Banana Bulletin

A company brochure is usually one of the first marketing pieces a company produces, and can be one of the most important pieces a company will ever produce. A well-designed brochure educates by providing new information and reinforcing the fundamentals, it communicates your company’s values and competencies, and differentiates you from your competition. If your brochure fails in any of these areas, then it can result in wasted time, money and lost business. But, following these 5 simple guidelines can help you produce a brochure that makes both you and your company proud.

1. Know your goals. Before producing a brochure, you have to clearly understand the purpose of it. Will it be used to generate leads, educate your audience or recruit new employees? Will it be sent in the mail or distributed by your sales force? Will it be presented as part of sales package? Once you nail down your primary goals, nothing in the brochure should detract from this message.
2. Organize and limit your information. Keeping in mind your primary goals, write down everything you’d like to cover in your brochure. Now, cut that by half. After all, you don’t want to give too much information. The goal is to entice your reader to contact your company for more. You also need to provide a clear and organized path for the reader to gather content, view images, and take action.
3. Hire a professional copywriter. You may think you are a great writer, but writing marketing materials takes years of skill. A brochure with poorly-written copy, bad grammar or typos will quickly create a terrible perception of your company. And remember to proofread, and have others proofread the final content.
4. Hire a professional graphic designer. Homegrown marketing materials do nothing for your company’s image. In fact, it does more harm than good. Distributing materials created in a word processing software (or other software not designed for page layout) that does not follow the basic principals of design, communicates to your audience that you are not serious about your business and don’t meet the high standards of savvy buyers today. Hiring a designer with experience in creating printed marketing materials will guarantee you results.
5. Use professional graphics and imagery. Using poor-quality photography, such as amateur digital snapshots, will also send the wrong message to your reader. If you cannot afford a professional photographer, than have your graphic designer find appropriate and affordable stock imagery. More people will see the graphics and photography in your brochure, than will actually read it. Pictures should complement the copy, not compete with it.

Brochures are powerful marketing tools. The design plays a big role in it’s success. When you follow the guidelines outlined here, the performance of your company brochure is sure to be a hit.

© Copyright 2008. Banana Creative. All rights reserved. Would you like to reproduce portions of this article? Please contact Banana Creative for permission.

Logos today get no respect. Punch in logo design on Google and you are inundated with companies offering designs for the price of a latte. Why shouldn’t you download one that has your favorite color, pay online and be done with it already? Many don’t understand how valuable a well-designed logo is to their business, why it costs more than a latte, and why logo design is not something you should take lightly. This is why I feel compelled to outline some very important facts that will hopefully clear things up.