Are Small Business Brochure Templates Worth the Cost?

A number of websites now offer downloadable brochure templates to help your small business create an appealing and memorable sales brochure. These templates can often carry a hefty price tag, however, and for start-up companies, every dollar counts. While pre-made templates can provide a number of benefits to companies looking to develop a brochure for marketing purposes, this purchase shouldn't be taken lightly. Here are a few important aspects to consider when deciding if brochure templates are a smart choice for your small business.

Most importantly, spend some time thinking about whether a brochure is an integral part of your small business's marketing campaign. Yes, the classic tri-fold brochure has been a staple handout for companies of all sizes for decades, but that doesn't mean it's the best solution in every situation. If your company is still very much in the growth and market exploration stage-where the products, services, or target market you are focusing on is constantly changing-a brochure can end up obsolete or inaccurate in a few months and leave you with a host of unnecessary design and printing fees. Additionally, if you know that your target market will rely on personal selling, face-to-face interaction, or online communication, don't spend valuable time and money on a sheet of paper that may get quickly thrown away or ignored. Once you have determined if a brochure is right for your small business, you can start thinking about if paying for a brochure template is a smart move.

When considering the purchase of a business brochure template, you first have to honestly assess your own creative and artistic abilities and determine whether or not you are able to create a brochure without the use of pre-made templates. With Microsoft Publisher, Adobe InDesign, and a number of other desktop publishing software packages, you can have the ability to create an effective brochure from scratch that will be truly unique to your company. Often, however, small business owners can get in the trap of overestimating their own abilities. The result can be hours of wasted time designing a brochure from the ground up and less than satisfactory results. If you have the proper software at your disposal, explore the possibilities and see what you can create. Within a few hours (or even a few minutes) you should be able to see whether or not you are up to the challenge of designing a brochure yourself.

Next, you must determine whether or not your small business brochure will rely heavily on unique and specific content. Stock templates will give you the ability the edit text and plug in your company's logo, but they often leave you stuck with the stock photography and layouts that the creator of the template chose. While this uniform look may suit a number of businesses, if your company needs to show off specific photos or has a brochure structure already in mind, the template may leave you feeling restricted. In these situations, your best bet is often to contract a brochure designer who can work with you one-on-one to create a unique brochure that meets your specific needs. To make sure you don't end up with buyer's remorse, always ask a brochure template provider how much of the content is editable and moveable before you make a purchase.

Brochures are undoubtedly a valuable resource for many small businesses and pre-made brochure templates can make the creation and customization of marketing materials easier than ever before. An honest assessment of your company's needs must occur, though, to determine if the purchase of a template is right for you. Consider the nature of your business, your company's own design capabilities, and the content ideas you already have in mind and the decision will surely be a worthwhile one.