Brochures/Flyers
Technical Writing
Brochure
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A brochure or pamphlet is a leaflet advertisement.
Brochures may advertise locations, events, hotels,
products, services, etc.
Distribution
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Direct mail and trade
shows are common ways
to distribute brochures to
introduce a product or
service.
In hotels and other places
that tourists frequently
visit, brochure racks or
stands may suggest visits
to amusement parks and
other points of interest.
5 types of brochures
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1) Leave-Behinds: This type of brochure is named for
the brochures you leave behind after meeting a potential
customer. Write this type of brochure with a complete
description of your product and its benefits.
Summarize your sales pitch to echo the one you just
gave. Keep your words forever in their brain - or at least
long enough to get them to buy your product
5 types of brochures
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2) Point-of-Sale
These are best described as the type you might
encounter while standing in line at the bank. You notice
a rack of brochures and it just so happens they're
conveniently located right there for you to enjoy.
You didn't know you could get free checking if you
bought a Certificate of Deposit. You take a brochure.
You'll read about it later. Point-of-Sale.
Write a catchy headline and make sure you have a nice
visual to work with the headline. Your goal is to get
potential customers to see your brochure, be curious
enough to pick it up and, even more important, keep it.
5 types of brochures
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3) Respond to Inquiries
When people ask about your product, they're obviously
interested. Sending this type of brochure is for a qualified
buyer.
They're qualified because they're much more likely to
buy than someone who hasn't contacted you. Since
they've already expressed interest, write this brochure to
take your prospect to the next step: the buying process.
Hammer home all of your sales points and pack your
brochure with facts to convince them they can't live
without your product.
5 types of brochures
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4) Direct Mail
This is the type of brochure you include with your direct
mail package. You know the sales letter sells but a
brochure used with direct mail contains photos, your
product's sales points and even technical features.
5 types of brochures
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5) Sales Support Tool
Sales support is very similar to leave-behinds. The
difference is, this type of brochure can be used as a
selling aid.
Your salesperson uses them to guide them through their
sales pitch. They have larger pages, larger photos and
larger headlines.
Panels in brochures
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The most common types of
single-sheet brochures are
the bi-fold (a single sheet
printed on both sides and
folded into halves) and the
tri-fold (the same, but folded
into thirds).
A bi-fold brochure results in
four panels (two panels on
each side), while a tri-fold
results in six panels (three
panels on each side).
Folding
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Z-fold (Concertina fold)
C-fold (Letter fold)
Others
Z -fold
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A concertina fold is a continuous parallel folding of
brochures and similar printed material in an accordionlike fashion, that is with folds alternatively made to the
front and back in zig zag folds.
Because they do not nest (as in Letter Folds) panels can
be the same size. Seen from above, concertina folds
resemble a Z or M or series of zigs and zags.
Also known as a Zig Zag Fold, Accordion Fold or z-Fold.
Z -fold
C-fold
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Folds are parallel and in the same direction, so that a kind of
spiral is produced. The letter fold is a parallel fold.
Two or more panels of the same width of the folded signature are
folded around one panel. When the signature is folded twice,
there are three panels on each side (six pages); with a tri-fold,
the result is four panels on each side (eight pages)
To allow proper nesting of panels that fold in, inside panels are
usually 1/32" to 1/8" smaller than outer panels with the inside end
panel being the smallest.
Also known as a Spiral Fold, Tri Fold, Brochure Fold, Business
Letter, C Fold, Roll Fold and Barrel Fold
C-Fold
Other folds
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French fold: Takes a concertina fold, folded
in half down the middle to create 8 individual
sections.
Double Parallel fold: In double parallel folds
the paper is folded in half and then folded in
half again with a fold parallel to the first fold.
To allow for proper nesting the two inside
folded panels are 1/32" to 1/8" smaller than
the two outer panels.
Flyer vs Brochure
5 tips concerning printing
http://homebusiness.about.com/od/marketingadvertising/a/brochure_tips.htm
5 tips concerning printing
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Brochure Tip 1: Know Your Print Size
A print layout has to be returned to the customer
because it wasn't setup for the proper output size. Don't
use an 8.5 x 11 layout and submit it for printing on 8x10
paper. MacKinnon points out that when a print service
has to stretch or shrink a brochure layout to fit the paper,
the quality of the print resolution may be compromised.
