Copywriting Tips – 5 Qualities Of A Good Brochure

Even with sophisticated around-the-clock web presence, e-newsletters, blogs and other online devices, brochures (and brochure copywriters) continue to play a vital role in marketing. There’s permanence and a portability to a hard copy brochure; and brochures tend to be read and referred to at a different pace to web content, which means that sophisticated messages and arguments can be developed differently. And, of course, when a well-written and beautifully designed brochure drops through a letter-box it has an impact that no website can ever achieve. So, when it comes to copywriting tips, what are the five key copywriting qualities of a good brochure?
Every brochure should be objective-led
A good brochure tells a story
Engaging brochures balance persuasion with information
Brochure copy must work in partnership with design
It’s essential to get the brochure’s tone of voice right
Brochure copywriting should always be objective-led
From Gloucester, UK to Gloucester, Massachusetts, marketing budgets are precious and every penny must work effectively for brands. As with any marketing activity, brochure copywriting should always be led by a clear objective. What do you want your brochure to achieve and for whom? It’s simple and it’s fundamental to the success of your marketing collateral.
A brochure should tell a relevant story
A brochure should tell a story as the copywriter takes the reader on a persuasive, informative and relevant journey from front cover to the final call to action. That story will be crafted by your brochure objectives and the key messages that you agree with your copywriter.
Skilled brochure writers balance persuasion and information
Good brochure copywriters always emphasise benefits. Information alone, whether product features or service offers, is meaningless unless customers can understand what it means for them. This usually comes down to saving money, saving time and building or protecting reputations. Carefully crafted persuasive arguments, allied to irresistible customer benefits, lie at the heart of successful brochure content writing. For a brochure or any other marketing writing, focusing on customer benefits consistently emerges as one of the top copywriting tips.
In a good brochure, copy works in partnership with brochure design
Leave brochure design to amateurs and the result is usually overloaded pages, poor formatting and ill-considered interaction between copy, images and layout. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but ultimately it’s words that persuade. Copywriting and images should work in partnership, with each having space to breathe amid plenty of white space. The best brochure copywriting is designed in conjunction with the brochure’s graphic design; skilled brochure writers understand this.
It’s essential to get the brochure’s tone of voice right
While the same basic message can be delivered in many different ways, the choice of delivery can make a huge difference to how your business is perceived. Tone of voice will be led by your brand and the messages and values that you wish to communicate to your target audiences. From the subtle sell to a punchy ‘in your face’ approach; from playfully engaging to conservative and authoritative, tone of voice is the way your business speaks: careful consideration of the choice of words, the use (or avoidance) of specific phrases; their delivery and even their layout on the brochure page are all important. A good brochure copywriter will understand your brand and help you use tone of voice to portray your business in the way that you want.
Objectives, story-telling, balance, design and tone of voice. Combining these brochure copywriting qualities successfully is a specialised skill. Do you or your team really have that skill? And do you have the time to do your own copywriting? With so much at stake, including correct communication of your vital business message, one of the most valuable copywriting tips could be to hire an experienced brochure copywriter.