Everyone can recognize a brochure—you might even have one or more in your home or workspace right at this moment! What few people realize is just how versatile brochures can be. These trifold documents are so much more than the papers you read through at a rest stop or in a new travel destination. On the contrary, brochures can be some of the most helpful materials a company can utilize in their advertising and marketing efforts, generating brand recognition, sharing new products, and driving sales.
Creating a custom brochure doesn’t have to be a difficult endeavor, either. Most of your go-to content creation programs, from Google Docs to Microsoft PowerPoint have the basic functionality if you’re willing to learn. Alternatively, you could outsource brochure creation to a more experienced individual or company. Perhaps the simplest option, though, is to utilize an online brochure maker to build your brochure with ease. This not only makes these graphic design and marketing skills more accessible but also lets you have greater control over your brochure design than you would when outsourcing, letting you create a brochure that works for exactly your intended use.
1. Introducing a Brand
In many cases, a brochure’s primary function is to introduce its reader to a brand or another broad concept in the most general sense. For example, a brochure might tell you basic information about a particular company or the most recognizable type of brochure—a travel destination brochure. You might read through a brochure to learn about ways you can spend a vacation at Yosemite National Park, for example. In either case, the brochure will take a bird’s-eye view of its subject, whether that’s a brand, location, or different broad topic.
2. Promoting a Product
While a brochure can introduce the reader to a particular type of service, brochures can also promote products and services as a smart marketing tactic. For example, brochures on Yosemite National Park hotels not only offer information on hotels and activities in the Yosemite area, but they also promote the surrounding hotels as a way to attract new guests and customers. If the reader doesn’t end up booking a room in that hotel, they may still visit the hotel as a restaurant diner, or keep the brochure for their next visit to the area.
If you use a pamphlet to advertise your business, the chances are that the reader will keep your brochure if they feel they will benefit from your services. After learning about the points of interest around Yosemite, you might pick up a few brochures for hotels, lodges, cabins, cottages, and other accommodations in the Yosemite area. Be it a product such as a specific hotel or service, these promotional brochures highlight everything a customer needs to know about a certain offering while persuading them to try it for themselves.
3. Personalizing Your Business
Public speakers usually target one specific person in a large crowd. This technique helps the speaker communicate on a personal level with the audience, which is often more practical than speaking to hundreds of people. Likewise, your brand’s brochure can use the same tactic.
As your potential customers read your brochure, you have the opportunity to engage in one-on-one communication with them. This is why it’s important for your brochures to tell your clients why they need your product or service. Although they could get the information from your website or social media platform, written material always adds that personal touch.
When creating a brochure with any of these purposes in mind, it’s important to note that you’ll need to customize both the pamphlet itself and your strategy for using it. For instance, a Yosemite hotel might place general brochures in rest stops across the region or at other national parks, where their target audience will inevitably encounter it. As a tangible, offline marketing tool, a great location is crucial to using a brochure for the greatest possible impact.
In any case, you’ll find that a brochure can promote a company or product, introduce a potential customer to what’s in store, or otherwise advertise your brand. When put in the perfect place, you’re sure to see your marketing goals coming to fruition.