5 tips concerning printing
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Brochure Tip 2: Allow for Bleed
What is print bleed? Think of it as an insurance policy to
make your final printed brochure look its best. Brochures
are printed together in sheets, and then sliced into single
units. The blade that cuts out each brochure is precise,
but when cutting thousands of pieces, it can fluctuate
slightly over the course of the order.
Designing your brochure with an extra 1/8th inch of
coverage beyond each edge is recommended.
5 tips concerning printing
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Brochure Tip 3: Resolution is Key
Using high-resolution images in your layout is a critical
step toward creating a professional looking final
brochure. If you submit something for print that isn’t the
proper resolution, your images will come out ‘soft’, blurry,
or even pixilated.
The images you see on your computer monitor are only
72 dpi (dots-per-inch), which is fine for viewing on a
monitor, but very inadequate for a professional-looking
printed brochure. Your images should be at least 300
dpi to print clearly with full sharpness
5 tips concerning printing
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Brochure Tip 4: Select the Correct Paper
Most print shops that print brochures offer either an 80lb
or 100lb stock paper, with a variety of gloss / matte
finishes. It’s really your choice in the end, but a 100lb
stock is surprisingly more substantial than 80lb stock
paper without a huge cost difference. Using a heavier
paper may convince a potential customer that you are
more professional than your competitors.
Adding varnish will add an appealing gloss to your
brochure, but if you have a lot of ink coverage your
brochure will appear glossy anyway. However, if you use
too many dark colors in your brochure design, using a
varnish will prevent fingerprint smudges on your
brochure.
5 tips concerning printing
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Brochure Tip 5: Be Original and be Creative
What information are you trying to convey?
The fronts of your brochures are all people will see when
scanning display racks, so make sure the front of your
brochure is appealing and makes prospective customers
want to pick it up
Interesting fonts you can use to make your brochure
stand out from the crowd and look very professional at
the same time.
12 tips for effective brochure
marketing
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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1) Know What Your Reader Wants
You must write your brochure or leaflet from the reader's
point of view. That means the information must unfold in
the right order. Begin by analyzing what your reader
wants to know. An easy way to do this is by assessing
the order in which your reader's questions will flow. Your
brochure should answer their questions in a logical
sequence following the reader’s train of thought. A good
way to organize your points is to write down the
questions you think a potential customer might have, and
the answers your brochure might supply.
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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2) Motivate your reader to look inside
The first page your reader will see is the front cover. Get
it wrong and you've as good as lost the sale. Don’t make
the common mistake of couching your services in
technical jargon. Think benefits or thought-provoking
statements that motivate the reader to pick up the
brochure and open it. Add a flash that tells the reader
there's something inside that will interest them – an
exclusive invitation, a free report, special discount or
advance notice of sales. Don't be tempted to put only
your company logo or product name on the front. It won't
work.
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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3) Contents Page – What’s in it
In brochures of eight pages or more, a list of contents is
useful. Make your list in bold and separate it from the
rest of your text. Use the contents to sell the brochure.
Don't use mind-numbing words like "Introduction" or
"Model No A848DHGT". Pick out your most important
sales point and use that in your heading.
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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4) Describe Your Product
To help you describe your product draw up a list of
product features (facts about your product) and add the
words "which means that..." after each point. For
example, "The cake is made from an original recipe,
which means that...it tastes better." Or, "The car has a
300 horse-power engine, which means that...it goes
faster." Remember that the purchaser of your product is
not always the user so there may be more than one
benefit for each feature.
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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5) Make it a Keeper
Putting helpful information in your brochure will
encourage the reader to keep it, refer to it often or pass it
on to other people. If you're selling paint you can provide
hints on color schemes, painting how-to information, tips
from the pros etc. If you're selling skin care products you
can give your readers tips on how to combat pimples,
dry skin, fine lines and wrinkles.
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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6) Alter the Shape
Who says a brochure has to be A4? Selling sandwiches?
You can design a brochure in the shape of a sandwich.
Season tickets to soccer matches? Design it in the
shape of a soccer ball. Using your imagination when
designing your brochure can produce better than
average results. The only limitation is your imagination,
and, of course, your budget.
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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7) Make it Personal
An experienced speaker talking to a large audience will
pick out a face in the crowd, and talk to that face. This
connection with one person allows the speaker to make
his talk more personal than if he were merely addressing
a mass of faces. In a similar fashion, the words in your
brochure should use this technique and zero in on one
imaginary single person. Why? Because writing in a
direct “I’m-talking-only-to-you” style will increase
response.
