In today’s space age of social media and video marketing, hard copy brochures seem pretty old school. They can feel a bit like your Dad popping his hat on sideways and saying, “wicked”. You will cringe at his attempt to be relevant but it’s more likely you’ll simply stop paying him any attention.
Having said that, offline marketing collateral can be very useful and when it’s done well, it can help you capture a different swag of customers. Before you dust off your old brochure for a reprint, or invest in a new design and copy, ask yourself these sticky questions.
Why are they sticky? Because many business owners and marketers don’t ask them. They whip up a brochure because that’s what they’ve always done. And quite frankly, that’s not a good enough reason.
1. Will your brochure gather customers … or dust?
If your customers all shop online, if Facebook and Twitter bring in all your leads and you haven’t met a customer face-to-face in years, well your message might not suit a glossy print brochure.
Ask yourself if a brochure will help your customers make the purchase decision before you do anything.
2. Where and how will your brochure be used?
Are you trying to educate your market or drive traffic to your website? Are you promoting a special offer?
Be clear about your marketing objectives and look at how different brochure formats and sizes will achieve them.
3. How will you get your markets’ attention?
Imagine a wall of brochures, like the racks you see in hotels or travel agents. Or a ‘showbag’ of expo brochures at the end of the fair. Why would anyone pick yours to read?
The front of your brochure needs a headline that makes your brochure go ‘yoo-hoo’ to your target audience.
You also need great images and design if you want to be taken seriously.
A copywriter and graphic designer can help you nail these parts but why not talk to your printer about some snazzy shapes and textures as well?
Did your brochure idea make the grade?
At the end of the day take a big tip from an old copywriter. You have to figure out the best way to get your message to your customers. That’s not the end of the process by any means but it’s a start. You might need different marketing mediums for different markets. Or different parts of your target market.
If you got past question 1 and you decide that a brochure will help you connect with your target market then
- Make your brochure relevant to your audience
- Make sure your brochure adds value to your sales process
- Make sure your brochure stands out
Do you use marketing brochures? Have you experimented with different shapes and sizes? Have you converting your brochure to an online success?
Marketing is changing and I’d love to hear your thoughts. The biccies are on the side board…
The Copy Detective
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4 Responses
Just brilliant advice! It’s the combination of factors – words, images, how they sit on the page, relevance and focus of message – that makes for success.
Learn from the master!
great article. So well described. I really love your writing style too. Cap on sideways…wicked! Classic!
haha thanks for the great feedback Lisa!
Excellent food for thought. I often find myself rehashing my marketing material after reading your very informative posts.