Your brochure is one of the most important elements of all your marketing communications.
Take the time to prepare it carefully so that it properly reflects you and what you do well…serve clients.
Attractive Advertisements
Brochures are small attractively designed and produced advertisements.
Although traditionally printed on high quality paper remains the most common approach, electronic format are becoming increasingly popular.
While design costs will be much the same, it is less costly to produce e-brochures…they can also be more easily distributed over a broader geographic area.
These advertising pieces contain text and graphics that introduce you, your brand and your brand promise. Ideally, they will impress prospective clients enough that they will contact you.
At the very least, your message will help prospects remember you favorably, increasing the likelihood of a positive response when you follow-up.
Preparing The Text
The 3S approach—short, simple and sweet—is ideal for the text or words.
The limited space available means that you must get your message across in as few words as possible. Short text also helps readers get your message by simply scanning the text.
Too much text turns readers off and speeds your the journey of your costly advertising to the recycling bin.
Simple words are what most people use in everyday conversation. Neither technical terms or industry jargon, they convey your message clearly and concisely.
The last thing you want from your advertising message is to leave readers wondering what your message was all about.
Sweet text tells readers what they want to hear. What do they want to hear? It’s usually how you can help them. That’s your brand promise…pure and simple.
Make Your Words Sell
Without a doubt, words sell…and great words sell a lot.
Make Your Words Sell is a down-loadable e-book will help you learn how to select and use words that will help persuade prospects to contact you…as well as help persuade clients and contacts to make referrals to you.
The Front Cover
The front cover is like a newspaper headline. It provides enough content to engage readers and encourage them to read more.
Your brand promise—in a short and concise version–is ideal for the front cover. In presenting the benefits that your services deliver, you stimulate readers desire to learn more.
Intrigued by how you can help them, interested readers will open your brochure to learn more.
The front cover is also a good place for your professionally prepared photograph.
Keep in mind that the one and only purpose of the front cover is to guide readers inside to read your message. Don’t ruin the appearance with too much clutter on the front cover.
The Back Cover
This is usually the least read element.
Your contact information—and nothing else—should go on the back cover. Limit your contact information to the basics: your name, office, primary phone number, website and email address.
In some jurisdications, agents are required to include specific provisions in their advertising.
These provisions could include the nature of the agent’s licence such as ‘sales representative’ or ‘broker’ and their office location and contact information.
It might also be necesary to add disclaimers such as ‘not intended to solicit properties listed for sale’.
In preparing your brochure, check to see what, if any, regulatory provisions apply to your advertising.
Unless otherwise restricted, the back cover is the best place for any regulatory requirements.
The Inside
The inside section is the most important element. This is where you help prospective clients understand why they should choose you as their real estate agents.
Your message will include succinct versions of your personal brand and brand promise.
This is also the best place for testimonials.
A brief summary of your personal brand, using one or two sentences, is a great way to start this section.
You want to give readers the message that you are different from other agents. You also want them to believe that by selecting you as their agent, they are making the best and most logical choice.
Although your brochure is intended to be read by as many people as possible, talk directly to individual readers.
Use the second person ‘you’, ‘your’ and ‘yours’: “you want…”; “your needs” and “…making it yours”.
Also use the first person ‘I’ and its variations…but use it sparingly.
A good rule of thumb is to use the first person no more than half as many times as you use the second person ‘you’ and its variations.
It’s also helpful to group ideas under heading and subheadings.
This makes the text easier to read, allowing readers to better understand specific ideas. The occasional use of point form is an effective format for presenting similar and related ideas.
Putting It All Together
Not only can you prepare the first draft of your text, you should.
Having developed your personal profile, a description of your personal brand and statement of brand promise, you know what message you want to convey.
Your knowledge of your market and the kinds of clients you serve will help you say what prospective clients want to hear.
However, once you have developed a first draft of the text, turn the writing element over to some one experienced in writing advertising copy.
Working from your first draft, an experienced copy writer can produce the kind of quality writing that you need and deserve.
Instead of laboring over wordsmithing advertising copy, spend your time finding new clients and looking after existing ones.
Similarly, once you have a basic idea of what you want your brochure to look like, pass the overall design on to an experienced graphic designer.
Your designer can also help you select appropriate paper and suggest a printer to produce the finished product.
After all, you deliver quality client service….everything about your marketing communications should also reflect this quality.
Using Your Brochure
Whether in paper or electronic format, your brochure will help introduce you to strangers and help them remember you.
Ideal distribution points for print versions include:
- door to door canvassing
- direct mail
- trade shows
- social networking
- referral partners
- enclosures with newsletters and ‘keeping-in-touch’ mailings
In order for electronic versions to successfully convey your message, people must read them.
And to get your message read, you must tell people about it.
Every printed marketing communication should include a reference to your e-brochure and include its specific URL.
In practice, your brochure represents you you when you are not physically present.
This means that your brochure must be as good at what it does as you are at what you do.
