The way you arrange your text on a brochure is a style element all on its own. You probably think of where the photos and graphics go, and then figure the text can just fill in the gaps. But you can get creative with the way you arrange text on your printed brochures (as well as other marketing materials) in a way that will support better readability.

1. First off, while your text is still in the word processor, make sure all the sentences are short. Shorter sentences are easier to read, especially in constrained proportions, like a brochure that requires sentences to flow from one line to the next. A sentence that wraps around three lines of a paragraph will seem longer than it really is just because of the number of lines it takes up.

2. When printing brochures, your cover shouldn’t have much text. It should include a headline that grabs people’s attention and makes them curious to open the brochure. A photo or graphic should be the main focus of the front cover.

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3. Start each panel of your brochure with a large headline. This headline should go at the top of the paper, barring any photos. A photo at the very top with a headline underneath works well. The headline should either be in a different color from the body text (but just as readable) or it should be in a different font. A combination of both is welcome to make the headings stand out even more. A pop of color will draw the eye to the heading and encourage the reader to read the body text underneath.

4. Use paragraphs to create design elements. As you can see in the example, the three short paragraphs on the left inside panel of the bi-fold brochure create a horizontal line about a third of the way from the bottom of the brochure. The paragraphs on the top right inside panel create a frame for the picture of the man. The paragraphs next to the man are nicely arranged to be about even with him, and then get shorter, like a pyramid to draw your eyes to the middle of the page.

5. Play around with your paragraphs to frame photos and graphic elements. Use big indents to create a tabletop look to your paragraph. By shying away from big rectangular blocks of text, your paragraphs become design elements.

6. Write a short paragraph including a call to action on your back panel. You could also include some bullet points stating the benefits of your product, but don’t make the paragraph too long. You need to leave room for your address, Web site address, phone number, fax number and other corporate information. Check out the example below. Both the front and back panels are bare of much text and both include photos to draw the reader in.