Michigan State University Extension
Tourism Educational Materials - 33729800
06/06/02
Creating Travel Brochure That Sells
Michigan State University
Quinn, Tom
Regional Extension Supervisor
Upper Peninsula Extension Center, Marquette
E1605
1982
33.72
Most tourism-related businesses are interested in having
a brochure that will attract more customers. A well
planned and designed brochure can indeed increase
business, but all too many brochures are a waste of
money. They are either so poorly designed that they
actually drive potential customers away, or so poorly
distributed that they never reach the right people.
Any advertising, including brochures, should be a part of
the total marketing plan for a business. If your
marketing strategy determines that tourism brochures are
an effective method for reaching your target audience,
then carefully design the best brochure possible.
What Do You Want the Brochure to Do?
Before making any decisions about content or appearance,
ask yourself what you want the brochure to do. Your
ultimate goal is to increase profits. Your brochure can
do this by focusing on a specific objective. One
objective might be to announce the addition of a new
service to your potential customers. Another objective
could be to remind past customers of the services and
facilities you already provide. A brochure can also
introduce people to your facility and the services you
offer. It can let them know how easy it is to reach you.
Another objective might be to tell people about a special
bargain you are offering.
Who is Your Audience?
Once you know the purpose of your brochure, you need to
determine your audience. What type of people are you
trying to attract? How old are they? Where do they live?
What do they enjoy doing? How much will they spend? How
do you reach them?
You can get some of this information by studying the
people you currently attract. Survey guest registers,
license plates and customer credit card receipts.
Carefully observe guests and pay attention to casual
conversation. You may want to start by asking your
current customers to sign their names and addresses in a
guest book. This will give you a ready mailing list and
an idea of where potential customers live. The same can
be accomplished by looking through your copies of
customer credit card receipts. You can learn additional
information about your guests by simply keeping your eyes
and ears open.
How Do You Reach Them?
A major problem is getting brochures into the hands of
the right people. It is relatively easy to design and
print a brochure. It is much more difficult to
effectively distribute it. Remember, the cost of
distributing travel brochures is often as much or more
than the cost of designing and printing them. Carefully
plan how your brochures will reach your potential
customers. Consider the quantity needed and the cost of
distribution.
The following list includes ideas on where to distribute
travel brochures.
* Past guests.
* People who have written for information.
* Selected travel agents--Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, AAA.
* Labor unions - recreation division.
* Corporations - recreation division.
* Highway information booths.
* Local businesses.
* Sport shops and vacation equipment dealers where past
guests live.
* Special groups-clubs of all kinds (especially travel
clubs), churches, teacher groups, senior citizens, sport
clubs, credit unions, banks.
* Chambers of commerce.
* Travel and sport shows.
* County and regional tourist associations.
* Transportation companies.
* Restaurants.
* Motels, hotels, campgrounds.
* Gas stations.
* Tourist attractions
* Michigan Travel Bureau
Paint A Pretty Picture Of Your Place
Now, to the brochure itself--your sales representative.
In the eyes of the viewer, the brochure paints a picture
of your business and its services. The image the brochure
projects will influence how people perceive your
facilities. A poor quality brochure projects your
business as second rate. A high quality, professional
brochure will create a positive image. The key words here
are "high quality" and "professional." Let a skilled
professional help you develop the highest quality
brochure possible.
Do your homework. Look at ads in the travel section of
newspapers and magazines. Study the brochures of other
travel facilities, Which ones catch your eye? Try to
visualize your brochure in a display rack. Will it stand
out and be noticed or become lost in a sea of color?
A successful brochure opens the sale, expands customer
interest, and closes the sale by creating customer
action. The cover of the brochure is the sales opener. It
must attract attention and present a visual image of the
product being sold.
The inside pages expand the customer's interest. Show how
the customer benefits and answer as many potential
questions as possible.
The last paragraph or two of the copy should close the
sale by asking for action. Ask the reader to call for
open dates or reservations, or write for more information
or price quotes. Get the reader to make some type of
commitment that could make the reader a customer of your
services.
The Cover
The cover is the most important page of any brochure. A
cover must attract the attention of potential customers,
develop the theme of the brochure, and make people
curious enough that they will want to see what is inside.
A simple, uncluttered cover with a single message is
desirable.
The brochure's cover should answer the following
questions at a glance:
1.The name of the business.
2.The location of the business.
3.The product or service being sold.
Research has shown that the first focal point on a page
is one-third of the way down from the top and slightly to
the left. The name, location, and product or service is
usually best displayed in the top one-third of the page.
This prevents this information from being blocked out if
the brochure is displayed in a rack. The remaining
two-thirds should present a visual image of the product.
The first line of the cover can be used for "thought
lead-ins." Thought lead-ins help the readers visualize
themselves sharing in the travel adventure depicted in
the brochure. They should be specific and descriptive.
By using "yes" factors, such as the following:
Enjoy; Vacation at; Join the excitement at; Prepare for
action; the reader is encouraged to think about your
facilities. They have the feeling of actually
experiencing your place.
The Inside Pages
While being consistent with the theme of the cover page,
the inside pages should describe the benefits gained by
using your service. People are not as interested in a
product's features as they are in how the features will
benefit them. The following information also applies to a
one page, front/back only brochure. The same message must
be presented, but in briefer form.
