If you want to make a brochure for your business but don't quite know where to begin, the task isn't as daunting as you may think. You need to make a few decisions before you start, because a well-designed and carefully written print brochure speaks volumes about your business. To make a brochure you need more than strong copy and a good artist: creating brochures takes technical savvy and software knowledge.

If tempted to make your own brochure online or make a brochure using your word processing program, don't do it. Brochure services and graphic designers alike will tell you that to get a brochure professionally printed you need design software. You can create online brochures for your website on your own but transferring an online brochure to print isn't as simple as you may think.

If this sounds more than a little intimidating, don't despair. You can learn creating brochures basics and then decide how you want to go about creating brochures for your business. To start, you have three options:

1. Create online brochures rather than print brochures.

2. Buy the appropriate software and create brochures with it.

3. Hire a graphic designer or brochure service.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Create online brochures

Some businesses do so much business and get so many new customers online that they've stopped printing brochures. This might prove a viable option for your company if you conduct most of your business online. To make a brochure online you'll need either the right software or a web design company that will create online brochures for you.

I recommend: Buy a copy of Adobe Systems' Dreamweaver and start working on your online presence. Adobe offers a bevy of online training and help, which makes it easy for you to learn to create online brochures on your website. If you want a simple brochure online without intricate graphics or multimedia effects, then you can create online brochures using hypertext markup language (HTML). PageTutor.com has an excellent HTML tutorial to get you started.

Use the right software to make business brochures

Professional designers can't stress this enough: never use word processing software when you're creating customized brochures. Everything looks good on the screen and when you print it out on your printer, but when you try to send the layout file to a professional printer you'll discover that brochure printing doesn't work that way. It's worth the frustration you'll save to invest in desktop publishing software.

I recommend: Adobe Systems' InDesign or Quark lead the print industry. If you want to learn the create brochures basics then you will have to learn one of these programs. Both companies offer tutorials on their websites and as part of the software, but if you want to learn more about create brochures basics, then check out a company like Marrutt Software Training. It offers intensive tutorials, and you can view free demos before you buy.

Hire an outside designer or brochure service

If you want a print brochure but don't want to buy software and learn how to use it properly, then hire a brochure service or graphic designer to create brochures for your company. Graphic designers make their living creating brochures, websites and other design elements, so be prepared to pay for their talent and expertise.

I recommend: Find a graphic designer who has an online portfolio of his work, as does Tom Gibson's Tiki-Island.com. Once you're satisfied with the portfolio, call the business. This is one instance where you should call first and follow up with e-mails, because you need to hire an accessible designer. Alternately, you can use a service like Guru.com to search for a designer.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Start paying attention to brochures and when you see one you like, ask the company who created its business brochures.

A simple brochure can be a powerful marketing tool. You can leave it behind after a sales meeting, make it available near your point of sale or pop it in the mail to prospective customers. Creating a great brochure isn't rocket science. In fact, with just a few simple techniques, you can develop a brochure that entices customers to open it and read more rather than tossing it in the circular file.

A great brochure can:

1. Educate customers about the benefits of your products and services
2. Establish credibility and trust as an established business
3. Provide a long-lasting reminder of your business

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Decide on a concept

Determine how you'll use your brochure – will it be a leave behind after sales meetings, a point of sale offering or a direct mail marketing piece? The information you include will depend on its overall purpose.

I recommend: Download HP.com's how-to guide or PowerHomeBiz.com's online tutorial on creating marketing brochures for help getting started. Discover more about the various brochure types before you start designing and copywriting.

Sell benefits not products

Customers don't buy products or services, they buy the benefits of a product or service. In your brochure, concentrate on offering solutions to your customers' needs. Think about placing a statement or question that sums up the benefits you can provide for your customers on your front cover.

I recommend: Learn the cardinal rules of selling benefits at Marketing-Magic.com

Use headlines, bullet points, charts and images

Nobody wants to wade through massive blocks of text. Break up your text with strong images, bold headlines and other graphic elements that grab the reader's attention. Studies show that readers look at images and headlines first, body copy last. Because of this, try to get your most important information and selling points across in the images and headlines.

I recommend: Learn more about what copy should be included and where it belongs in the brochure at Digital Concepts For Business website.

Include a call to action

Your brochure should always ask customers to take action — order now, schedule an appointment, call to place an order, visit your Web site, see your new showroom, send in a form to receive a free evaluation, stop by your location to pick up a complimentary sample.

I recommend: Learn how to write a compelling call to action at BusinessKnowHow.com.

