Whether online or off, businesses need a great brochure to support their marketing campaigns. Here are 15 tips to improve brochure design. Be sure to scroll to the bottom for some great ideas to get you started in designing the perfect brochure for your brand. And, if you want to see some examples of bad brochure design, check out this board on Pinterest.
The brochure design is a big part of what makes your company’s brand stand out from the crowd and convert consumers. Your brochure should also support your branding efforts by forming a cohesive message; fitting with other marketing efforts. The right design helps you stand out from the competition, while the wrong one could render your marketing efforts useless by confusing your market about what your brand stands for. A bad brochure can also sink your reputation if it isn’t professional and shares a message that resonates with your target market. With that in mind, here are 15 ways to improve brochure design for a more effective marketing campaign.
How to improve brochure design
1) First and foremost, create visually appealing designs
Your brochure should have a quality look and feel that makes people want to stop and take notice — whether they’re walking by on the street or browsing through their mailbox (real or virtual). Just as consumers don’t trust unprofessional, sloppy, or poorly designed websites, they won’t trust you if your brochure lacks visual appeal and looks unprofessional.
2) Brochures should help customers
Plan out your brochure design with the customer (or prospective customer) in mind. Help them see how your product solves a big problem they face and answer all the questions they might have (or at least point them to another resource for finding those answers). You should list specifications, color options, and pricing. Getting cute by hiding your price can backfire when viewers try to guess the price. I once worked with a retailer who produced slick ads and brochures that led consumers to believe his prices were much higher than the big box stores, which cost him business because his prices were very similar.
Include contact information, whether that’s a website, a chatbot, or a real person to help them make their selection.
3) Improve brochure design with a CTA
A brochure should work to support your lead generation and nurturing efforts. Include a CTA (call to action) as part of your brochure so those viewing it know exactly what action to take; whether that’s visiting your store or website, joining your email list or following on social media, or attending an event. See below for some ideas of what the lead nurturing program might look like.
It’s best to only include one CTA per brochure so you don’t confuse those who receive the brochure but feel free to test out various CTAs to determine which works best with your target market before sending out a mass mailing.
4) Design your brochure to maximize brand awareness
As you can see above, brand awareness is the first, critical step in lead nurturing. Improve brochure design to capture the attention of your target audience as the first step toward conversion. Creating a digital brochure to compliment your printed brochures is also a great way to add an aesthetic flair to your brand image.
5) Improve brochure design with text, not just pretty pictures
What’s the point of pretty pictures if there’s no information about your company to back it up? The brochure needs to show what you’re all about and address questions facing your target audience. Plus, ensure the layout of your brochure is pleasing and logical so prospects can easily find what they’re looking for.
6) Set a goal for your brochure
The brochure shouldn’t just look nice or something created simply because everyone else says you need one. Your brochure should have a purpose for existing rather than an afterthought. You’re much more likely to reach your goal if you start with that and build your brochure around achieving the goal…
7) It should differentiate your business from others in the same niche
Just because you’re competing with other companies doesn’t mean that you have to look like them, too. Don’t fall into the trap of not looking unique and instead, stand out from the crowd — especially when it comes to something as important as the brochure.
8) Make it easy to hand out or save
It’s nice when people save your company brochure, but if they’re going to do that, then you must give them a reason, such as a really great image or entertaining/informative information. Sharing your brochure across multiple platforms, including electronic ones, makes it easy for folks to bookmark or save your brochure.
9) Improve brochure design so it captures your audience’s attention
Your company brochure isn’t just about looking pretty; it’s about getting people to notice you right from the get-go. The design of your brochure should tell them something about you without having to read a single word on it, and it should also let them know where they can go next if they’re interested in learning more.
10) Streamline your brochure
Your company brochure is not the place to have a lot of things going on at once. You don’t want to force your customers to look through several pages just to find the information they need. Make everything clear and easy for them to understand right from the start and don’t forget that white space is an important element to improve brochure design.
11) Design for an international audience
If it’s something that’s meant to travel around the world, then why not make it more universal instead of limiting it to just your local area? Consider universal images to avoid language problems and be aware of taboos and inappropriate slang for certain international markets. Humor often doesn’t travel well.
12) Offer a unique selling proposition
A unique selling proposition (USP) sets you apart from the competition and is sustainable over time. A pricing USP is easy to copy but you might highlight something your company that’s special that other companies don’t offer. You need to let customers know what makes you so much different from your competitors.
13) It should only contain information that is relevant to your company’s business model
Don’t put anything in there that isn’t going to be helpful or useful to your customers. It’s amazing how much clutter people tack onto a business brochure, and sometimes, it just makes them look lazy. Don’t forget that consumers, especially younger ones, consider your values and ethics as part of your business model, so it’s a good practice to highlight your efforts aimed at corporate social responsibility. Focus on the elements shared above and you’ll produce a clean, simple brochure that converts.
Bonus Tip: Use Venngage.
Venngage is an online brochure maker that allows its users to browse through various brochure templates so you don’t have to improve brochure design starting with nothing. To give you an idea, here are some of the best brochure examples from Venngage (click on an image to expand).
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