FXSTD – Alternative Energy Center

By: karen grahams
Forget Your Name

It just seems natural to put your business name at the top of your brochure.  In fact, most people put their name at the top (or near the top) or all of their promotional material: website, brochure, business card, etc.

However, not putting your name at the top of your brochures is actually the way to go.  Why?  Because your business name is almost certainly not going to attract anyone to your business.  For instance, my brother owns a business called Covered Wagon Crafts.  Putting Covered Wagon Crafts at the top of his brochure is not going to entice too many people to read further, is it?

Instead, the top of my brother’s brochure says, “20% OFF all hand-crafted wooden treasures!”  Isn’t that a much more enticing headline?  I sure think so.

Offer Something Tangible

Instead of putting your name at the top of your brochure, go a different route the next time you develop a brochure printing project.  Put an offer at the top of your brochure, much like the woodworking brochure that I mentioned earlier.

You can offer a discount, as my brother does.  Or you can throw out a surprising tidbit of information.  Say something that gets the reader’s attention.  If you own a home security business, for instance, you could say: “Don’t Put Your Family’s Safety in Jeopardy.”  That will get people’s attention.

Avoid “We” and Focus on “You”

The focus of your brochure should be on your customers.  That means you should be talking about them, and how you can help them; not about you and your company.  Yes, you need to provide enough information about your company to make the reader feel comfortable doing business with you.  But the majority of your brochure should be about your customers.

Talk like a School Teacher

Your brochure should provide crisp, clear directions to your customers about how to take advantage of your services.  Tell them exactly how to contact you.  If you offer a discount for them to use on your website, make sure you tell them exactly how to use it.  Often, there will be a coupon code that the company will have to enter in order to get the discount; make sure they know what that is and when to enter it.

You want to approach your brochure as if you are a school teacher speaking to students.  This does not mean that you need to “talk down” to your customers and assume that they are not intelligent.  It simply means that you need to be clear and consistent with your words.  Go out of your way to ensure that you do not confuse the reader.  Make it as easy as possible for them to take advantage of your business.

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