Advertising Information Ohio

HOME

DIRECTORY

 

More free ebooks online:
 
Advertising | Affiliate revenue sharing  |  Auctions  |  Blogging  |  Crafts & Hobbies  |  Currency Trading  |  Home Remedies and Best Tips |  Mesothelioma lung cancer and asbestos |  Mortgage and refinance |  Pets  |  Web Site design  |

We would like to thank the local libraries, schools, and universities for recommending students to visit us when doing research on any of our information topics.
Please check back frequently as new topics are added and current topics are updated daily.

 

Place your TextLink AD here free

OfficeJax modular office furniture systems cubicles partitions room dividers

How To Write More Powerful Brochures, Leaflets, And Catalogues


Probably the most interesting thing about brochures and leaflets is that they're seldom read in what we've come to know as the right order - as you would read a book. Rather in the same way that many people read magazines in dentists' waiting rooms, they will flick through brochures and leaflets and stop to take a longer look at bits that grab their attention.

Alternatively they'll flick all the way through and then go back to bits they've noticed and that have interested them. They're just as likely to flick through from back to front as they are from front to back.

What all this teaches us is that despite seeming logical, writing for brochures and leaflets in the form of a story that starts at the beginning, goes through the middle and finishes at the end, is not necessarily the best way forward.

Obviously you can't make every page stand alone with a message on it that says "in case you're flicking through backwards or only want to read this page, here's a summary of our corporate profile again." But there are some tricks you can use to get this random reading pattern to work a bit more effectively for you, rather than against you.

A lot depends on the type and style of brochure or leaflet you want to write, of course. In my experience, generally speaking the more specific the purpose of a brochure or leaflet the more likely readers are to read it properly and thoroughly.

If a leaflet contains assembly instructions, or a brochure contains technical specifications of equipment, there's a good chance that readers will start at least near the beginning and then work through towards the end. Once again, that's because readers will only get their full value from the leaflet or brochure - the "what's in it for them" - by reading it properly. Where you get the worst random grasshopper reading, however, is with the less specific documents like "welcome" leaflets or "corporate" brochures. So let's look at how we can minimize the problems with those.

Despite all of the above, often it is still worthwhile to organize your content in a reasonably logical order. Many people do absorb brochures in the usual order, and even if they don't they still expect to find the introduction at the beginning, the substantiations in the middle and the conclusion at the end. This approach is useful for the moderately subject-specific document, like a leaflet about a new service or a brochure about a new line of garden furniture.

The trick here is to put the main points in as crossheadings (some people call them sub-headings) in bold type, so that someone scanning the document will get the gist of your message even if they don't have time to read the body text.

You should also ensure that the crossheadings make sense in their own right and that understanding them is not wholly dependent on their being read in any particular order. Body text should support and expand on each crossheading and lead the reader towards the next one, but without creating a "cliffhanger" (in case the reader is going in the wrong order).

For the more general subject matter - the most likely to be skimmed, scanned, flicked through, read upside down or otherwise not absorbed properly at all - here's some advice from US writer John Butman from "Writing Words That Sell" which he and I co-authored some years back. This is what John calls "chunking:"

"Chunking means that the story you are writing is not, in fact, a story at all. It doesn't have a sequential flow. It's a string of tiny stories, each with its own message. Each chunk is relatively separate and each page or page-spread is also reasonably separate. This approach means that you need to be careful about antecedents - you can't refer to something mentioned on page one, because the reader may have started reading on page twelve."

I find that John's "chunking" approach works particularly well when there is a lot of visual material, with the "chunks" of text acting almost like expanded captions to illustrations. With "chunking" you may also use crossheadings, but their importance in telling the story by themselves is not as critical. Crossheadings here, then, can be more cryptic or abstract provided that they are relevant.

And a quick word about style, particularly if you are writing a "corporate" brochure or leaflet: this medium, equaled only (perhaps) by the "corporate" website is the most prone to suffer from the curse of "corporate speak." Sadly it would be very easy for me to illustrate what I mean just by including excerpts here from corporate brochures I could find in the offices of both small and large companies based in the city where I live. The curse of "corporate speak" lurks everywhere regardless of the environment, rather like cold viruses or head lice.


