Top Tips for creating a Brochure : Part 2 – Content

In Part 1 (see previous blog) we looked at how to design the ‘Layout’, so assuming that’s been completed, we’ll now turn our attention to the content.

1. Proper planning prevents poor performance

This is a derivation from the old military adage ‘the 7 Ps’….with the extra ‘P’ being a fruity qualifying adjective for ‘poor’ which I won’t repeat here!

Using the acronym ‘AIDA’ alongside this helps to focus the mind in the military-sense when planning the content for a brochure:

Attention: needs to grab

Interest: entice to read further

Desire: convey want

Action: give a reason to act

2. For a picture to be worth 1,000 words, it has to be good

Just as words on their own lack visual interest, pictures on their own lack context…but place them together intelligently and the impact will be striking.

Points to consider:

• Online v printed quality: as noted in Part 1, there is a difference in the quality of images required when viewing online versus printed copy – a good designer can put together a different version for each medium.
• Pictures, Headlines, Copy: our eyes can process an image in 13 milliseconds (or just over 1/100th of a second), so they will alight on images before text. Therefore, design your content to work with your readers’ eyes – put your key selling points in headlines either on or next to your images.
• Pro v Stock images: it generally boils down to a question of money, but if your brochure is reliant upon images, then professional photos are a worthwhile investment. Many photographers will also let you use their back catalogue of photos once you have worked with them….something to consider if you use a lot of stock images.

3. Copywriting – less is more

I wish people wouldn’t try to get ‘value for money’ by wanting more words – the real skill lies in trying to capture a message in less words! Using the Picture, Headline, Copy template as a guide:

Pictures

• Testimonials overlaid on pictures work very well – people are ‘forced’ to look at them
• Pull Quotes – we covered these in Case Study writing [see Related Articles below]

Headlines

• Skim headlines – use ‘power’ words, you don’t have to use full sentences

Copy

• Sell benefits not features – anybody can reproduce a feature, but a benefit conveys a unique emotional connection; remember that saying, ‘People love to buy, but hate to be sold to’. For example, the purpose of a telephone answering machine is not to record messages with instant playback…..it’s so you’ll never have to miss an important call again.
• Break up the text – headlines, bullet points, italics for quotes – help guide your reader, don’t make them struggle to find information.
• Don’t use more than 3 fonts – it’s not a hard & fast rule, but it’s best to keep the number of different fonts to a minimum. If you’ve broken up the text as described above, you shouldn’t need to do so.
• Speak to the customer – use the 2nd person, ‘We help you’
• Don’t overload with technical features – unless it’s vital in a long brochure as you probably won’t have the space; use summary features and you can always refer readers to the website
• Calls to Action – it sounds obvious, but make it easy for reader to respond and give them a reason. There is a whole blog to be written on how to write effective calls to action (which I haven’t got round to doing yet), but in the meantime, here are a few keywords:
  • Clarity – avoid slang or lazy words, so ‘Call Us…’, rather than ‘Give us a call’
  • Answer questions; e.g. ‘Call us, and we’ll help you save money on your car repair bills’
  • Quell fears; e.g. ‘Call us, and in 3 questions, you’ll have your quote’
  • Create urgency; e.g. ‘Call us now’, or ‘Call us quickly, supplies are limited’

Related articles:

Case Study Writing 

Top Tips for creating a Brochure: Part 1 – Layout