The 3 steps to know how to make a brochure that attracts your future customers

The brochure remains a must among printed communication media. In a few pages, it allows you to convey a strong and precise message about your company, its values, the products and services it offers, a specific commercial operation, etc. In order for it to be as impactful as possible, it is necessary to carefully design your brochure, to take care of its printing but also to distribute it widely. To help you with this important task, we at Copymage have drawn up an instruction manual explaining how to make a brochure in 3 simple steps.

Step 1: Develop the content of your brochure

Whether it is an advertising brochure dedicated to a particular promotional offer or a 24-page magazine presenting your company, its values and its flagship products, it is always essential to begin the design of a brochure by identifying the objectives to be achieved through this communication.

• How can you make a brochure without first asking what it will be used for?

There are many reasons to make a brochure: to make your company known, to communicate about a new product or service, to inform about a commercial operation, etc. The first thing to do is to clarify the subject and themain objective of the brochure.

• How can you make a brochure without first asking yourself who it will be aimed at?

You certainly want to make a brochure that appeals to as many people as possible. However, the wider the target audience, the less effective the brochure. It is only by targeting certain segments of the population that you will be able to address them with an adapted message, coherent with their values, using an appropriate and effective language.

• How can you make a brochure without first asking yourself what actions it should trigger? 

Like any communication medium, the brochure must incite its readers to take action. This call to action will vary according to the objectives that you will have determined beforehand and the message must be expressed very clearly: "Come and take advantage of the sales from July 7 to August 3", "We are waiting for you for the inauguration party of our premises from 2pm".

Ideally, the content of your brochure will combine text and illustrations in a harmonious way.

• How to make a brochure with attractive editorial content?

By adapting the tone, the vocabulary, and even the amount of editorial content to the target audience. If you are designing a 16-page magazine presenting your toy collection before the Christmas season, you are targeting a children's audience. Therefore, the texts will have to be short and use a simple language level. If, on the other hand, you want to make a brochure presenting the new books available in your bookstore for the new literary season, it will be necessary to leave a large place to synopses written in a sustained language.

• How to make a brochure with attractive illustrations?

The illustrations must be consistent with the objectives and targets of the brochure, but they must also be harmonious throughout the brochure. You can use photos you have taken yourself, images from image banks or drawings. Make sure that you have the rights to use all the images used in your brochures.

The layout of your brochure is a key issue: by favoring a balanced, airy, fluid layout, you will encourage readers to continue reading your brochure. If, on the other hand, the texts are too long and poorly arranged, your brochure will quickly be abandoned by readers despite your efforts to choose attractive content and illustrations.

• How to make a readable brochure?

The structuring of the editorial content plays an essential role in the readability of your brochure: prefer short paragraphs, use a system of bullets to list the information in a simple and pleasant way,put certain key words in bold or italics to allow readers to identify at a glance the main points you wish to highlight.

• How do you make a brochure that's fun to read?

Make the content of your brochure airy! Don't hesitate to skip lines, leave white space between text and illustrations, include neutral margins, as well as free tops and bottoms of pages. This will make your brochure a much more pleasant read. Finally, play with the layout of the illustrations. Stapled brochures allow for a full opening, so the illustrations can cover two pages face to face without losing their quality.

Step 2: Print the brochure

The printing phase is crucial, no matter which of the many range of bound files. It is about choose, with the help of your professional printer, the support and the finishes that will set the final tone of your brochure.

• How to make a brochure adapted to its use?

When making a brochure, the choice of the final medium is as important as the choice of the content or the layout.

When your project is ready, we at Copymage will be happy to discuss its features with you.

- the choice of the format: you can make a brochure in different dimensions (A4, A5, made to measure, etc.)

- the choice of the shape: your brochure can be rectangular (portrait or landscape) or square and even custom-made.

- the choice of the type of paper: it is an essential point. You can choose a paper of a more or less important weight (from 80 g/m2 to 170 g/m2). This will result in a more or less flexible brochure. Furthermore, the paper can be coated or uncoated. In the first case, the paper will have a smoother surface (glossy or matte) which will emphasize the colors.

- the choice of finishes: you can opt for a matte, glossy or peach skin lamination that will enhance both the inside pages and the cover of your brochure. You can also apply a selective varnish, a 3D varnish, a gilding on the cover of your brochure to add a touch of originality that will make your brochure stand out from the crowd.

All these choices have a considerable influence on the final result of your brochure and reflect your company's brand image.

• How to make a brochure that meets your expectations? Above all, do not rush to make a quality brochure! Sometimes the file you send us has small errors that could compromise the quality of your brochure (colorimetry, image definition, lack of bleed, too short margins, etc.). For this reason, at Copymage, we check all your files for free before printing. Furthermore, we offer you the option of printing a proof copy of your brochure to check that it meets your expectations before printing the tens or hundreds of copies that you will distribute to your future customers and prospects.

Step 3: Distribute the brochure

The distribution phase of your brochure is fundamental. You can design an exceptional brochure, but if it is not distributed properly, you will not achieve your objectives.

• How to make a brochure that reaches its target?

In the first step of designing your brochure, you defined a target population. Now it's time to list the locations where you think you can reach that specific population. If your goal is to attract local residents to your store, you can put your brochure in the mailboxes of the surrounding area. If you want to appeal to a particular age group, you'll need to identify where those specific people are passing through. For example, to attract the attention of young parents, you may want to take your brochure to children's centers or hand them out in parks. If you want to reach sports enthusiasts, target sportswear stores, sports clubs or sports venues.

• How to make a brochure accessible to your prospects?

There are many opportunities to distribute your brochure to your prospects. You can plan a mail campaign, make your brochure available on the counter in your store, organize a special event where you can distribute your brochure, display your brochure on your booth at a trade show, include your brochure with every remote purchase, etc.

One last tip: choose quality of distribution over quantity. It is better to distribute a smaller number of brochures to people who are really interested, than to distribute them widely on the street to people who will not take the time to consult it.

That's how to make a brochure in 3 steps! And don't forget, if you're in a hurry, we at Copymage offer you the possibility of printing all your brochures in 4 hours with the Express option. For more information, contact us:

• by telephone on 01 42 61 00 33
• by e-mail to contact@copymage.com
• or at the workshop located 8 rue Saint Roch, 75001 Paris