“High Touch” Marketing in a “High Tech” WorldBy Phyllis Keith A brochure is a great way to convey messages about your products and services, or to give tips and advice to help customers make educated choices. Even in today’s increasingly digital world, printed collateral such as brochures and catalogs play a vital role in marketing your products and services. Depending on the amount and type of content required, and the size of your budget, you can produce a brochure from the comfort of your office or hire a graphic artist to design and manage the entire production for you. There are also numerous online services available to help you by providing templates, actual designs and bids by graphic artists, and online printing services.
Planning Your BrochureFirst, determine the focus and content of your brochure. Usually the purpose of the brochure is to educate, to enlighten and to persuade the target reader to take a particular course of action. What is your message? What is your main point? What do you want readers to walk away with? What action should they take? If you're designing a brochure for your company or shop, the material will include such items as a listing of products for sale, a breakdown of services offered, rates and fees, and testimonials. Second, identify your target market. The age, gender, occupation, social status and education of the readers you want to reach will determine the language to use, the color scheme, the number of photographs and graphics to supplement the text, as well as the distribution mechanism for letting readers know your brochure is available. Decide on a distribution mechanism based on your available budget. For example, will the pamphlets be handed out in the context of a workshop presentation? Will they be picked up by customers at your shop, doctors’ offices or libraries? Or, will you mail them to a customer list? Comparison shop for printing. Shop local printing facilities as well as online print services for the best deal. Keep in mind that glossy pages and full-color projects are going to be more expensive than those run on regular matte finish paper. Designing Your Brochure. Lay out your brochure neatly, cleanly and professionally. The design should draw the reader in and ease the process of reading. Your headline should dominate the front of the brochure. Your name and logo should be prominent, but not dominant. Use pictures that have meaning. Strive for an appropriate amount of white space on each page of text. If the material has not been broken into easy, bite-size pieces and looks too cluttered on the page, it's not going to hold your reader's attention. Choose a font that is easy to read, such as Courier, Times New Roman, or Bookman. Never use more than three different fonts throughout. Any more looks too distracting. Proofread your work thoroughly before it goes to print, and recruit friends to read everything over for you to make sure it's perfect. A brochure can be a valuable and effective tool to convey your message. Sometimes, in our fast paced “high tech” world, it pays to provide a “high touch” marketing experience through printed media. Phyllis Keith, President of Wear Ease, Inc.