Convert the features of your service into benefits for
the customer. You are not selling a ticket on a boat
trip, but an opportunity to see wild game along the shore
and enjoy pretty sites without having to walk or drive.
Features - "What it does, how it's operated, what it's
made of, how it's used."
Benefits - "What will this product do for
this customer?"
Focus on what the customer is interested in, and make the
sales message personal. You know who your potential
customers are. You may not know their names, but you do
know where they live, what they like to do, their ages,
etc.
Write the sales message as though you were describing the
benefits of your product to a friend. When writing the
copy, it may be helpful to put a picture of a friend on
the desk beside you. Write the copy as if you were
talking to that person. Tell them what they want to hear.
Promote customer benefits that are unique to your
facility. What distinguishes your facility from others in
your area? Why should someone come to your place of
business?
Look at your facility through the eyes of the customer.
What are the most outstanding features of your facility?
What do you do best that people will remember long after
they leave? Why should a customer recommend your business
to friends?
The fact that your facility has 12 modern units is not an
outstanding feature. Instead, the customer is more likely
to remember your terrific personality, that your facility
is within walking distance of three major attractions, or
that you offer a babysitting service. Look at your
business from the customer's vantage point.
Put your best foot forward. If you do not present your
strongest selling points first, you may lose your
readers' attention before you persuade them to buy.
Get to the point. Be brief. Use short sentences.
Anticipate as many questions potential guests may have as
possible. Use pictures to emphasize the main benefits you
can provide. Include close-up pictures of people enjoying
your facilities. Do not include pictures of cars, faddish
clothing styles and other scenes that will quickly
outdate your brochure. Pictures should tell the story
with just enough copy to support the message you are
trying to communicate.
Brochures should contain the following basic information
in roughly this order:
1. Main Product
Carefully explain your facilities. For example, cabins
(with or without electricity?), kitchen facilities, motel
rooms, hotel rooms, type of heat (individual room
control?) TV, pool (heated? indoor?), restaurant (family
style? gourmet? number of seats?), length of tour, size
of facility, size of inventory, etc.
2. Special Advantages
Describe special advantages your business offers to its
guests: nightly movies, live bands on weekends, peace and
quiet, located on a class A trout stream, within walking
distance of three major attractions, plenty of free
parking, family dining, marina adjacent, shopping nearby,
buses welcome.
3. Type of Facility
Describe the general age of your guests, whether your
business is seasonal or year round, and your special
emphasis-skiing, fishing, snowmobiling, history, seafood,
etc.
4. Recreational Possibilities
Include all recreation and entertainment facilities on
your property as well as other public and private
facilities nearby. Be sure to mention historical sites,
sporting events, plays, pageants, festivals, parades,
etc.
5. Special Facilities
a. Children---playgrounds, swimming, child care, planned
activities, game rooms, children's menu.
b. Senior Citizens---game rooms, elevators, planned
activities, senior citizen discounts.
c. Handicappers---ramps, railings, wide doorways,
restrooms, etc.
6. Location
Make it easy for potential customers to find your
facility. Include your mailing address (city and state),
telephone number and area code. A line-drawn map showing
major highways and a listing of distances from major
population centers is generally the best method of
indicating where you are. Be sure your map is accurate
and easily read. Mention the fact that you are near a
major city or located in the Upper Peninsula. Is your
facility on a nearby highway or in a remote location?
1. Prices
Don't print prices in the brochure itself. Instead, list
prices on a separate piece of paper that can be inserted
into your brochure. This makes it easier and less
expensive to change your prices. Be sure to include
prices of extra charge services such as boat and motor
rental, baby-sitting, or green fees.
On a one-page, front/back only brochure, print prices on
only one side. This will reduce printing costs when you
have the brochure reprinted, since copy will only have to
be changed on one side.
The Back Section
If you designed your brochure carefully, with the cover
attracting interest and the inside pages creating desire,
then the last section should close the sale. Make your
readers take action! Tell them what they should do to
enjoy the benefits you have described. Ask them to make a
reservation by April 15, or clip the coupon and return it
for more information. Make the reader an offer he/she
can't refuse---"reservations made by May 31 receive a 10
percent discount."
After you have told the readers what to do, give them
follow-through directions. Your phone number and address
are necessities. A tear-out coupon is good but don't put
a map on the back of it. Place the map in the brochure so
it will be retained and used in getting to your place.
Ask for the sale!!
Printing Considerations
Above all else, you want a quality brochure. Full color
is desirable, if your pocketbook allows. However, a good
quality brochure with one or two colors is better than a
poor quality four-color brochure. By using colored paper,
contrasting inks, screening and other techniques you can
brighten up your brochure, but at a much lower cost than
with four-color.
Points to Remember in Designing a Good Brochure
a. Keep it simple and uncluttered. Have more open space
than ink.
b. Be different, if possible.
c. Full color is best.
d. Build an image through pictures and factual
information.
e. Stress quality.
f. Remember your target audience.
g. Stick to one selling message.
Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service
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Issued in furtherance of cooperative extension work in
agriculture and home economics, acts of May 8, and June
30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Gordon E. Guyer, Director, Cooperative
Extension Service, Michigan State University, E. Lansing,
MI 48824.
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Reference to commercial products or trade names does not
imply endorsement by the Cooperative Extension Service or
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FILE 33.7
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mentioned. This information becomes public property upon
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