Brochures are among the most utilized marketing vehicles in use today. From very small businesses to the largest publicly-traded companies, all use brochures to communicate with their customers and prospects about the products and services they offer. But despite how common the brochure is, not many employ the proper brochure copywriting strategy to take best advantage of the medium. Here are some of the things you can do to ensure that doesn't happen to you:

1. Lead with a cover headline that directly empathizes with your customer's needs

This can be done a variety of ways. You could ask a question. You can make a promise. You can literally identify the problem. Whatever you choose to do, the right brochure copywriting strategy is one that steers clear of the "marketing speak" trap and speaks to your market directly in a language that it easily understands and appreciates. Secondly, the headline should create curiosity to continue reading the brochure, but this should be a natural effect of a truly empathetic headline.

2. Introduce your company and offerings with an emphasis on customer benefits

A brochure usually includes some kind of introduction, but contrary to popular practice, this isn't the place to wax about how long the company has been in business, how many employees you employ or how great they are. No, this is the place where your brochure copywriting should position your company and its offerings as the answer to a problem your market has. It should directly correlate to the headline you led with, and should be written in plainspoken language, not flowery or laced with innuendo.

3. Include customer testimonials

Sometimes, the best brochure copywriting isn't written by you or your copywriter. It's done by your customers in their own words. Assuming your company has satisfied customers, what they have to say about their experience with you is often more credible than anything you can say about yourself.

4. Close the brochure with a compelling call-to-action with an offer to "share the risk"

Once you connect with your readers in a way that resonates with who they are and their needs, perhaps the only thing standing between you and the new business is a natural apprehension to "taking the risk." However, if your brochure copywriting includes a call-to-action (or asks for the order) in a way that you offer to share the risk, you have a very good chance at getting over this hurdle. Just remember, try to make the offer as relevant to the needs of your customer as possible. If the value of your company's offerings aren't price-related, don't make a price-related offer. Offer something related to the key reasons someone would want to do business with you-just make the deal a little sweeter.