Are brochures dead?

Absolutely not. A brochure is still a great way to market your business. In many cases, your brochure is the only shot you have to market your business to a potential client.

Many companies design and print their own brochures in-house. Unfortunately, it often shows. Your brochure should boldly proclaim your professionalism, and there is no substitute for one professionally written, designed and printed. Why scrimp on this critical marketing piece?

Not only can a brochure help you when you attend meetings with the potential for networking, a well-written brochure placed on your website as a PDF file allows potential clients direct access to it. This saves you time and mailing costs as well as shows the professionalism of your firm.

In addition, you may be marketing to several types of clients. For example, auditing firms may market to the Lloyds' market and to stateside carriers. In this case, the two speak English, but very different forms of it. A copywriter who has worked with both markets will tell you -- you write differently for the London market.

Perhaps your adjusting firms wants to pursue surplus lines business. A brochure tailored to the excess markets and managing general agents will help get your foot in the door by showing your knowledge of and commitment to this unique niche.

Today's insurance market is niche driven, and a one-size-fits-all brochure won't always do what you need it to. Designing and writing a brochure is less expensive than you may think. Money well spent on marketing your business will inevitably come back to you, with more.

Organizing an advertising project

Any copywriter you hire must work closely with you and your organization to determine your advertising needs. Before you meet, here are some key questions to consider to save time, money and to better target your marketing.

• What service or product do you offer?
• What project do you have in mind?
• What is your budget? This allows the copywriter to help set your expectations for the scope of the project.
• How will you get your message across? Are you considering direct mail, an improved website, press release campaigns, or perhaps radio spots?
• What is the goal of the project? Be specific. For example, “I want to increase the amount of long-haul trucking coverage that we write," or "I want to obtain more adjusting business from managing general agents."
• Who is your target market? Be specific.
• How will your target market benefit from you providing these services as opposed to your competitor?
• What else are you doing toward this goal? In other words, is this part of a bigger advertising plan already in place?
• Who are your competitors? What are they doing?
• Describe why your product or service is better than your competitors.
• What have you done in the past regarding this endeavor? Describe similar projects. How well did they succeed? Why or why not?
• Has your competitor done something you like? What about something you don’t like? (Raid your “swipe file.”)
• Who is the contact person at your agency for this project?
• Who authorizes acceptance of the project?

While you may be a good communicator, a copywriter can help you hone your message to a few key points. This saves money and helps to ensure that your copy does its job -- bringing in business.