How To Print A Travel Brochure In 5 Easy Steps
Although many people research vacations online these days, travel brochures are a unique way to pique the interest of frequent travelers. Sending hard copies of trip information along with maps and photos in an attractive format can make an impression on readers in a way that a website can’t.
Providing professional brochures communicates the importance that your company places on providing a high quality travel experience. Whether you’re designing your first travel brochure or gearing up for the print process, this guide will walk you through how to make a travel brochure, in five easy steps from planning to printing, to ensure a professional and effective result.
Step 1: Planning Your Brochure
By doing the thinking for your brochure on the front end, you set yourself up for success. Here’s what to keep in mind.
Identify The Purpose
Before doing anything else, make sure you have a clear purpose for your brochure. Are you promoting a destination? Highlighting a tour package? Explaining the benefits of using your company’s services? Being able to explain your brochure’s goal in one or two sentences will make the rest of the process easy.
Define Your Target Audience
By understanding who will be reading your brochure, you’re able to create a design that is most effective for them. Tailor your content to their interests; brochures for business trips will look different and contain different information than brochures for all-inclusive family vacations, for example.
Gather Information And Images
Once you have a solid grasp of your goal and your audience, it’s time to collect your materials. Gather all of the materials you’ll need in your brochure, including text and images. (We’ll provide more advice on these aspects in later sections.) Once you’ve accumulated all the materials you need, you can arrange them effectively.
Step 2: Designing Your Brochure
Designing a brochure is one of the most enjoyable parts of the process, because this is when you can let your creativity run free.
Check Out Some Templates
If you want a head start on your design, working with a travel brochure template makes the creation process simple. Canva’s travel brochure examples provide excellent starting points, which you can modify as much or as little as you’d like. You can choose a layout that suits your content and audience, modify an existing template, or create a design from scratch.
Consider Design Principles
Brochure design involves a few key points. Choose the folding style that works best for your content’s organization, such as half fold or tri-fold, and use headings, subheadings, and bullet points to help readers find information easily.
Pick a color scheme that appeals to your target audience, and stick to two or three easy-to-read fonts, with one font for your title and headings, one for subheadings, and one for body text.
Use High-Quality Images
Low-quality images look pixelated, so make sure to use high quality imagery in your brochure. By including crisp and bright photos of your travel destinations, you inspire readers to book their trip.
Incorporate Branding
Your brochures are important marketing materials. As such, make sure that they align with your company’s branding and marketing strategy. Use the same colors, fonts, and tone as you do in the rest of your materials, and be sure to include your logo. These elements tie your brochure to your company’s identity and values.
Step 3: Writing Compelling Content
What would any brochure be without text? By following these steps, you create content that inspires readers to book a trip.
Write Persuasive Copy
If your copy isn’t effective, readers will put down your brochure without a second glance. Write succinct, engaging copy that makes an impression on readers and paints a picture of how enjoyable one of your vacations is. Then, distill your copy down to a few sentences and bullet points per topic, which works well given brochures’ panel-based organization and limited space.
You can also inform readers about a travel destination in your brochure and prepare them for their trip. For example, you can present interesting facts, anecdotes and information about the culture of the travel location, or detail suggestions of what to pack and essential travel tips. For example, travelers will appreciate knowing that they need to bring cash to some locations where credit cards are not yet widely used, while there are other places where it may not be a good idea to bring currency due to safety concerns.
Include Calls To Action
What’s the point of your brochure if it doesn’t inspire readers to take the next step? Throughout your brochure, encourage readers to take specific actions. These might include visiting your website, calling your office, or booking a trip to a specific destination.
Proofread And Review
Your clients are putting their travels–which includes their comfort, money, and safety–in your hands, so providing them with high-quality materials is the least you can do to demonstrate your professionalism.
Read through your brochure for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, and ensure that all aspects of your design are consistent. As well, it’s always a good idea to get others to read through your brochure to catch any mistakes you might have missed.
Step 4: Finding A Print Partner
Once you’ve finished your design, it’s time to start the printing process. First and foremost, this means working with the right printing company.
While it can be possible to print your brochures in-house, working with a professional printing company offers a wide range of benefits, including the following:
- Professional machinery. Professional printing companies have the heavy-duty digital and offset printing presses that make printing quick. At ZoePrint, most jobs are shipped within two business days after orders are placed.
- Increased flexibility. Professional printers offer a wide range of paper and finishing options, including materials and techniques that office printers simply can’t handle, so you can receive the exact brochure you have in mind.
- Peace of mind. When working with a professional printing company, they take care of all the day-to-day maintenance and quality control. You don’t need to worry about upkeep or repair, buying ink, or bulky machinery that takes up precious square footage in your office.
When you’re considering forming a relationship with a new printing company, make sure to ensure ahead of time that they can meet your needs. Do they print the items you’re looking for? What shipping options do they offer? Is their team dedicated to helping you throughout the process? By working with partners who can answer these questions satisfactorily, you’re able to set yourself up for success.
Step 5: Clicking “Print”
Once you’ve finished steps one through four, you’re ready to place your order. These are the last few choices you need to make.
Pick A Paper
When you work with a professional print partner, you can choose from a wide range of papers. Generally, brochures using thicker papers look more professional and make a better impression, so stocks such as 80# or 100# cover are generally good options.
We recommend printing on glossy paper. The gloss coating will make your images clear and your colors pop, which brings the beautiful photos of your travel destinations to life and inspires readers to buy tickets.
Consider How Many Copies You Need
Printing can be like the Goldilocks story; you don’t want to print too many copies or too few copies, but instead print the number that is just right. If you’re not sure how many copies of your travel brochure you’ll need, we recommend making an estimate on the smaller side. You can always reorder if needed, and ZoePrint’s quick turnaround time makes reordering easy. It also eliminates waste, which both saves money and helps the environment.
Get A Proof
The last step is to get a proof from your printing partner. This ensures that your brochure looks exactly like you want and gives you the opportunity to make changes before your order is printed. Once you’ve approved the proof, it’s time to click “print!”
Kick Your Travel Brochures Up A Notch
When you’re ready to print a high quality travel brochure that gets clients onboard, partner with ZoePrint! Our decades of travel brochure printing expertise makes us the ideal printing partner, and we can also print all of your agency’s other print materials, as well as help you come up with a creative design if you need it.
Our easy online ordering system means that your new brochures are just a click away. Order online or get a custom quote from ZoePrint today!