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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8) Add Atmosphere
Don't let your brochure sound aloof. Let your reader
share your feelings. There's no reason why a brochure
about a wood burning stove has to go into the ins and
outs of how the stove works. Tell your reader about rain
swept winter evenings and snow-bound afternoons. Let
your words show them how warm and snug and they'll
be when they purchase one of your stoves.
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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9) Get Selling...Fast
Remember, not everyone wants to be educated on every
aspect of your product or service. Nor does everyone
want to know the manufacturing details of your widget.
Don't waste their time telling them about things that don't
convey a benefit.
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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10) Talk about your reader's needs
Talk about your reader, not yourself. Here are the first
words in a brochure from a company selling insurance:
“Insurance is a complicated business. Our company was
formed in 1975 to help our clients deal with the process
of finding the right insurance to suit their needs. In the
last 20 years we have been selling insurance to a wide
range of customers from many different walks of life. Our
company's reputation is unsurpassed in the industry...”
Yawn...This is the bar room bore in print. Instead of
telling you how the company can help solve your
problems, it's more interested in telling you about itself.
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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11) Give Directions
Every brochure should be organized so the reader can
flip through the pages and easily find what they want.
Provide clear signposts or headlines throughout the
brochure and make sure each one says: “Hey, pay
attention to me!”
12 tips for effective brochure marketing
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12) Ask for Action
Regardless of how you organize your brochure, there's
only one way to end it. Ask for action. If you want your
reader to respond include an 800 number, reply card, or
some form of response mechanism. In fact, to increase
your brochure’s selling power you should include your
offer and a response mechanism on every page.
Formatting tips
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Colors: Use colors that will appeal to your target
audience. For instance, neons may be attractive to teens
and tweens, but are probably not as effective for 50 to
60-year-old accountants (there are always exceptions)
Bullets: too much "gray" space should be avoided. Use
bullets, use headers, and use white space to effectively
showcase your text.
“Left aligned” format is easier to read than "justified"
which both lines end up evenly. Why?
Flyers
Flyer
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A flyer or called a handbill or leaflet is a single page
leaflet advertising an event, service, or other activity.
Flyers are typically used by individuals or businesses to
promote their products or services. They are a form of
mass marketing or small scale, community
communication.
http://advertising.about.com
Distribution
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Flyers are handed out on the street (known
as 'flyering'), posted on bulletin boards, or
given away at events.
Bulletin boards are found on college
campuses, in cafes, community meeting
houses, laundromats, and small markets.
Free marketing
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Flyers, along with postcards, pamphlets and small
posters, are vital and free forms of communication for
people who want to engage the public but do not have
the money or desire to advertise over the internet, in
telephone directories, or classified or display advertising
in newspapers or other periodicals.
Formats
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A4 (roughly letterhead size)
A5 (roughly half letterhead size)
DL (compslip size)
A6 (postcard size)
CC (credit card size)
Basic steps for flyer
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Choose the color of paper you want to use. White, blue, bright
pink - it's up to you. Just keep in mind how many flyers you
want to print and make sure your budget allows for 5,000
canary yellow printed sheets.
Come up with a snappy headline. This is your first and only
shot at capturing the reader's attention. Sum up your product in
a few, but powerful, words.
Add graphics, if necessary. Or you can simply keep the printing
costs down and strictly use text.
Copy should be straight to the point. You don't have a lot of
space to waste here on rambling words. Give readers enough
information to get them in the door.
Offering a discount? Let people know. Create a coupon on your
flyer encouraging them to come in.
Head to the printer. You're done.
Tips
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The body of your flyer doesn't have to be filled with
text. White space (the area of your flyer that doesn't
have any graphics or text) invites your readers to see
what you're selling without long, boring blocks of copy.
Check to make sure there are no city ordinances
against posting your flyer in certain areas or passing
them out on the street.
Print in color only if you're sending your flyer to a
targeted group. Otherwise, it's a waste of money when
you could be printing more black and white flyers.
Sample Flyers
Logos
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A logo’s design is for immediate recognition, inspiring
trust, admiration, loyalty and an implied superiority. The
logo is one aspect of a company’s commercial brand, or
economic entity, and its shapes, colours, fonts, and
images usually are different from others in a similar
market. Logos are also used to identify organizations
and other non-commercial entities.
References
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Material has been taken from various
websites