Catalogues

Many people fail to realize that catalogues should be written. Often their objective in creating a catalogue is to cram in as many products as they can with descriptive copy kept to a few mis-spelled words in tiny type squashed into a corner. These people are the on-paper equivalent of the "stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap" species you encounter in retailing.

However in a retail environment customers can usually pick up the products, have a good look at them, read the on-pack copy and find out all they need to know, so the fact that they're in a no-frills environment doesn't matter too much. When a product is pictured in the small, two-dimensional environment of the printed page it's not only no-frills but also very lonely, unless the product has the support of some well-chosen words to inform readers and encourage them to buy it.

Considering that for many businesses and other organizations their catalogue is their only shop window - or at least represents, potentially, a very significant revenue stream - you would think that everyone's attention and skill would be focused on its written content as much as its other elements. But no. All too often catalogues look as though their copy has been written by a well-meaning high school pupil who can look forward to a glorious future as a street sweeper.

Yes, of course some products that get sold via a catalogue do not need a lot of description and the only words you need to include are choice of colors/sizes/quantities etc.

But what about the "how to order" messages?

I don't know about you, but if I'm thinking of buying something from a catalogue there's nothing that puts me off faster than having to spend a lot of time figuring out how to fill out the form, who to make the check out to and where to mail it, etc. The same applies if I have to hunt around for website details.

It's not difficult to get the process right. Simply work out the steps you want customers to take, write them down simply, rough out the order form itself, and then try it out on your mother, your brother, your neighbor, the milkman, or anyone else - provided they are not involved with your organization. That's a cheap and fast way of discovering any flaws in the system, especially small goofs that can get overlooked so easily if you're too familiar with them.

And here's another one. How many times have you looked at a catalogue only to find that crucial information you should keep (like contact details for ordering, delivery information etc) is placed either on the order form itself or on the back of the page the order form is on? The result is when you mail off your completed order form you're obliged to mail that important information away with it. Stupid, huh.

There is no mystery about creating good catalogues - only common sense. It's perfectly okay in my view to keep your writing crisp and concise because it helps to use the space more efficiently. But whatever you do, never lose sight of the fact that the way a catalogue is written and designed says a lot more about your organization than you think. If it is cluttered, unclear and illogical, customers will think your company is too. If it is busy but accessible, clear and easy to understand and logically planned, well - need I say more?

Retailers spend fortunes on the design, layout and flow of their in store displays. Supermarkets can increase or decrease their turnover by thousands, simply by moving the fresh produce from the back wall to the side wall or by putting the bakery beyond the delicatessen or by increasing the aisle width by a few centimeters. Think of your catalogue as a paper-based store or supermarket, and you'll find it easier to give it the consideration and respect it deserves.


Instruction leaflets and manuals

A few years ago I bought a new computer, printer, keyboard and monitor all at the same time. I heaved all the boxes into my office at home and unpacked each piece enthusiastically. There was metal and plastic and cabling and cardboard and polystyrene and bubble wrap all over the floor. My two dogs picked their way through it, sniffing suspiciously as if all these items were chickens lying dead and headless after a fox tack.

I sat cross-legged in the middle, leafing anxiously through the instruction booklets, desperately trying to find the English language pages. When I did, I couldn't understand a word, largely because the instructions a) had been compiled by technical people who assumed substantial prior knowledge even though it was a "home" computer and b) whoever had written the UK version must have been taught English by Donald Duck.

And do you think the manufacturer might have supplied a simple instruction sheet telling me how to bolt it all together? No. Every piece had its own awful instructions but as far as the manufacturer was concerned, each item was on its own.

So I phoned my dear computer guru Jason and booked him to come over the next day and sort it out, despite him telling me it was easy and I could do it myself.

"Just read the instructions," he said.

"I can't understand the ****ing instructions," I shouted back down the phone. "You come and do it, I'll watch what you do, then I'll write it down and send the text to the manufacturers with an invoice for my time. At least that way poor so-and-sos who buy this kit in the future will find out how to get it working without having a nervous breakdown."

