Real Estate Brochure
Have you ever been handed a brochure at a conference or trade show, only to toss it aside without a moment’s thought? Of course you have—it happens all the time. But how do you make sure this doesn’t happen to the brochures you hand out? Use the following tips to create a brochure that people will actually open and read.
Design Your Brochures with a Specific Purpose in Mind
Before you begin designing a brochure, ask yourself the basic questions—who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Who is your target demographic? Do you want to appeal to 18-24 year old males, 10-14 year old girls, middle-aged homeowners, or seniors with disposable income? Think about your audience as you create your brochure.
What do you want the customer to do? Do you want the customer to buy a specific product, sign up for a monthly subscription, visit your website, or interact with your brand on social media? Be sure to include a call to action in your brochure that points customers toward your desired outcome.
When and where will someone receive the brochure? Is it being handed out at a trade show or mailed out as part of a direct mail marketing campaign? Some need to be easy to fold up and carry around at an event, while others can be browsed through leisurely at a table or booth.
Why should someone read the brochure? Will they learn more about your company’s history, or will it provide product specifications? Does the brochure provide interesting statistics, or teach the customer something new? There should be a benefit associated with reading your brochure. Make sure you know what it is.
How will the brochure be used? For example, brochures that will be used as sales tools need to be simple, short, informative, and easy to navigate so your salespeople can quickly point out product specs. On the other hand, brochures sent in the mail can be longer and more detailed for customers who want to do more research.
Keep the Design Clean
Once you understand the purpose of your brochure, you can start on the design. Good designs are clean and relatively simple. Your brochures should look professional and polished and they should be easy to read. Follow these design tips:
- Always take time to make sure everything is properly aligned.
- Consistency is important. Choose a color palette of colors that look good together, use multiple shades of the same color, or match the colors to your branding materials.
- Don’t use too many fonts. Using lots of different fonts can make your design look sloppy and fancy fonts can be difficult to read. Use one or two fonts, and if you need to add variety or emphasis change the size or us bold and italic versions of the same typeface.
Demonstrate Some Creativity
While your design should be simple and clean, it should not be boring. Demonstrate some creativity using one of the following ideas (or one of your own):
- Instead of using a word processor template, hire a professional to design your brochure.
- Use unique photos, taken specifically for your brochure instead of stock images.
- Have your brochures printed on interesting paper—the paper could be glossy, linen, or heavier than traditional paper. It just needs to be a little bit different than the rest.
- Design your brochures with a unique shape instead of sticking to the traditional tri-fold.
Use the tips above to create an effective brochure that will be read instead of being tossed aside.
Featured Image:
Real Estate Brochure
Image courtesy of HubSpot Marketing Team
