guidelines in designing a readable brochure:
Flow of the Brochure
• People read from left to right, up going down. Going against this sequence lowers readership by 50%.
• Illustrations are more effective than text in drawing attention. Start with the illustration to catch the audience’s interest, and follow this with a Headline or caption that explains the illustration.
Presenting the Copy
• The copy should be legible. It should be written on a plain light colored background. Don’t overlap the text with illustrations as it reduces readability. Avoid fancy fonts, and settle for standard easy to read fonts.
• Learn to prioritize the importance of your information. Bold letters, Italics, and Caps, can grab a reader’s attention to a phrase.
• Use CAPS for no more than a phrase a paragraph, bold, a sentence, and Italics, for verbatim quotes. All Caps is hard to read as it removes the visual clues for comprehension. Too much bold letters makes the entire copy too heavy.
• Write short titles to break the monotony of the copy, and to guide the reader with the flow of the copy.
• Use bullet points as often as possible.
Managing the Content
• Brochures should have depth. Start with interesting information. It can be an anecdote, a trivia from a study, or a testimonial. Present relevant information in simple terms. Fancy words, catch-all phrases, and exaggerations are often met with doubt.
• Present the benefits of the features of your new product. Avoid jargon and abbreviations only experts will understand. If you must mention them, explain what they mean in simple terms.
• Avoid showing too much pictures. A catalog is intended to showcase the company’s products. It is usually designed for decorative products whose selling point is what they look like instead of their specs.
• Choose one product, one service, or one feature at a time. Reserve others for a separate brochure. Otherwise, you will be forced to say too little about too much.
Encourage Action
• Include contact information, store details, or an order form. Marketing doesn’t end with convincing your client about how great your product is, or that they want to buy it. The goal of marketing is to actually buy the product.
• Offer time-limited promos to create urgency for your clients. Or if it’s a gadget, make it sound like your clients need it ASAP. “Protect Yourself and Your Family Today”, etc.
Observe these brochure printing tips and create a brochure that can truly generate sales, increase business activity and drive your audience towards your products and services.
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