There's one very strong point that emerges from this true story. When people read, listen to or watch a set of instructions, they often do it in fairly stressful circumstances, in uncomfortable surroundings, in poor light, etc. Accessibility, simplicity, visibility, and clarity are vital.

People who buy products that require instructions, need to know how to use the product as easily as possible. And because many people are technodorks like me, instructions need to be understood by the lowest common denominator.

Logically then, you might think, the best person to write instructions for technodorks like me is someone who knows every last detail about the product, how it was made, how it works, what it does, and what its inside leg measurement is. In other words, an expert. This could not be further from the truth.

Instructions should never be written by experts, because they know too much. What this means is that they are very prone to making the mistake of assuming the reader knows a little bit about the subject matter already. To an expert, the fact that before you begin assembling the bookcase you need to align sections A, B and C with each other may be so blindingly obvious it's not even worth mentioning. To someone like me it's not just worth mentioning, it's absolutely essential if I'm not to spend the next three hours wondering why on earth I can't find any bolt holes that line up.

Wherever practical, instructions should be written by someone who knows as much as, but no more than, the audience. For any form of instructions to be followed by non-technical users, the writer should assume zero prior knowledge and the best way to ensure s/he does that, is if s/he doesn't have any prior knowledge her/himself. Provided that the writer has a logical mind and the ability to write clearly and simply, s/he can't fail to work out and then write good, usable instructions - because if s/he understands them so will everyone else.

Equally, instructions should not be written by the sales people, the marketing executives, the guys in the lab, the production staff, or anyone else - even you - if there's a risk they might have become familiar with the subject matter. Familiarity can breed if not contempt, at least wrongful assumptions about the audience's existing knowledge. For any product to be used by ordinary folks in the street, try to get the instructions written by someone from a totally unrelated department or even from outside your organization. Failing that, get them tested by one or more typical users who have no prior knowledge of the product, and edit them carefully on the strength of the feedback you get.

There is nothing that will blacken the name of your product and your company faster than a customer like me not being able to put your product together easily.

Although customers like me will get over it after taking a cold shower and asking the brainy next-door neighbor to interpret the instructions, we'll probably remember all those bad things next time we're shopping for the sort of products you sell. And we'll buy your competitor's.

Canadian-born Suzan St Maur is an international business writer and author based in the United Kingdom. In addition to her consultancy work for clients in Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia, she contributes articles to more than 150 business websites and publications worldwide, and has written eleven published books. Her latest eBooks, "The MAMBA Way To Make Your Words Sell" and "Get Yourself Published" and available as PDF downloads from BookShaker.com.

(c) Suzan St Maur 2003 - 2005


Todays News by officejax free advertising and ad exchange solutionsAdvertising news reports resources updated Thu. March / 28 / 2024






































































Our 2023 Ads Safety Report  The Keyword | Google Product and Technology News
















EU introduces new rules on transparency and targeting of political advertising  Présidence française du Conseil de l'Union européenne 2022














Our free link exchange service
Free link exchange text or graphic ad

OfficeJax Modular Office Systems and solutions

Free online ebooks tips home remedies how to articles and information on advertising from the Advertising Information Channel.

surplus goods in all categories home office military crafts hobbies

ADVERTISE with us
AD space available
text link AD's $.10
 or less

Place your ad here

 

 

 

OWN YOUR OWN MONEYMAKING WEB SITE
With Resell Rights

Details

Affiliate Mask

AutoResponder

ClickBank

Instant Site Maker

Perpetual Traffic Generator

PopUp

Scratch Card Generator

TollBooth

 

More coming soon

 

 

 

Get Your site listed in 2 Mins!

                     

              used office cubicle and partitions walls for sale in Northeast Ohio   free amv format video downloads   amv format video downloads   amv format videos

Find custom outdoor advertising supplies and business supplies in Akron, Ohio below wholesale at OfficeJax in Akron, Ohio

Auctions Akron, Ohio    Blogging Ohio    Rss Ohio    Crafts & Hobbies Akron Ohio    Currency Trading in Akron Ohio
   Mortgage and refinance   Pets Akron Ohio    Web Site designers in Akron Ohio   university of akron university housing available

OfficeJax modular office furniture systems cubicles partitions room dividers
 free online ebooks tips news how to articles home remedies Advertising information related ebooks tips articles from the Advertising Information Channel:

Custom T-shirts -- Put Your Company Logo on Cotton!
An effective way to gain company recognition is to order custom t-shirts with your company name, logo, phone number, and other important information on them. You can use customized apparel to outfit your employees as well as to contribute a sense of professionalism and reliability to your company.