Create an eye-catching design

Whether you decide to design a simple brochure yourself or you hire a designer for a more complex design, you need to know the basics of brochure design. Get creative with your design to make your brochure more memorable. For instance, if you have a pizza delivery shop, create a brochure in the shape of a pizza.

I recommend: Stock Layouts templates makes it easy to design your own company brochure by simply editing the copy of over 95 existing designs that already include photo, artwork and layouts. You can also find free brochure templates at HP.com. Find out the difference in a c-fold, accordion fold and crossfold.

Hire a professional designer

If creating design seems too confusing or too time consuming, consider hiring a professional designer. Professional designers are often aware of options you may not even consider, including printing techniques such as spot varnishes, die cuts and bleeds.

I recommend: For reasons to hire a pro, check out Agency.Elance.com. To find a freelance graphic designer that specializes in brochures, post your job on IFreelance.com or Guru.com and get free bids from hundreds of designers.

Print it

Once you've come up with astellar design and easy-to-read copy, it's time to print your brochures. If you only need a small run of brochures, you may be able to print them yourself on a high-quality color laser or inkjet printer. In most cases, you'll need to outsource the printing.

I recommend: For quick, do-it-yourself jobs, find pre-scored glossy brochure paper at Avery.com. For bigger runs, get multiple quotes from printers that specialize in brochures at PrintIndustry.com. To get fast printing turnaround on a brochure that's ready to go, check out 48HourPrint.com or OvernightPrints.com.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Avoid listing prices, event dates or staff information that could change. This could result in having incorrect information in the public eye and be costly to reprint every time a change is required.
• •  Add an order coupon or a postcard to request more information on the back panel without compromising text on the opposite panel.
• •  Make a checklist of what needs to be included in the brochure and who needs to approve it before it goes to print. Have everyone initial the checklist after they've looked at proofs to ensure that all appropriate copy is included and there are no errors.

Business brochures introduce your company to potential customers. Unlike larger companies, small businesses can't depend solely on name or logo recognition and print brochures can help get your business known in the communities it serves. Before you're ready to design and print brochures, though, you should plan your brochure.

The technical aspects of creating brochures, such as design and printing specifics, come later. Right now you should focus on making the most of creative brochures that focus on what you say about your business and how your business brochures back up your message with photographs or artwork. Printing a brochure often represents a significant expense for the small business, so plan carefully before handing over text and photos to a brochure service or graphic designer. Ask the following questions as part of the planning process.

1. What information must your business brochure include?

2. What do you want your customized brochure to say?

3. How can you reinforce your brochure's message visually?

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Create brochure 'must haves'

Creating customized brochure text (graphic designers and writers call that text 'copy') for your print brochures gets your business's unique message out in the world, but make sure you include necessary information as well, like contact information, web addresses and any industry-specific legal notices. If you make a list with all this information, then you can simply hand it over to your copywriter when the time comes.

I recommend: Montana State University has a brochure copy checklist to use as you create brochure copy or talking points. You can learn more about these items--and determine which ones your business may or may not want to include--at the website for Randall Rensch.

Compose several key points, rather than trying to write the copy in business brochures

When you make a brochure you'll get the best results by focusing your business brochure around a few key ideas. You don't need to write the copy yourself (unless your business is copy writing) but you should have an idea as to what you want your print brochures to say.

I recommend: HP and StockLayouts offer a brochure content worksheet that you can view at Issuu. This will help you determine the focus for your print brochure. If you'd like more guidance, then you can learn more about creating customized brochure copy at John E. Fike Copywriting & Content.

Find ways to visually drive home the message in your business brochures

Few people will pick up and read business brochures that contain copy only. By now you should have a good idea of what written content you'll have in your company's print brochure and all you need to do is find ways to visually reinforce your message in your print brochures. This is also true if you want to create online brochures for your website. While brochure services and graphic designers who create brochures for businesses like yours will ultimately design your brochure, as the business owner you can and should think about these things and communicate with the brochure design team.

I recommend: If you don't have photos, then you can either ask your brochure service about providing them, browse the business brochure stock photo gallery at Fotosearch or download photos from the free image library at Hewlett-Packard.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  You may have read this guide and thought to yourself that your company doesn't need to hire a copywriter, graphic designer or brochure service. While you could probably create brochures on your own, you will save time, money and headaches by hiring someone to create brochures for your business. The software needed to create brochures that professional printers can print costs several hundred dollars, not to mention image editing software and time spent learning the software.
• •  Brochure printing is a separate cost from writing and designing business brochures, so make sure to budget for printing as well as writing and design. If your business has a tight budget for printing brochures, then ask your designer about ways to cut costs, such as using two colors instead of all of them.