Have you ever thought that a booklet can be one of the most important of all your marketing materials?

It is a simple piece of paper but the original impact that your brochure produces is important. If it’s shabby and uninviting your prospect is left with the same feeling. This will slow your business development.

Having a pamphlet professionally designed and printed is a key to winning in a packed market. Taking the time to make sure that your leaflet delivers all the key data in a way that is easily understood is something that only a professional can do.

If you are just starting out in business you may be tempted to do your booklet yourself. When I first started in business I did everything myself – not a good choice. That is why it took me 12 years before I was even comparatively successful. Heed my warning – go professional from day one on your merchandising materials. They are an investment and not an expense. Professionally designed materials will deliver you customers and the cash flow to follow – the reason why you are in business.

A booklet has to use eye-catching design. It has to be brief in terms of the content and last but not the least, it must be successful in tempting people to make that call of action.

Here are three key design rules to follow when producing a booklet. Use them and you will see your results flow.

1. The cover:

The cover is your sales rep. Brochures are quite passive tools and you are not often able to ‘walk’ people through your leaflet. So you need to arouse people to read further. The cover is the starting point so must be tantalising and sharing the KEY values of WHY someone should read further. It should answer the WIFM question – What’s in it for me.

A good design company will show you at least three to four cover designs for your booklet. Examine these designs to examine which excites you the most. Ask your protagonists their impression. Does the cover answer the question WIFM? If it doesn’t arouse and answer the WIFM question, then skip to another design that works or get it redesigned. Taking the time here to get it right will pay bounties later.

2. The Content:

Once they are past the front then the message has to become the sales rep. So once again, the pressure is on to be great. Do not opt for cheap ineffectual content writers or ask the designer to write the content or worst still do it yourself. Instead make sure that a professional copywriter is doing the work. If your design company does not have a copywriter then hire one yourself.

Determine that all the important questions that a prospective client will have about your product are answered in a way that gets them to call you for more information. Do not go into ‘overkill mode’ and deluge them with too much information at this point in time. Remember the brochure’s job is to stimulate and get people to call you.

3. The call for action:

If your likely customer has read the brochure then you have done a great job. All you need to do now is give them a compelling reason to contact you NOW.

Having things like a free call 0800 or’00 number distinctly presented (in big letters) can make a fundamental difference. Having an email address is a clear bonus. Make sure these two are distinctly placed in large clear type.

Even give your customers a special voucher on the booklet or reference code can help. But above all, make sure that you add a clear call to action. One way to do this is to readdress the KEY value of your service to your prospect in a way that will get them to take action. Remember value is everything. People only buy something that is of value to THEM.

4. The piece that got missed:

I did this on purpose and only said there were 3 points. Well the final point is the one that can get missed. It is the ‘dummy’ one. Have you checked that you have these on your leaflet:

Phone number | Fax number | Email address | Web address | Country of operation | City / area of operation | Company name | And have you proof read for typo and grammar errors?

Discover how creative brochure designs can accelerate your business growth using qualified packaging design professionals. Click here to get your own unique version of this article with free reprint rights.

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