Electronic Reader Board
Electronic reader boards are the most efficient way to convey the information. Therefore these nowadays are widely accepted all over the world.


Adding Art to Business Spaces
Larger companies have learned that collecting art adds something special to its overall corporate image. An art collection may include art on display in waiting, or general areas.


Buying Radio? Read This and Don't Waste Your Money
Pay close attention and make it work the best for you. No doubt you've listened to, and then quickly deleted, messages from account execs from your local radio stations.


Commercial: Consumer - Discounts - Misleading Advertising
Marketing is an important tool for attracting customers. It is commonplace to see banners announcing bargains of "70% off the retail price.


Tips On Writing a Successful Ad
When knowledge is based on truth it is powerful! When it is critical knowledge, its presence can drive our success, while its absence may contribute to our failure. I will attempt to convey in this report some useful and practical knowledge about how to write awesome ads for the World Wide Web.


How You Measure Yourself Is How You Motivate Yourself
One of the keys to strong positive mental attitude is what you compare your personal performance to. Do you compare your sales results to the top producer in your industry? Do you compare your basketball playing ability to Michael Jordan? Do you compare your last presentation to a speech delivered by Ronald Reagan or JFK? Or do you compare your results today, to those you had yesterday? Sports, sales, and the media teach us to compare our success against that of others, living or dead.


Scrolling LED signs
Scrolling LED signs is type of LED signs that displays Scrolling text and can be used as outdoor and/or indoor outlet. Wide variety of businesses uses this equipment to spread news and other information quickly and efficiently.


Media Savvy - Media Skills For Rural Women
The ability to lead, persuade and influence are integral skills for effective leaders. The capability of telling a story that inspires, motivates and informs is an essential part of this process.


LED Score Boards
LED scoreboards can be utilized in most of the sporting event for eye-catching effects replace traditional scoreboards. This high- tech lighting system is both energy - efficient and able to produce a very bright light.


Take Your Radio Ads to the Next Level
Most small businesses do not have a high powered advertising agency to produce award-winning radio commercials for them. Most award-winning radio commercials win for the wrong reasons anyway.


Turn Your Ad Copy into a Goldmine!
Today, more than ever, it is crucial that your ad copy explodes the reader's curiosity. Are you interested in simple yet powerful ways to improve your ad copy so your readers will rush to action? Invoking a reader's call to action can be communicated in various effective ways.


How to Make Your Claims Believable
When you hear claims like? Best Lawnmower in the country? Absolute Lowest Prices In Existence? Leaves your hair cleaner than any other shampoo? do you believe them? Or is there a certain degree of doubt in your mind about their credibility? Or whether they are 'hyped up'? Think about it. Everybody expects advertisers to exaggerate their claims.


Customer-Involving Signage and Selling
Here's some easy ways to create signage that will attract, not annoy customers (and local government agencies that regulate signage):1. Since movement always attracts attention, any banner, sign set of a pole that might move with the wind or electrically-turned sign will stand out from the static messages around it.


13 Facts About Newspaper Advertising
Advertising in the paper works for many people in business. The astute merchant understands the newspaper's weaknesses and works to avoid them whenever possible.


Why Hire an Advertising/Marketing Consultant?
As a business owner, you have the option of taking several different approaches to handling your Marketing and Advertising. You may choose to handle the responsibility yourself, with the idea that no one understands your business quite the way you do.


Forgot The Ad Budget? Don't Panic!
Bob is excited about his new business. He secured funding.


Nine Power Words To Punch Up Your Ads
As every professional politician and public relations man knows words have the power to entice, persuade and motivate people into a specific course of action. There are certain words that I refer to as "Power Words" that I learned, back in the dawn of time, when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth.


