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Small Business
BrochuresPrinting, Prices,
Design & More!
Brochures are not a vestige of the past.Think back to the last time you were at a hotel on vacation. Somewhere there, perhaps inside the vending area, was a kiosk filled with brochures. Maybe it caught your eye and you grabbed a few.
When done correctly,
Whether you use brochures as a mini-catalog of your services, or to provide answers to frequently asked questions, the end result an effective brochure campaign will be a more developed relationship with your customer.
brochures can provide value to your customers and validate your usefulness to them.
Brand Awareness and Selling a Service or Product
The two main uses of brochures are
Brand AwarenessUse brochures to provide enhanced information about your company.Provide an overview of your company. Talk about industry awards you may have received. Mention special ways your company gives back to the community. Include behind-the-scenes images of your team sponsoring charity events.
One great advantage of brochures is that they stand out from other types of promotional pieces.It requires a decision to throw away a brochure, and it’s rare for someone to throw away a brochure without at least a cursory look-through, especially if your brochure cover is appealing and attention-grabbing.
Sell A ServiceIf you want customers to know about a particular service or package, print it up in a brochure and hand it out. This is especially useful with new services that you’re hoping to market. Simply positioning the brochures near your point of sale can spark curiosity.
High Pressure TacticsBrochures are the antithesis of
and are particularly effective for those who don’t respond well to aggressive coercion.
Designing A Brochure
Easier and More DifficultWith so many choices available, designing a brochure has never beenSometimes, more choices make it harder to figure out what is truly necessary and effective, and what will detract from the brochure. That’s why we created this ultimate guide–to help you make the best choices for your brochure.
The first stepis finding the customer’s problem.Why are they coming to you? What value can you add to them? Once you discover that answer, you can build your brochure’s story around it.
most important features
Let’s start by discussing the
Every brochure should include.10
Your Brochure Must Be Catchy
If your brochure doesn’t immediately attract attention, it might as well not even exist.
1)
Here are some important things to keep in mind when it comes to design: !
• Include Large Images • Provide the Perfect Font • Select Inviting Colors • Make Room for White Space
Your Brochure Must Be Informative
It should identify what’s wrong and then provide the solution quickly. If the answer is not immediately evident, the reader will lose attention. Aim to provide core, useful information to the reader.
2)
Be Sympathetic to Reader’s Point of View
The most effective marketing strategies are focused on customer experience. See how the customer sees the problem, not how you see it.
3)
Explain the problem, from the customer’s perspective, it will validate the customer’s experience and provide them with enhanced incentive to continue reading.
When you see the problem,
Your Brochure Must Be Easily Consumable
Highlight the most important features and answer the most commonly asked questions, and provide a way for customers to speak to you directly about any other questions or concerns.
4)
Not sure if you should include it or not? Refer back to the previous point–would the average customer care about this information? Don’t try to appeal to every single customer, just appeal to the average one.
Make use of white space and avoid crowding your brochure with extraneous information.
Be High QualityAvoid the temptation to go cheap with your brochure. After all of the time and money you pour into your design, you don’t want it to end up in the trash. It’s much more likely to end up in the trash than a full color, laminated gloss. If it feels rich, it’s less likely to be treated like trash.
5)
Be the Appropriate Length
A brochure can be any length, but the most effective are under 30 pages. The length will depend on the topic of your brochure. On the other hand, you may be able to get everything you’d like to say on one 8.5” x 11 tri-folded page.
6)
Be the Appropriate Weight
Weight is often overlooked when it comes to brochure printing. For a brochure, the best weight is between a standard office copy paper and a business card.
7)
If you are handing out promotional information at a tradeshow, you need those brochures to be substantial. Giving out a weighted brochure gives your company presence, and it sends the impression that you have invested in your own business.
Choosing the weight of your brochure depends on its intended distribution.
Be ReachableYou should also add contact details so that customers know all the ways to reach you. You can’t rely on the fact that you distributed the brochure to your customers in store. Cover all your basis and provide your contact information for multiple channels.
8)
Be ResponsiveAnother great feature to include on your brochure is a QR Code. QR code is short for Quick Response, and is a square-like barcode that you can place on your brochure. Users with QR code reader apps on their smart phones can scan the code and be automatically linked to a web address of your choosing.
9)
Generating a QR Code is fairly straightforward. You can visit Kaywa QR Code or Visualead or a myriad of others to create and download a code in seconds.
This opens up the perfect opportunity to expand on the information presented in your brochure.
Call to ActionThe final, most important part of any brochure is the call-to-action. At the end of your brochure, don’t just hope for the best–prompt readers to action.
10)
Referring back to the two types of brochures, your brochure’s purpose is either to promote products/ services or to evangelize your brand.
