From an article by Jay Levinson (the Father of Guerrilla Marketing)
In a recent email from Jay Levinson (which you can sign up to receive here), Jay Levinson spelled out some really useful points to avoid common mistakes in developing print brochures for small businesses. They certainly apply to online (pdf) brochures too, and I forward them to you here.
- Don’t waste your cover panel or headline position with your company name. Instead, give them a reason to read the rest of your brochure.
- Don’t be unclear as to what your brochure should do for you. Is it to generate leads? Close sales? Prospects won’t take the time to figure it out.
- Don’t fail to answer the big question: “What’s in it for me?” Stress your benefits more than features using language your prospects understand.
- Don’t try to include too much in your brochure. If you have multiple offerings, open your mind to the idea of multiple brochures, not just one.
- Don’t be sloppy or unprofessional. Software enables you to do it yourself without having it look do-it-yourself. There’s no room for even a trace of amateurishness, smudges, inconsistent inking or crooked printing.
- Don’t be guilty of poor grammar or spelling. One misspelled word or poor use of grammar can undermine even the most compelling offers.
- Don’t allow any typos, contradictions, or omissions. Be careful and be consistent. Let a proofreader go over your final brochure before printing.
- Don’t forget to include a call for action. Say what you offer, what it means to customers and what they should do next. Call you? Fax you? Visit you? E-mail you? Tell them exactly or they’ll do zilch.
- Don’t have confusing order forms. Let someone who didn’t produce your order form fill it out. Assume nothing and test everything.
- Don’t limit yourself to a paper brochure. Perhaps it should be on a CD, DVD, or on the web.. The world is getting more paperless.
