How to design effective, eye-catching marketing collateral
Daily, it seems, someone’s telling me they do all their marketing online. Print media, business cards, brochures, and the like have faded from marketing plans intent on ignoring these communications vehicles’ importance and proven historical success.
Such thinking is shortsighted, ignoring the significance of a holistic approach. Initially, every tool must be an option, only getting cut if it won’t meet objectives, audiences, budgets or timelines.
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Attention-grabbing collateral comes from using proper fonts, layout, type size, images, captions, paper, and color.
Your content’s objective is simple: MAKE THE SALE! Use short, powerful active verbs; avoid passive voice; don’t get too fancy; and keep sentences brief.
For headlines, you’ll attract attention by:
Using larger type
Utilizing complementary (albeit different) fonts from the body copy
Trying a splash of color
Incorporating action verbs and perhaps some humor
Want more effect? Use subheads to break the copy into chunks. They’ll expand your points, provide structure and visual relief, and draw out the items you want to focus on.
Also, subheads can be tricky, so use color, size, or reversed type; put lines above and below to make it noticeable; and never place them at the end of a page or column.
Communicate your message using graphics, and don’t fear white space…within reason. Remember that imagery informs and creates atmosphere. Photos set the moods and manipulate emotions, while charts tell complicated stories quickly.
I’ll also confess I’m an avowed stick figure guy rather than a designer. I’ll rough out ideas, then ask an expert to make it look pretty.
This lets me focus on what I do best, ensuring the finished product looks professional and delivers the desired results.
This is why I’d encourage you also to hire a professional graphics designer to create your materials so you can do what you do best.
Not convinced? Do you want to design your sales materials to avoid having to pay someone else? Are you thinking you can just use Canva or another design app?
Just recognize you’re spending valuable time on something you’re probably not good at. You’ll risk not meeting your sales goals, missing family time, or having your stuff look like everyone else’s.
And if you do it yourself, be sure to return next week for 20 design blunders that scream “Amateur!”
With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.
Get professional advice at www.marketbuilding.com.