Effective Promotions Through Local Classified Sites
Today's online marketplace is extremely competitive. People want to market their products and services with the most cost effective manner possible.


Giorgio Armani: A Persuasive Campaign
Lets examine the use of Giorgio Armani Company's advertisements for a persuasive campaign. My reasoning is because the company is separated into several different divisions, while each tries to sell their product, the advertisements must maintain an overall company image.

OfficeJax Modular Office Systems and solutions

 

 


GET 100% free co-op reciprocal advertising
 for your web site
 see bottom of this AD

Place Your AD FREE

Free BACKLINK for
Higher Page Rank
Free Traffic

1,000,000 free hits
per month  Guaranteed
 Free Viral Marketing
 X-Treme Traffic

BUY-A-LINK

Text-AD links $.10 or less ! ! !

5000+ BACKLINKS

 FREE 5000+text AD's linking to your site NoCost CoOp XChange

BELOW WHOLESALE

Why pay retail?
Why pay wholesale? _/_/BUY SURPLUS_/_/


click above to start receiving free Advertising+Traffic to your site today!

 

 

 


 

 


 

 


 

roofing contractors Akron Ohio

Surplus Overstock and used PET SUPPLIES

Find unclaimed freight in Akron Ohio

[Back to Top]

Find used office equipment in Ohio at www.OfficeJax.Has.It

Find the best fleamarkets at www.FleaMarketWorld.Has.It

www.Akron.Has.It

Find electric powered vehicles at www.NoGas.Drives.It

Akron City directory

Free Automatic Link Exchange

Flea Market World

Anonymous and Confidential U.S. Mail Drops - No ID Required reship worldwide

Find homes for rent
in Akron Ohio
www.homes4rent.has.it

Fleamarket World
www.fleamarkets.tk

Jim (James) Baughman Hosting Company of Akron, Ohio offers the finest in the CLOUD internet hosting  service and solutions at affordable prices. The Hepsia control panel is a superior control panel unlike the old school cpanel you may be familiar with as well as downloadable daily backups, 24 hour tech support response time is less than 30 minutes, php version selection, unlimited bandwidth, are all included at no additional cost.

Click here to place your free classified AD's on this page for freeHere
 

officejax surplus office furniture outlet Akron, ohio

OfficeJax free ad space available here

auction news and listings for Akron, Ohio

Akron crafts and hobby news center

Akron currency trading

Akron Ohio pet news

Advertising and promotions Akron, Ohio

The Akron blogging news center

lung mesothelioma asbestos

Akron Ohio web site design news

Akron Mortgaging and refinancing

Best Home Remedies and Tips

HOME | Site Map
© 2012 - 2024 All Rights Reserved


  

advertising agency advertising supply and services marketing and advertising internet advertising pay per click advertising newspaper advertising promotion online advertising free advertising business marketing and advertising promotional advertising specialty print advertising banner advertising agency promotional product advertising radio advertising company classified advertising web advertising outdoor advertising ppc advertising advertising agency and services local advertising art layout production service advertising direct internet marketing advertising web site advertising business advertising television advertising jobs advertising services restaurant advertising yellow page advertising agency tv advertising web banner advertising directory advertising services  advertising slogan advertising photographer adsense advertising adwords apis cashing billboard advertising advertising balloon pay per click banner advertising gambling online magazine advertising yahoo advertising email advertising free internet advertising internet online marketing advertising business search engine advertising direct mail advertising services advertising design advertising age creative advertising targeted advertising advertising campaign media advertising career free online advertising mobile advertising ogilvy vintage advertising pen internet advertising agency car advertising subliminal advertising idea advertising and marketing employment cheap advertising pen advertising space  online advertising company advertising sign career in advertising direct mail advertising small business advertising history of advertising internet marketing online advertising advertising card communication content integrated marketing perspective premium promotion internet banner advertising advertising outdoor billboard affiliate advertising advertising art advertising display advertising product advertising copy advertising affiliate program free web site advertising real estate advertising brand advertising advertising brand communication guerrilla unconventional advertising business internet online internet marketing promotion advertising advertising firm contemporary advertising coroplast akron ohio custom signs and advertising solutions at OfficeJax online flea market