When it comes to selling your products and services, many companies miss a trick when it comes to writing the copy for promotional brochures. This is because many businesses pack their glossy, well-produced brochure with just the key features of their latest offers and new solutions, without actually selling the benefits of what it is they're offering. Far from getting inside the client's mind and thinking about what they need, most company brochures make the fatal mistake of ‘focusing on information instead of persuasion' (1).

A brochure is a sales document. It must present the reader with a compelling solution to their specific needs in a clear and consistent voice, using language they will find appealing. The tone of the copy shouldn't be focused on your own company, but on the customer and their requirements. You should also be clear on where the brochure sits within your marketing mix, and adjust the tone accordingly. For example, is it designed to close the deal or sell a meeting? It's important to think about who will be reading it and what you want them to do next.

Once you've established your market, key benefits and required tone of voice, you need to consider the structure of your brochure. It's useful to work with the designer on this part of the process, so you can coordinate the length of copy needed and what sections it will be divided into. You can ‘bolt on' copy into a design, but it's better to work on the two in tandem as the results will appear more cohesive. At this stage, it's also crucial to consider how your copy fits with the images and graphics you're using. If chosen carefully, your images will speak for themselves in conveying your key messages, and you can write the words to complement them.

The captions you use to accompany pictures and graphics are also very important. Most people remember these over and above anything else in your brochure, so use them as a chance to sell your services in a positive way. One last point on graphics, confine technical information such as charts, graphs etc to their own section - don't break up flowing and persuasive copy with badly placed graphics. Such detailed charts and graphs are important for creating credibility, but only if used in the right way.

Throughout your brochure copy, remember to keep referring back to the needs of your customer, highlighting the benefits of every feature you mention. Make your section titles emotive and attention grabbing too. If you also establish possible objections that might exist in the reader's mind - and deal with these questions - your copy will be even more persuasive. If you speak to the target audience in the right tone of voice, establish credibility (using relevant testimonials if they complement your message), and create enticing, page turning reasons for buying your products and services, then your readers will feel compelled to act.

The final part of the process, therefore, is prompting your customers to actually ‘do' something with the persuasive copy you've put before them. A point also frequently missed in many company brochures. A strong ‘call to action' is essential if you don't want all your hard work to go to waste. If you want the client to meet you, then ask them. Equally, if you want the customer to place an order, tell them to order now and give them several options on how to do it.

If you take some time to understand your customer's requirements, and structure your copywriting to meet these needs in a coherent and persuasive way, (always selling benefits not features), then your next company brochure will achieve the really positive results you are hoping for.

Sources

1. John Kuraoka, ‘How to write a brochure: advice from an advertising copywriter', 2006.