3 Types of Brochures That Work

Do you sell a service? There is an infinite variety of sales materials that service providers use. However, there are a few basic types of sales literature; self-mailers, slim-jim brochures, and fact sheets that work like gangbusters.

The self-mailer is sent through the mail without an outer envelope. Most are simple in design and constructed by folding a single piece of paper. The self-mailer is best used when sent to "cold prospects". You should never use this brochure to answer a prospect's request for more information. It is likely that they would see your self-mailer and mistake it for "junk mail".

Slim-jims, a thin brochure named for their slim size, are easily slipped into standard business envelopes. Because of their small size, they do not need many designs and visuals. Slim-jims are easy to read, and inexpensive to produce.

A fact sheet is printed on both front and back. They are cheap to produce and the easiest to update often. It is an 8 1/2- by 11-inch sheet of paper that is not folded but mailed flat in an envelope. The advantages of the fact sheet are that you can include more information as well as additional sheets of paper if needed.