Abstract

The purpose of a brochure is to provide an overview of the accomplishments of a program by sharing program information — including evaluation results. A well-conceived brochure can add much to a program's image and subsequent marketing efforts. This effective practice, excerpted in part from the Project STAR materials, "Reporting Loop: Using and Communicating Evaluation Results," offers tips on creating a brochure.

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Issue

Sharing evaluation results and other measures of success of a program is an important part of program sustainability.

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Action

According to Project STAR, steps to take when creating brochures include:

1. Before you begin, collect and review other program or business brochures.
2. Determine your target audience.
3. Keep text easy to read.
4. Don't be afraid to be human, warm, and personal.
5. A brochure may cover a broad topic but it should not contain so much information that it overwhelms the reader. State only the most important points.
6. Translate results into success. Use illustrations or pictures to express your evaluation data. Include volunteers' or members' stories. Choose two or three essential points to describe your success. If there are other important elements, consider listing them in a simple bulleted list or chart.

According to Sandra Harner in Technical Marketing Communication, consider the following tips for developing better brochures:

1. Start selling on the cover. Use this opportunity to communicate the most important benefit to your reader.
2. Organization of content is important. Think in terms of a beginning, a middle, and an end.
3. Strive for a personal tone. Use the word "you" frequently. Use short words, short sentences or sentence fragments, and a natural, relaxed, friendly style.
4. Support claims by testimonials.
5. Keep content lively by using crisp paragraphs, headings, and subheadings.
6. Verify the accuracy of technical information.
7. Don't forget details such as the logo, company name, address, phone number, locations, and website URL.

According to Kitty Locker in Business and Administrative Communication, when designing a brochure:

1. Determine your objective(s). (To inform, persuade, call to action, entertain.)
2. Identify a central focus point: one main idea your audience will get.
3. Choose an image you want to project.
4. Draft text to see how much room you will need.
5. Make every choice — color, font, layout and paper — a conscious decision.
6. Experiment with different sizes of paper and layout.
7. Polish the prose and graphics. Use an appropriate style and tone.

General guidelines for page design include:

1. Use white space to separate and emphasize key points.
2. Use headings to group points and lead the reader through the document.
3. Limit the use of words set in all capital letters.
4. Use no more than two fonts in a single document.
5. Put important elements in the top left and lower right quadrants of the page.
6. Use highlighting, decorative devices, and color in moderation.

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Context

For more assistance formatting or developing a brochure, contact Campaign Consultation, Inc., or investigate local universities, the Internet, community copy or print shops, and even computer software which may contain brochure templates.

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Citation

Harner, Sandra, Zimmerman, Tom C. and Dragga, Sam, Technical Marketing Communication, Allyn and Bacon Series in Technical Communication, Allyn and Bacon/Longman Publishers, 2002.

Locker, Kitty, Business and Administrative Communication, 6th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2003, pp. 127 and 133.

Project STAR, "Reporting Loop: Using and Communicating Evaluation Results," November 2001.

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Outcome

Brochures provide:

An overview of accomplishments

A professional appearance for programs

Quick answers to frequently asked questions about programs

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Posted On

September 25, 2003

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For More Information

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Resources

Project STAR, "Reporting Loop: Using and Communicating Evaluation Results," November 2001.

Related Practices

• Developing a program evaluation system

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Related sites

Topic Areas

• Marketing and media
• Performance measurement
• Program evaluation
• Staff
• Project STAR
• Cross-Stream
• Program management

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