A well designed brochure can do wonders for your business.  When a brochure does its job, which is to spark the reader’s interest, it means money in your pocket (or bank account, or cash register, or…wherever you put your company’s money).  But before you rush off to print up a fancy new brochure for your business, make sure you know what you’re doing.  There are a lot of misconceptions out there about what makes a good brochure.  Know them, and avoid them.  Here are some: 

Common Misconception #1: The More Information, the Better

Many companies make the mistake of designing their brochure like a book.  They include loads of information that the customer could get from their website.  When a customer looks at a brochure, he wants to see quick, enticing information; the kind of information that tells him that he needs to learn more about your company.  The details are best left to the website.

Common Misconception #2: Product Listings are Bad

One of the oldest myths about brochures is that listing specific products within a brochure (like you would in a catalog) is a bad thing.  Why?  What is wrong with showing your readers exactly what you have to offer?  Do not be afraid to use a little catalog design in your brochure printing. 

Common Misconception #3: Print it and Forget it

Brochures are not meant to be lone soldiers in the marketing war.  You have to back up your brochures with other marketing tactics, like a good website and effective advertising.  Your brochure is meant to pique a customer’s interest, but it’s not there to close the deal.  That’s what the rest of your marketing operation is for.

Common Misconception #4: A Fancy Front Page is all you need

This is probably the most common misconception out there.  Just look at a few brochures and you will notice that most of them have a very bright, colorful front page that demands attention.  Open them up, however, and you will usually be letdown.  You are not going to interest many customers if you can’t get them past the front page of your brochure.  Colors and enticing designs are great, but there is a whole lot more to an effective brochure than a neat package.

Common Misconception #5: Brochures are not the Place for Information

We already said that the heavy info is best left to the website, and we are not going to contradict that.  But many people also make the mistake of going too far the other way, and not putting any information in their brochures at all.  If all you are offering is a fancy brochure with the name of your company on it, then you are wasting money.  You have to tell the customer a little about your company, a little about what you can offer, and a little about why you are better than the competition.  

Get to know these brochure printing misconceptions.  Keep them close at hand, so that you can avoid them when you print your next brochures.