News
 How
to Create a Tell-All Direct Mail Brochure
By Dean Rieck
A direct mail brochure should not be an illustrated
version of your letter. Your letter is a sales
pitch, meant to be read generally in sequence from
beginning to end. It should make a personal,
emotional connection. And it should make a promise
and ask for the order.
Your brochure, on the other hand, is factual support
for the letter and meant to be scanned or read in
any order. It is less personal. It should illustrate
features, list benefits, provide proofs, make
comparisons, and list technical details that lend
credibility to what your letter claims.
• Make a visual impact. If your letter has done its
job, your prospect should be saying, “Sounds good.
Show me.” Illustrate the use of your product, its
benefits, and results. Show how your promise will be
fulfilled. Use photos, illustrations, diagrams,
charts, tables, and other visual aids.
• Make the brochure readable. Use design to draw the
reader into the copy, not to call attention to
itself. Use a readable typeface. Avoid large blocks
of italic or reversed type. Divide your copy into
short sections. Highlight important items with
borders, boxes, and color. Use bullet lists for
miscellaneous or technical information.
• Use headlines to tell a complete story. Avoid
empty statements, such as “Why customers love Yahoo
Widgets.” Use specific and complete sentences, such
as “You’ll love Yahoo Widgets because they last
longer and cost less.” Some people will only scan
the headers, so make sure they get the gist of your
message at a glance.
• Start strong on the cover. A brochure isn’t a
stage show where you have to wait for the curtain to
open before the drama begins. Right on the front
cover, put a big benefit in your main headline. Use
secondary headlines for secondary benefits. Then use
copy and graphics to lead your reader through the
rest of the brochure.
• Develop your big benefit immediately. Use your
first few sentences to summarize what the rest of
the brochure will detail. This will help careful
readers understand what is to follow. And it will
help scanners by putting most of the important ideas
up front.
• Highlight the benefits and list the features.
Benefits are what sell. And every important benefit
should be highlighted, perhaps with subheads and
detailed copy. But don’t forget the features. Some
people make final decisions based on what features
are or are not included, so don’t leave anything
out.
• Restate the offer clearly. Have you presented a
persuasive pitch for the offer in your letter? Good.
But since the brochure’s purpose is to support the
letter, you must restate the offer. Illustrate it.
Detail it. Dramatize it. Include premiums,
deadlines, a toll-free number, and ordering
instructions.
• Feature a strong guarantee. A guarantee reduces
the fear of getting stuck with a lemon and increases
confidence in your company. It’s one of the few
techniques that almost universally boosts response.
• Group your testimonials. Testimonials support your
claims. But they also engage the “bandwagon” effect:
lots of people use your product or service, so it
must be desirable. Sprinkling testimonials
throughout your brochure diminishes this effect.
• Use the most effective selling format. If you want
to make a big impression, use a broadside. If you
have a long story to tell, use a booklet. If your
offer is simple, use a flier. Select the format
based on what is needed for a particular promotion,
not on arbitrary design specs.
---Source: Dean Rieck is a leading
direct mail
copywriter. For more copywriting and selling
tips, sign up for Dean’s FREE
direct response newsletter and get a free
report, 99 Easy Ways to Boost Your Direct Mail
Response.
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