5 Reasons Most Brochure Designs Fail

There are five major reasons that brochure designs fail and most of these reasons can actually be applied to any direct mail marketing materials you design.

Avoid the five pitfalls below, and you’ll give your client’s brochure the best possible chance to influence the reader and turn potential customers into live customers—buyers!

1. Too Much Copy

More is less. People don’t want to read copy—they want a quick solution to a perceived or real problem. Determine what problems your solutions will solve, and focus your brochure on those points. Write a rough draft, and slice and dice words. Use action verbs and descriptive nouns. That allows you to use fewer adjectives and adverbs, which weigh down the reader and force the eyes to glaze over. And, always ask for the sale!

2. Not Appealing To Your Demographic

To design for your demographic, you have to know what your demographic is. Then, you have to understand your demographic. You don’t want to use “gothic” design elements when you’re appealing to senior citizens—even if it’s “so you.” You wouldn’t want a photo of Liberace in a brochure advertising wedding music, because you’re targeting 20-somethings. It’s all about your market and what appeals to them.

3. Making a Weak Offer

No offer is better than a weak offer. In addition to identifying and understanding your market, you have to know your competition. Keep tabs on them and learn their sale cycle—when and how often they offer specials. If you see them offering a special at frequent intervals, it means that it’s a good offer. You can model your offers on successful businesses in your market space, but you’ll want to do something to set your business apart from the pack. Now, that’s a strong offer.

4. Bad Mailing Lists

Until you have grown your business to the point that you have a solid in-house mailing list, you’ll need to rent lists. You’ll want to work with a reputable direct marketing company with a proven track record. You may pay a little more, but a solid mail list is essential. Renting a mail list that is not regularly “de-duped” and culled will cost you money and dilute your results. Further, you want to narrow your list to match your demographic as closely as possible so that you are targeting the right audience with your direct mail pieces.

5. Bad Timing

What’s bad timing? Have you ever gone to the mailbox and seen a brochure that says, “Deliver by December 10” only to receive the brochures on December 15—after the offer has expired? That’s not the only example of bad timing. Suppose that you are targeting medium-sized corporations with a service. You don’t want your brochures to hit in July when the decision makers are vacationing at their beach houses. Good timing is blanketing your market just as they begin to need your product or service.

Going light on the copy, designing for your demographic, extending enticing offers, using solid mail lists, and timing your offers perfectly is a recipe for success.