3 High-Converting Brochure Design Tips

In a world of splash pages, TikTok videos, and email marketing, it’s easy to overlook something as simple and staid as a brochure. But even in 2021, brochures have their place – assuming you design yours properly.

The “Why” of Brochures

Brochures serve as approachable reference documents that explain to potential customers who your business is, what you do, and the array of opportunities and values you can offer your customers. A brochure can be used in a variety of capacities (including at trade shows, on a checkout counter, or even sent via direct mail).

Common types include:

Information brochures typically explain a specific part of your business (such as a particular product, product line, or industry you serve). It’s common to create an information brochure for each product you sell.

Introduction brochures seek to supply detailed information about your brand, who you are, and what you do. This is the physical version of a digital “one-pager.”

Menu brochures are commonly used in direct mail to send a convenient food menu to customers for take-out or delivery purposes. They usually contain pictures, food descriptions, prices, contact information, and possibly coupons.

Brochures provide a number of solid benefits that don’t get enough attention in today’s digitally saturated marketplace, to be honest. In particular, forward-thinking brands would be wise to consider such benefits as:

Brochures are cost-effective. A brochure can be printed for pennies. It can fit into any brand’s marketing budget (either as a stand-alone item or piece of a larger strategy). Some brands choose to include a brochure inside other marketing materials, such as catalogs, newsletters, or promotional products.

Brochures are highly convenient. Unlike catalogs and flyers, which take more space and can be difficult to carry around, the tri-fold design of the classic brochure makes them easy to hold onto. They can easily be inserted into a pocket, purse, or briefcase without any fuss.

Brochures are approachable. Not everyone wants to pick up a newsletter or heft an entire catalog. But a brochure isn’t anywhere near as intimidating. It’s much more approachable, which can make it considerably more effective than other print options.

Three Tips for High-Converting Brochures

Whether you have a brick-and-mortar store, an e-commerce company, or a local service business, brochures can (and probably should) have a role in your marketing and promotional strategy. In order to get the most out of your brochures, however, you ought to keep a few high-converting design principles in mind.

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

There’s no need to design a brochure from scratch. As is the case with most marketing and promotional strategies, you’re better off investigating what’s already working and make slight tweaks to that in order to fit your brand.

Brochure templates do a lot of the heavy lifting for you. Simply plug in your text, logo, images, and the rest of it, and you’re good to go. Trust what’s already working!

Stay Focused

It’s tempting to want to pack as much into your brochure as you can. However, if you do too much, this can have a decidedly negative impact on your conversion rates. Instead, keep it simple and focused.

Prior to starting the brochure design process, sit down and figure out your primary purpose. Is this intended to be an introduction brochure, in which you attempt to show a cold audience what your brand is all about?

Or will the brochure be distributed to a warm audience to highlight a new product or offer? Also, consider where the brochure will be displayed and/or how it will be disseminated.

Based on the purpose of the item, you can focus your design and copy efforts upon a very specific goal. This ensures you don’t meander and bury the message.

Keep it Reader-Centric

There’s a fine line between explaining what your brand is and making the brochure all about you. The truth is that people largely won’t care about your brand. They care about themselves.

It’s fine to tell people who you are, but make sure you connect the dots between your brand and their desires, pain points, and expectations. Show them you understand.

Design a Killer Brochure

Brochures might seem old-fashioned in our digitally advanced world of marketing, but don’t confuse the idea of basic with ineffective. Despite being incredibly simple to create, brochures pack a powerful punch.

If you spend time fleshing out the finer details, you can ensure you’ll get the maximum return on your investment.