If you want to create flyers or sales brochures, there are a few essential steps you need to follow to make sure you produce quality materials that will serve your communication needs.
What's the main difference between a leaflet and a brochure?
While leaflets and brochures have the common feature of being multi-page printed documents, they don't serve the same purpose.
The brochure
A leaflet is a document that you use on a one-off basis to bring certain information to the attention of your customers and prospects. It can be used as part of a limited-time promotional offer, to announce the release of a new product, to suggest participation in an event, to organize a contest...
Sales brochure
It has a longer lifespan than a leaflet. It's also more general, as its aim is to present as much essential information as possible about your company's activity (area of expertise, references, testimonials from satisfied customers...).
The preliminary stages in creating a brochure or sales leaflet
Defining your objectives
You need to know what you want to achieve before you decide to produce a leaflet or brochure. Generally speaking, the creation of a brochure is the first step in commercial communication, since it gives you excellent visibility when you take part in trade shows. It often goes hand in hand with a business card.
Choosing the information to be included on the document
While it's obvious to know what you want to highlight on a brochure (promotional offer, special event, sponsorship, sale...), creating a sales brochure requires you to devote sufficient time to giving a complete overview of your business. So, if you can, organize a brainstorming session right from the start, where everyone can freely express their ideas. Make a note of the exchanges, then go back over them again with a clear head. This is an excellent way of making sure you don't forget anything.
Selecting the right format
For a leaflet, the most common formats are :
- Single fold: 2 sections, i.e. 4 pages
- Accordion or rolled fold: 2 folds (i.e. 3 sections and 6 pages)
- Accordion or rolled fold: 3 folds (i.e. 4 sections and 8 pages)
The two most commonly used formats for sales brochures are :
- Closed format: A4 (i.e. 21 cm x 29.7 cm), portrait orientation
- Open format with 2 flaps : A3 (i.e. 42 cm x 29.7 cm) or its 3-part version (63 cm x 29.7 cm)
You select the format that suits you best, depending on the length of the text you want to highlight and whether or not you want to include visuals.
At this stage of your project, it's time to make a pre-model. This will enable you to define the architecture of your document by positioning the spaces devoted to text and those for visuals. You'll then have to judge the result and balance all the parts to create visual harmony for the reader's comfort.
A crucial step: writing the content
Writing the content of a sales brochure or leaflet requires :
- short, easy-to-understand sentences
- well-separated paragraphs
- a text free of spelling mistakes
You must also check that all data (address, RCS, telephone number, fax number, rates...) are correct.
A brochure or leaflet is first and foremost an advertising tool to publicize all your offers, a particular product, a limited-time offer... It is therefore important toidentify the profile of your future buyers and apply the AIDA method, i.e. :
- attention-grabbing writing
- highlighting the interest of your offer for the target audience
- a presentation that arouses desire
- a sentence that prompts action (requesting further information, making an appointment, making a purchase, etc.).
Adding visuals
You can add photos (taken by yourself or by a professional), images (designed by a graphic designer or sourced from a royalty-free image bank). This choice will generally be made according to your budget. Don't forget that a sales brochure lasts over time, so it requires special attention to the quality and originality of the visuals.
The final stage
You've read and, preferably, had your colleagues proofread your leaflet or brochure. Now you're ready to send it to the printer. Insist ona final proof. This will enable you to carry out a final proofreading (ideally by a third party who was not involved in the creation of the document) before giving your approval for printing.
A final word of advice: don't try to rush things, and leave yourself plenty of time for reflection at every stage in the design of your leaflet or brochure.