Copywriting Tips For Sales-generating Brochures
By Karon Thackston, Sat Dec 10th
Copywriting Tips for Sales-generating Brochures by KaronThackston © 2003 http://www.copywritingcourse.com Brochures have held an important place in marketing plans forlonger than most of us can remember. There is no doubt that theyhave the ability to generate sales and increase revenues. Whythen do so many of them fail? There are several aspects of copywriting for brochures thatamateur writers don’t consider. It’s those things that make orbreak the success of your efforts.
For the sake of generalization, let’s think about creating asix-panel brochure. (Also called a tri-fold brochure among otherthings.) This is created from an 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper thatis then folded twice. There are three panels on the front andthree on the backside of the original sheet. The Cover As if it wasn’t obvious, the cover is the most important panelin your brochure. Both the images and words need to grab thereader’s attention and pull him or her in. It has to becompelling enough to (a) strike an emotional chord, (b) make thecustomer want to pick up the brochure, and (c) make the readerwant to know what’s inside. So, why then do so many people simply put their company name anda picture of their building (or something equally as boring) onthis - the most important of all panels? I generally leave the writing of the cover as the last elementin my brochure-writing project. Once I’ve finished the rest ofthe copy, I read back over it at a leisurely pace. Then I stopto think. If I were asked to summarize the information in thisbrochure in 10 seconds, what would I say? If I had to name thesingle biggest benefit the customer will receive from thisinformation, what would it be? Those are excellent ways to generate covers for brochures. A fewexamples
are below. These are brochures that I’ve seen aroundtown that made me reach for them and want to know what wasinside. “Plastic kitchen set. Dollhouse. Dollhouse furniture. Pinktricycle. $427.66. Your checking account balance… $302.86. Getwhat you need when you need it.” This was for a cash advanceservice. This particular brochure was printed before theChristmas holidays so it had special appeal to lots of people. “Over 3,000 babies died last year alone due to improper safetyseat installations. Be SURE your child is safe!” Obviously, thiswas for a child safety seat inspection checkup. These make an emotional appeal, get the readers' attention, andmake them want to know more. Inside Panel Headlines These are just as important to the process as the coverheadline. Capture the true value of the information in eachsection and provide it to the reader within the headline. Information Panels For most brochures, making a sale on the spot is not theobjective. Driving traffic to a phone center or Web site is.Therefore provide the most impressive product/serviceinformation on the inside panels in order to help accomplishthis goal. In addition to the information about your products/services,incorporate calls-to-action like: “Call today for full details.” “Visit our Web site to see thecomplete color selection.” “Customer service specialists arewaiting for your call.” Once you understand the goals of your brochure, incorporatecompelling headlines, and include a cover section that generatesinterest, you are more likely to see success from your brochure.
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