When designing any marketing collateral, it’s important to understand that most people make decisions based on emotion, not logic. I know that many people think that they are personally immune to this reality, but studies show this is true for the vast majority of people. Knowing this will help you reach your ideal clients and customers and generate more sales. Here are my top six tips to apply when developing a flyer, brochure or any sales or marketing piece.

1. Use a Memorable Headline. Grab their attention quickly by answering this question that is in your reader’s head: What’s In It For Me? Let them know immediately that this flyer include information they need. Here is an example:

   “Do Your Marketing Materials Include These 6 Essential Components?”

   This headline got you reading this article, right? And therein lies my point!

2. Keep Their Interest. Now that you’ve gotten their attention, you must keep it. Do this by telling them exactly what your headline promises. No need for fluff – get right down to business. Tell them what they want to know starting with your first sentence or phrase. Don’t waste your valuable space on the flyer with unnecessary information. Make it easy for people to read by using bullet points and easy-to-read fonts. Speak to the emotion you are relating to or the struggle they are dealing with. If you can give them a guarantee, that’s even better. For example:

   “Stop having bad hair days with our “Everyday is a Great Hair Day” Guarantee.”

3. Benefits, Benefits, Benefits! You must create a desire for your product or service, and the best way to do that is spell out the benefits of your offer. You can tell them what they’ll gain from your offering or conversely, what they’ll lose if they don’t make the purchase. Use emotion-based words like new, younger, save, free, guarantee and so forth. Here’s an example:

   “Look and feel 10 years younger!”

4. Create a Clear Call To Action. Many people actually forget this part. It’s easy to do because in your mind, you’re thinking, “This is the greatest offer in the world! My phone will be ringing off the hook,” or “My store will be slammed!” However, if you don’t make it very clear what you want the reader to do, chances are you’ll never hear from them. Here are some good examples:

   “Click here to register today,” or “Call us today at XXX-XXXX,” or “Visit www.YourURL.com for this special,” or “Bring in this post card for a special offer.”

5. Use a P.S. Let’s face it. We’re all busy and are used to skimming things. This means that some people will only ready your headline at the top and the P.S. at the bottom. Use the P.S. to get your prospects to take action immediately. Here’s an example:

   “P.S. Order today and receive a free $27 candle! Order today at www.YourURL.com.”

6. Great Layout. While you need to cover the main benefits of what you’re selling, it’s also important to have some “white space” so you don’t overwhelm your reader. White space is nothing more than empty space on your flyer that gives your reader’s eyes a rest. Also, be sure to select colors and images that are congruent with your branding. Using two different fonts can be a nice touch to break up the words on your marketing piece.

While a flyer or brochure will not likely sell hundreds of products or services by itself, if you apply those basics to your next marketing piece and present it to the people you are building relationships with, you will enjoy much better results!

© 2011 Meredith Liepelt, Rich Life Marketing

Meredith Liepelt, President of Rich Life Marketing, offers a free report called “101 Ways to Attract Ideal Clients, Build Your List and Raise Your Profile,” which can be downloaded immediately at www.RisingStarPublicity.com.

This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author bio are included.