The purpose of your brochure will inform the appropriate call-to-action.
your call-to-action may be a promotion code that’s only available for orders over the toll-free number, or ask them to sign up on your website for a free resource guide or eBook. You can also ask them to like you on Facebook for additional coupons.
If you’re promoting a product or service,
Or enhancing your brand’s credibility avoid promotions because it will cause your readers to focus on price and not quality. This is especially important when promoting your brand.
If you’re increasing brand awareness
WE ARE THE BEST!!
Where you distribute your brochure is just as important as having a brochure to begin with.Your original purpose in creating the brochure will guide your distribution. For example, if you’re courting new business, it would be less effective to distribute your brochures to your existing customer base.
Let’s take a look at 6 avenues for distribution:1. Trade shows, Conferences, and Events 2. Point of Sale 3. Waiting Area 4. Direct Mail 5. Client Meetings 6. Business-to-Business
What you say in your brochure depends on your desired audience.Always keep in mind who you are speaking to and who will be will buy your product or service.
All brochures should communicate who you are and what you do or offer.A logo is not sufficient as a brand message, no matter how recognizable you may be. Even Coca Cola feels the need to explain who they are inside of their brochures. Take the opportunity to introduce yourself in your brochure.
This brochure by The Coca Cola
Company introduces the brand
Your brochure should also include between 1-3 reasons
why the reader should do business with you. Understanding your target
demographic will help you tailor this message just for them.
Let’s take a look at 3 examples of small
businesses and what you could potentially include in
each type of brochure:
Auto Repair Company Brochure:Include a satisfaction guarantee, a list of services, a coupon, automobile certifications.
Auto Repair Company Brochure:Include a satisfaction guarantee, a list of services, a coupon, automobile certifications.
Family Dentist Brochure:Include dental care facts, FAQ, services offered, a list of accepted insurance providers, customer testimonials, and before & after images of smiles.
Restaurant Brochure: Include local favorite menu items, lots of large images of the food, a price list (because restaurant brochures are widely distributed and price is a huge motivator), and a map.
Although tri-fold is most widely associated type, brochures come in a wide variety of presentations. The three most popular types of presentation are folded, saddle stitch, and perfect bound.
Let’s take a look at the most popular fold types.
Saddle stitch is next in line. This type of binding is stapled at the fold of the spine.
Rounding it off, we have perfect binding. In this type of binding, glue is applied to the left edges of the paper and they are bound together. Next, a spine cover is glued to the edge block.
(Images courtesy of psdcovers.com)
Brochure Creation:DIY or Hire Out?
Should you do your own brochure or hire someone else to do it? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It will depend on your skill level and your available time, along with other considerations.
Let’s take a look at what it takes to do both.
DIYIf you’re artistically inclined, doing your own brochure may seem like a no brainer. It’s a good idea to have access to Adobe Photoshop, Indesign, or at least the Photoshop-alternative Gimp. Many print shops provide downloadable blank templates for you to work on.
You should definitely take full advantage of royalty free stock images.There’s many great options available, including Shutterstock and Dreamstime, but I also like Pixabay for free images.
Also, it’s important to consider your font.Chose a font that’s great for tiny print. Here are my top 5 selections:
Maven Pro
Next, you’ll need to consider your printer. If you’re DIYing your brochures, you should have access to a high quality printer that’s able to handle color printing and heavier paper weights. You’ll also need to invest in high quality, heavy weight paper. Look for 80 lb or 100 lb paper in matte or gloss.
Hire OutIf you’ve decided to hire someone else to do the brochures, there’s a lot to consider. The very first thing you should think about is whether to hire a designer or purchase a premade template.
Purchase a template from Graphic River or Inkd and then upload it to the online printer company of your choosing.
Let’s briefly review 3 printer companies with the following parameters:
1000 8.5” x 11” 100lb Gloss Brochures
Offers instant pricing, helpful customer service, and fast same day turnaround on 100lb gloss text and 10 pt gloss cover stocks. They do not offer pre-made templates.For the previous specifications, Print Place charges $212.50, or .21¢ per brochure. Shipping is $15.08.
Print Place
For 5000 brochures, the price is $424.00, or .08¢ per brochure. Shipping is $54.23.
offers the entire gamut of folding choices, from tri-fold to double gate to z-fold. They have a design department who can create designs for as little as $15.For the previous specifications, UPrinting charges $202.13, or .20¢ per brochure. Shipping is $18.78.
UPrinting
For 5000 brochures, the price is $486.79, or .09¢ per brochure.
Provides fair customer service, but has a wide library of pre-made templates to choose from.For the previous specifications, VistaPrint charges $350, or .35¢ per brochure. Shipping varies depending upon delivery date, but ranges from $12.99 to $34.99.
VistaPrint
For 5000 brochures, the price is $700, or .14¢ per brochure.
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