While I’ve been fortunate to have had a number of opportunities to lend my design services to the fight against type 1 diabetes, it’s rare that I get a venue to use my words in that effort. However, I was recently presented with just such an opportunity.

Lisa and I are honored to be featured by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s New England Chapter / Bay State Branch as this month’s Cure Champion. With that honor came a request to write a “profile” for their website. With so much emotion behind every keystroke, it was one of the the toughest writing assignments I’ve ever faced…and perhaps the most important.

You can read our story on the Baystate Branch’s homepage this month (look for the Cure Champion section). