Marketing guru Seth Godin recently talked about brochures and said the one thing no marketer wants to hear: Nobody reads brochures.
I didn’t say it wasn’t important. I just said it wasn’t going to get read.
People will consider its heft. They might glance at the photos. They will certainly notice the layout. And, if you’re lucky, they’ll read a few captions or testimonials.
At its best, a brochure is begging for someone to judge you.
Here are a few ways to get more out of your church brochures (some via Godin, some via us):
- Less words. Cut your copy by a third.
- Follow the writing rules for busy people (headers, bulleted lists, etc.)
- Use testimonies from real people with real photos.
- Did we mention real photos? Ditch the stock photography and use real photos from your church. The authenticity gained is worth the price/effort.
- Make it remarkable enough that people will show their friends. Now there’s a concept—a church brochure that people talk about. How do you do it? Be funny. Be helpful. Be insightful. Be interesting. Be something no other church brochure is.
- Show, don’t tell. Telling me you have a fun and exciting children’s ministry isn’t going to work.
- Leave them wanting more. The point is for people to check out your church or your ministries or whatever your brochure is hyping. So make sure they want more: either they need to know more information or it’s so cool they have to check it out or whatever.
- Before it’s done, share it with others and get some feedback. An outside perspective can do wonders.
Making a brochure that works is no easy task. But the payoff can be huge. (link via Tony Morgan)
