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We CHECK the competition! When designing your marketing materials, not only do we listen to your needs, but we also do extensive research on your competitors, to make sure you stay one move ahead.

Thursday 15 March 2012

10 Tips for Designing Effective Brochures/Flyers

The following ten tips will help to ensure that your marketing piece is effective, memorable and even enjoyable


1) Create the Right Kind of Piece

Have a clear sense of the objective the project. It will affect every aspect of the design and message. Is the piece… 

• Product? 
• Catalogue? 
• Corporate Image?  
• Spec sheet? 
• Part of a flexible package? 


2) Include a Headline and/or Intriguing Position Statement

Brochures/flyers etc that have only a product name and logo are wasting the valuable first impression! Express your key benefit in few words... this is a cover, not an ad. 


3) Place Your "POW" Statement
 within the First Sentence
Most people won't read the whole piece at first glance. But they should get your main message within the first sentence, although it should also appear throughout your overall message. 


4) Distribute Your Main Message Throughout the Piece

Your customers need to be reminded of your main point, as they are reading the supporting details. It is a good idea to reprise your main message in the final statements. The phrase, "First tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them" is touted mainly in public speaking circles, but it works here because it operates in conjunction with the way people consume and remember information... which leads us to tip number five.


5) Use Language and Style for the Main Body of Readers
We've probably all taken workshops on "personality types" or "learning styles". Although they vary in their finer points, they agree that people respond to different stimuli. Some respond better to emotional appeals, some to mental pictures, some to hard facts and figures and so on. Speak your audience's language... and unless you are sure that your readers are of one type, then use them all in your piece. 


6) Use Subheadings
/Captions
People scan before they read. Make this easier by including kickers, subheadings etc. Readers should get your overall message simply by reading these. Although you can make  mere navigational subheadings like "Our Commitment" or "Our Guarantee", you'll get more people engaged if you create fresh, intriguing and benefit-oriented statements, like, "We Will Lower Your Costs by up to 15%" or "You Will Never Need Another Widget Again". Captions are also among the first things people read. Repeat your main points by strategically paly


7) Write the Piece Well

Don't grab your customers' attention just to bore them. Employ the right tone, pacing, words etc. That should go without saying. If what you have written sound like a mission statement, scrap it and start fresh, using plain, concise language.


8) Inject Your Corporate Flavour
Your company's Unique Selling Position isn't just, "the highest quality roasted coffee in Australia", it contains (or should contain) nuances of personality. Apple, Ford, Google, all have a personality that is evident in all of their marketing, your brochure/flyer should be peppered with your unique flavour.


9) Proclaim Benefits but Back Them up with Features

A benefits approach to your copy is primary, but needs context. Feature statements provide the credibility for your benefit statements. Instead of saying, "Our motors allow your production floor to run 24/7" try "Our D-series motors are the only motors that use titanium bushings so they can run continuously without overheating, which keeps you running as as efficient as possible" 


10) Be Sure to Have a Call-to-Action

Don't just say "Call Us"... tell your readers what they will get next. A special offer, immediate delivery, a free sample are just a few options. Also, lead to your website so that your media becomes synergistic. Your website should respond in kind by asking those viewers to request a print information kit.


Look for our next, "10 tips to good marketing material design" blog. 

Better yet, email us and we will let you know when it is posted.

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