A marketing brochure can be long-lasting or short-term. It can represent your business to potential customers and it can be a referral piece for existing customers. Decide the purpose of and goals for the marketing brochure before you begin to design and write. Remember, this brochure represents you and your business, so be sure its look and feel complements your business.

Here are few tips for when you are ready to begin:

• State your message up front—The selling message should appear on the cover of the brochure. For instance, “The XYZ Company—Consultants on Doing Business Overseas.”
• Include artwork—If you have space limitations, one large photograph or graphic is better than several small images that might not clearly portray your services or products.
• Photo captions—Photo captions are read twice as often as the main copy.
• Create a keeper—Make your brochure worth keeping. Include a calendar of events in your specific industry or some data that will be useful to potential clients in the future.
• Quality is key—Your publications reflect you and your business. Using one to four colors in the brochure will make it stand out over one that is black and white. A good quality paper stock is also important (and comes in many colors and shades if you choose to use black ink). Remember to consider the weight of the paper stock in relationship to mailing costs.

It is wise to have your brochure professionally designed. Even if you have computer graphic skills, design is best left to professionals.