I have never quoted for a job based on word count. The challenge in writing brochures is not to present a lot of information, but rather to express a proposition and substantiate it in as many words as it takes but no more.

Whether aimed at a business or consumer audience, a brochure must persuade the readers to take an action. They must feel that you have fully understood their problems, business challenges, ambitions and desires. As Don Draper says in Mad Men, “The product is you. You are the product.”

Salespeople know this when they are talking to a customer face-to-face or on the phone, but when it comes to communication in print you need an expert who understands the power of the written word! I’ve done it, for example in development proposals for Tesco, in annual reports for software companies and sales brochures for international exhibition organizers.

“Ed always goes directly to the heart of the matter: what’s on the customer’s mind? What will motivate the customer to take an action?”

Richard King, former Marketing Director, SAS Institute EMEA