Design Your Own Brochure

Author: Alyice Edrich

When you look at marketing brochures what do you see? What is it about the brochure that gains your attention? What is it about the brochure that causes you to dig deeper—to call the company, to check out the website, to drive to the store, to buy the product or service? Is it the color, the design, the text? Or is it a combination of the three?

In the past, brochures were done by professionals who charged a hefty sum to write the text, take the photographs, design the layout, and print the brochures. Today, thanks to programs like Publisher by Microsoft Word® and digital cameras, creating brochures for small businesses can be done in-house and much more affordably.

The key to creating a good brochure is in how the information is presented. Brochures don’t need to be expensive or fancy, but they do need to look professional.

Below are several quick tips to help you create an attractive, affordable brochure:

Use Arial or Times New Roman for easy-to-read text; except in logo
Use a 12 point font for text
Use a 10 point font for captions and side boxes
Use a 14 or 16 size font for headlines
Use a premium presentation or brochure paper like highly opaque, matte, heavyweight presentation paper—35 lb., 6.8 mil, 96 bright, 8 1/2"x11". It is more expensive, but it looks crisper, cleaner, and more professional
Address a target group or niche market
Be educational and informative
Avoid sales hype
Include your company’s logo and contact information
Include a call to action: call, email, visit website or store
Include graphics or images that visually recap what was said in print with one large graphic or image on the cover, smaller ones spread throughout the brochure and close-up shots of products with great details
Provide captions under photos to bring your point home
Use quotations or bold marks around key points
Use bullet points to draw readers to important information, fast
Use headlines and sub-headlines sparingly
Include testimonies from real-life users, not paid copywriters
Include a side box that recaps important information you want to stand out
List your guarantees and return policy
Double check grammar and punctuation
Avoid delivering brochures that have smudge marks, faded lettering, or poorly photographers objects or people.

Once you've printed your brochures and are satisfied with the quality, deliver your brochures to prospective clients and/or customers by passing them out at craft fairs and business expos, distributing them to potential clients, mailing them out with paid orders, and by leaving a few in hotel rooms and other public forums.