How to Format a Brochure to Be Mailed Out
Direct mail remains a preferred method of communication with your intended audience. Telephone calls are bothersome, and television and newspaper advertising may not spread your word to the right number of interested individuals. A well-designed, colorful and informative brochure is a simple way to prepare a mass mailing about your cause, product, political candidate or service. Brochure layout is fairly standard, but you must observe a few requirements to ensure your message reaches its intended destination.
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Things You'll Need
- Design software
- Word-processing software
- Postal permit
- Clear wafer stickers
Instructions
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Select a topic or purpose for your brochure. You have limited space available to communicate information so the content should be highly focused.
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Open your design program, such as Adobe InDesign or Microsoft Publisher. Create a two-page document to fit your needs, though an 8 1/2-by-11-inch page size is common and easiest to print. Consult with your printer on specifications if you wish to bleed images or graphics off the edge of the page.
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Set individual guides to divide each of the pages into thirds. For example, in InDesign for a document with no bleed, click the vertical ruler on the side of your document, drag a guide and place it at 3.625 inches; place a second guide at 7.285 inches. These guides will give you a frame in which to design each panel of the brochure.
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Write your informational copy and place pictures or graphics according to your design. When your brochure is folded, the front of the brochure will be the right panel of the first page; the back will be the center panel of the front page.
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Design the return address and postal permit sections of the center panel on the front page of your document. Consider the orientation of the mailing and place the address and postage spots appropriately. Leave room for an address label to be applied in the center of the panel.
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Save the file as a high-quality PDF and email it to your printer.
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Prepare address labels for placement on the printed brochure. These labels can be created in a word-processing program like Microsoft Word or imported as a mail merge from a spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel.
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Apply the address labels and clear wafer or perforated circle-shaped stickers to close the brochure. The U.S. Postal Service requires self-mailers like brochures be sealed to ensure delivery. (Reference 1, Page 10)
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Tips & Warnings
The second page of your document, considered the inside of the brochure, will be opened fully by the reader. For this reason, you may choose to ignore the guides and design the complete page without regard to the internal boundaries observed on the front.
A brochure designed for paper of 14-inch length can be divided into four panels.
References
- Photo Credit Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
