Software Screen Shots for Brochures

Having worked in and for software development companies ranging from global enterprises to startup businesses I often struggled with one continual marketing challenge: how to graphically capture the power and benefits of software. A screen shot of your latest and greatest user interface is meaningless on it own. Shrink it to fit the average size column width of a brochure and you might as well have added a block of color.

For home based business owners the issue becomes a budget challenge as well. Do you include screen captures in your standard 11 x 8.5 three-fold brochure, or do you invest in a larger marketing piece?

When it comes to software screen shots the parts are greater than the whole. My experience has found that the zooming into specific areas of a screen shot to highlight functions, features, and output allows the reader to visually connect the software with your copy. Here are a few tips for integrating software screen shots with your brochure copy:

1. Select screen shots that correspond with the headlines of your brochure copy.
2. Zoom and crop screen shots to highlight the specific function, feature, or output your copy is discussing.
3. Add captions to screen shots for further details.
4. Group function shots with output shots using arrows to visually connect and depict the process flow.