New businesses are popping up across the UK every day, so having a solid marketing strategy to promote your brand is key to staying ahead of the pack.

But what if you don’t have much to spend? If you’re a new, small or even mid-size company, you might not have a lot of money to play around with when it comes to promotions and advertising. If you’re looking for a quality market tactic to show off your brand and pull in customers, brochures on a budget is for you. Check out these pointers from expert printing company, Where The Trade Buys, to see how you can get cost effective, professional brochures without blowing your budget.

What’s your marketing message?

What do you want to tell people? Are you a new brand that needs to let people know you’re here, or have you just launched a new product or service you need promoting? Once you know the overall message, you can avoid packing your brochure with pointless copy that looks unprofessional and too text-heavy for people to bother reading. Content on a brochure needs to be simple and clear — but don’t forget to include your company logo, contact details, and main marketing message. A bonus is, you can also save money being cut-throat with your copy, as you’ll need fewer pages.

How’s it going to look?

No matter what, you need your brochure to be good quality and nice to look at for people to pick it up and be impressed. Dimensions and the quantity of information can influence the chances of people reading your brochure — as well the final price. So, though it’s tempting to cram as many details on a small brochure to save money, you don’t want to make it look untidy. Think of what you want to say and show on your brochure, then select the right size for your message.   

What kind of paper do you want?

Paper stock is a big contributor to cost, so choose carefully and don’t blow your budget on selecting the premium paper when other varieties will do the job. For example, an informal brochure doesn’t have to be elaborate and generally requires a relatively thin and less expensive paper stock. However, if your aim is high-end corporate conferences, you might want to invest in a higher-quality paper to make the best impression.

Double-checking

Imagine going through the entire designing process and paying the final bill, only to find a spelling mistake on the front of your brochure. Nobody wants to have to reprint, so check all the images, copy and overall design multiple times.   

Brochure finishes: which is best for your brand?

Once you start researching the different kinds of finishes you can use on your brochures, you’ll notice how wide the choice is. Perfect bound brochure printing is big business and there are various finishes depending on your company, industry, target audience, and personal preference.  Saddle-stitched brochures are a sleek way to present your corporate brochure to your audience, because they’re generally finished with a gloss or silk lamination. Then again, the Scodix finish is also effective and isn’t too dear. Casebound book printing is costlier than many others, but is probably the best for delivering stunning quality. On the other hand, PUR is a much more affordable, premium binding option that is perfect for pitch documents and coffee table brochures. So, look around before you decide.

How many is too many?

Strategising the quantity of brochures you need is another potential pitfall that can eat into your budget. You don’t want to waste money and clog your office space with extra brochures, but of course, you don’t want to run out. So, it’s a good idea to check price guides online before you place an order to get a better estimate of how many you need.

Get your brochure online

You’re missing a major marketing trick if you don’t get your finished brochure online and available for download. Digitalising your brochure lets potential customers download it as a PDF with no added cost to you or them. Effectively, this is a fantastic way to maximise your marketing strategy for free.

Bear these pointers in mind when you start up your next marketing campaign.