Great topic! I’m glad you brought this up!

I think Mike Wagner has several really GREAT points that I want to expand on a bit:

1. create a piece with “pass along value” – not some fluffy say-nothing worthless brochure that exists solely to win the designer a few awards. Fluff gets thrown out by everyone except those looking to copy fluffy ideas. No, this piece needs to be very USEFUL to the recipient. That’s a tall order, but for lasting effectiveness it is a necessity. The last thing we all need is more documents to store in “file 13.”

2. The brochure should advance the sales process, not just say “Here we are. We do this stuff.” Again, the brochure should be useful. Who’s going to bother reading something not useful? Not me.

3. This one is the best, and least understood, I believe: integrate a brochure with all other channels of communication. 100% right on! If off-line materials would just integrate with the on-line… sigh… there are vast untapped possibilities there. (Just so no one is confused, a line of text that says “visit our web site” is NOT integration.) If you don’t know how to integrate your off-line with on-line, you need to seek professional assistance from someone who does. And to be sure, there is no one single method of integration. That’s the challenge. It is going to vary business to business, brand to brand. (I feel a blog post coming on…)

Nice comments all!

“OK, I’ve done that. Now, let’s get sales!” goes the thought process. This leads to generic materials, non-stimulative thinking, and boring buisness practices.

By the way, you inspired me to take a look at my current thinking on the topic and I just post “Where oh where has my trifold brochure gone?” on http://www.profitmeister.com/blog/.

Here’s what I use:
- Web site (getgood.com) acts as static brochure. Capabilities, CV, etc.
- Blog , used mostly for building reputation, expertise, connecting with people
- Periodic e-newsletter (Marketing Roadsigns)
- One-page printed flyer that promotes two “package” offerings — the Marketing Roadmap for small businesses and my Blogging 101 workshop. I use this at speaking engagements.

As for me and my business — I only need one, and only occasionally as a leave-behind piece after in-person presentations. Its purpose: to serve as a sort of FAQ for businesses who’ve never hired a writer before (how the process works, what they can expect, etc.). And it always directs them back to my website for more information.

Otherwise, a brochure’s a waste of money for my business. There are other pieces of marketing collateral that are more targeted (demographically and situationally) that are more effective in making my point, and I can distribute all of that electronically.

Do I have a brochure? Sort of – I list what I do on the back of my business card. I took the brochure and whittled out everything but the headlines. The back of the card has the headlines.

Brochures get thrown away.

With this post you are asking us to move from mindless and reactive tactical marketing to thoughtful and strategic uses of our finite resources to pursue success in our given business.

In my work, digital solutions like PDFs and Web sites are the follow up means I use.

For me to advance a sale and ultimately close a sale I do not currently use the tactic of a sales brochure.

And I utilize my blog primarily to nurture communication with prospective clients since it is an interactive medium over that of a brochure.

With all of that said, I never say never.

I can imagine remarkable and relevant ways a brochure might be used to advance my work.

If I was looking for someone to produce a brochure for me I would want someone who would accept the challenge to create a piece with “pass along value” much like that of a magazine that people give to friends when they are done with it.

I would want a designer that cared about my sales process and understood how this brochure would advance the process.

And would want to collaborate with someone that had vision for integrating a brochure with all of other channels of communication even those I have only just began to experiment with like YouTube.

I’m not done thinking about this. But this is a start.

Great challenge to get out of the predictable tactical marketing rut!

Keep creating,
Mike