Print brochures are still a staple marketing tool. Even with the rapid rise that social media, brochures work. People want to take something in hand that allows them to consider an organization’s benefits at the time and place of their choice.

So how do you get a great brochure? Let’s look at a recent one written by Zoyo Branding. This brochure was a team effort between Zoyo, a wonderful independent graphic designer Tammy Fujihara and the attentive, cooperative client team at Bainbridge Pediatrics.

Step 1:  Know your brand

Clarify in your mind the key attributes of your organization. Are you a leader in your field, useing your resources to take your clients to the top? Are you the seeker, helping your customers find meaning? Are you a caregiver, nurturing your patrons with your products and services? If you don’t have clarity on your brand identity, the brochure will not be clear. It will be difficult for your team to know when it’s “right” or “good enough.” It will be equally difficult for your audience to really understand who you are.

Step 2: Clarify your key messages

A brochure can say a lot. But it can’t say everything. And it needs to argue your points in a way that makes sense to your audience. In Step 2,  you get close to thinking about the text of the brochure, but you don’t think about the actual brochure. In this step, the client and branding partners (such the friendly folks at Zoyo) sit down and list all of the things you want to say. Then you list three “proof points” for each message. Then you look at the lists and narrow them down, consolidating any overlaps and combining like messages. If you don’t have three real proof points for each message, you have to remove it because it’s an overpromise or it’s not “big” enough to be its own message.

Step 3: Write and design the brochure

Here a professional writer (like those at Zoyo) takes the key message lists and crafts it into a compelling message. The brochure will include all of the issues in the Key Messages doc you created in Step 2, but it won’t look the same. A list is very different from an effective argument. At the same time, a professional designer (such as those Zoyo partners with) will begin to use the branding information as well as the key messages to gather up images and create some layouts. The designer will also line up a printer.

Step 4: Edit, review, edit

A brochure is a costly marketing tool. In the end, each one can cost between $1-$5, or even more. So you  want to make sure the brochures work hard for you. You want everyone in your organization to wave it around with pride. The final step is to edit, review it with your entire team, and edit some more. When you’re happy with it, the graphic deisnger will user it through the printing process. A week or so later, you’ll have a stack of great brochures that your team will happily pass out and your audience will eagerly read.