Why? Because they’re unappealing.

Businesses assume they need a brochure to tell everyone what they do. And, that’s the problem. Most brochures are not focused on the customer.

Brochures abound at expos, conferences, and on countertop displays. It’s a very competitive environment in the world of brochures.

Visitors at expos often collect a small library of marketing materials from vendors by the final day. Most of them end up in the trash unless they engage people in the first few seconds they see it.

What makes for an effective brochure (i.e. one that will influence)?

Simple answer: the quality of the brochure.

The quality of any printed piece begins with engagement and the result is persuasion (i.e. influence) to some type of action. Most businesses assume that simply having a brochure with a logo engages and pictures of what they do will persuade. Ironically, printing companies are the worst at marketing their own services showing pictures of ink-spattered presses and cluttered print shop floors. What kind of sentiment does that communicate?

What facilitates and enhances engagement?

A printed piece must be visually pleasing to the eye and it must include content that leads to a logical and emotional conclusion. The 3 elements that accomplish engagement are the design, the images, and the words. If you’ll stay with me until the end of this article, you’ll be convinced the words are the most important component.

Most businesses make these 5 common mistakes in their print materials for marketing, particularly brochures:

1. Information Overload

A brochure is a snapshot of your business. The purpose is to influence the reader so they want to find out more—not provide a mini-biography. You’ve probably seen brochures like this. They’re crowded and cluttered with tiny margins, lots of small photos/images, and too much text on the page. A glance at it and the intuitive impression is “this is going to take a few minutes.” Guess what? You lost them. It didn’t engage, it repelled. Future fodder for the landfill.

2. Brand Blurriness

No clarity about who you are and what you do.

What is the question your brochure is answering or the problem it is solving?

Your logo is not your brand. It is a symbol or mark of your brand. Your brand is the intellectual and emotional sentiment that others form about your company. The most common mistake in branding on a brochure is the logo is either too large (shouting your logo) or too small (too quiet – have to search for it). The logo is a secondary part of the engagement of the piece.

The brochure should engage with a singular concept that draws the reader in to investigate what’s in the brochure which influences them to discover more by contact in person or on your website. Yes, the logo is the symbol which identifies you and your product, but it is not to be the most prominent visual component of the brochure. The logo (which represents your company and the solutions you provide) points to the answer to “What is provided by whom?” The logo needs to be displayed on the front and back of the brochure. That’s where people expect it and will look there to find it.

3. Image Extremes

Visual appeal. Think of those two words when choosing photos or illustrations for a brochure. Brochures by design communicate a limited amount of information. It’s not a feature article in Business Week or an annual report.

The most common mistakes made on brochures regarding photos/images are too much and too many. The “too much” component is about complex photos. It’s great that you have a great team of people in your business, but a two-inch wide photo means the ten people in it are about ¼ of an inch tall. The human element is lost. A single photo of one person’s facial expression will have a greater impact than 10 unrecognizable people in a group.

The “too many” mistake is the result of an attempt to convey your message through photos. The real estate on a brochure is limited. Too many photos necessarily require smaller images. The smaller they get, the less effective. Simplicity is the key for images in a brochure. The marketing principle holds true, “A bullet is better than buckshot.”

4. Search Anxiety

When people look at your brochure they should not have to think or feel like they have to search for something. Critical information that is hard to find fosters frustration and creates a negative sentiment that you don’t want to be associated with your brand. Contact info, web address, and the physical location should be easy to find on the piece and a size which is easy to read.

White space is an important component in the design of a brochure giving relief to the eye and the neutral space that they eye glides over from section to section. Brochures crammed with text and photos are not appealing, they are repelling. You may feel good that you included so much about your company to inform the potential customer. They are likely looking at it feeling like it’s going to be work to read it.

5. Confusing Copy

Design and images convey, but words communicate. The words are usually considered last, but they are the most important part of the brochure. The words sell.

The design helps, the photos and illustrations help, but the words (copywriting) are what influence people to sign-up, enroll, or purchase. Wordless brochures don’t exist because without well-written words they don’t communicate effectively.

Preparing a brochure should begin with writing the key ideas you want to provide the reader. Yes, it really does help to begin on paper, folding it to the size of the brochure.

Are you answering questions the customer is not asking?

Usually, asking questions from the potential customer’s perspective will be a good guide. Too many brochures answer questions the customer is not asking. Ultimately, the brochure is not about your company. It’s about the customer—their problem you are solving and their concerns about trusting you to solve those problems.

Spend the lion’s share of your advertising dollars on the copywriting and the design of the printed piece (in that order). Your brochure will get read and it will keep your bottom line out of the red.

The principle of know-like-trust is the foundation of marketing—in person, online, and even in a brochure.