Build Your Brochure in Five Steps
By Sandra K. Williams © 1997. All rights reserved.
First of all, determine the purpose of your brochure.
Are you trying to get new customers, or do you want to explain the breadth of your services to current customers? Do you have a new service or product you’re trying to promote? Or are you trying to direct prospects to your Web site? To be successful, your brochure should be tightly focused on a particular objective.
Whether you decide to design your brochure yourself or hand off your project to a graphic designer, you need to know:
- Who the brochure should reach,
- What you want people to do after reading it, and
- How you’re going to distribute the brochure.
Second, decide how much you want to spend. If you’re completely lost as to where to start when budgeting, call a few printers to get quotes. The printer will need to know how many copies you want, if the brochure will be printed on both sides, how many colors of ink (black counts as a color!), the size and type of paper and whether you want the brochure folded.
If you can’t afford to have your brochure printed, call a copy house for prices. You can design a good first brochure to be photocopied, then move on to printing in two or more colors as your budget expands.
Third, write your brochure copy. When you decided the purpose of your brochure, you might have set out your objectives in bullet points. Use those points as a framework for your copy, elaborating as necessary.
Write as if you were speaking to a person. Cover the information needed to support your purpose, but don’t put your reader to sleep. Use direct, easily understood words. When you feel you have clearly expressed your message, put it aside. After it’s not so fresh in your mind, reread your copy and fine-tune it.
Have your copy edited for grammar and punctuation or for length, if it turns out wordy. A good editor can make your copy shorter, faster, and easier to read without losing any meaning. At the very least, have someone — preferably someone with excellent grammar skills — read your copy to ensure it makes sense and has the intended effect.
Fourth, lay out the brochure.The brochure design should fit your message and budget. Since you already know if you will print or photocopy your brochure, design your brochure accordingly.
If you’re going to photocopy, stick with solid blacks as much as possible, for grays often turn out muddy. If using photos, test on a copy machine similar to the one your brochure will be copied on. And choose a good quality paper to make your brochure look more professional.
For either printing or photocopying, pick artwork suitable for your chosen audience; what will catch your target’s attention? Consider your audience when selecting fonts, also. Your fonts and your artwork should support the image you want to project.
Double-check everything: spelling, punctuation, placement of artwork, lining up of columns, and anything else you can think of. Don’t forget pertinent information such as business name, address, and telephone. Include your Web site and e-mail address, if any.
Finally, arrange the printing. If you’re having your brochure photocopied, just take in the final version of your brochure. If you’re having your brochure printed, discuss your project with the printer. Your printer will be able tell you what is needed for your particular project.