Brochures introduce your business to your prospects.
Brochures generate interest in your business. Desktop publishing software such as Microsoft Publisher and Adobe Photoshop makes it easier for a business to create its own brochures. Quality in desktop publishing software has improved so that no one ever has to know that it was created on a home desktop unless you tell them.
Instructions
Planning
1. Review the brochures of your competitors and businesses in other industries. Take notes on what you like or dislike about their brochures.
2. Plan your brochure. Make a list of things that are important to your target market. List your strengths and ways that you can highlight them. Decide on size and paper folds. In "Marketing for Dummies," Alexander Hiam suggests, "Consider printing the brochure on a single sheet of legal-sized paper that you then fold three times. Larger formats and multipage pieces tend to fill up with the worst, wordiest copy, and people rarely read them."
3. Take photographs of your establishment, your products and your employees. If you don't have any of these, find royalty-free photographs on sites like Stock Exchange and iPhoto. Send the photographer an email and let him know you intend to use his photo in your brochure.
Design
4. Find templates. Microsoft Word has templates that you can download from the Brochure Wizard or from their website. Brother, the company that specializes in printers, also has free templates that you can download. Most desktop publishing software has free templates. You can also perform a search online for "free brochure templates."
5. Choose colors that represent your business. Select colors that grab attention and match. Match colors with the photographs that you plan to upload into the document.
6. Insert your pictures into the templates. You may have to test the different photographs in different locations on the template before you find the most aesthetically pleasing positions. Start with the boldest pictures on the front fold. In "Create Your Own Powerful Ads and Promo Pieces," Larry Mersereau writes, "Your photograph should show people just like your prime prospect, enjoying the prime benefit your are promising in your piece."
7. Create the text box areas. Leave room for larger headline and subline text. Use X's in place of text to get an idea of how the text will be offset by the pictures.
8. Print a test run. Viewing on a computer screen isn't always the same as the physical product. Make sure all your photos and text boxes are within the printable margins.
Content
9. Write an attention-grabbing headline based on the list of things most important to your customers that you made earlier. Your headline should speak directly to the most important topics. For example, if you run a restaurant, write a headline that paints a picture of the dining experience in your restaurant or your best dish.
10. In the text box area, tell your customers who you are, what you do, where you're located, why they should choose you and how you can make their lives easier.
11. Keep it short and stay within the text box area. Less is more. Don't try to use language that's too technical or colorful. Be straigthforward and simple.
12. Proofread your text and headlines. Ask a friend to proofread it after you have done. It's easy to overlook your own mistakes.
13. Print another test run. Re-read the physical copy and double check for errors and accuracy. Get opinions from friends and colleagues. Once it's done, print it on high-resolution glossy or matte printer paper.
Tags: publishing software, your business, colors that, desktop publishing, desktop publishing software
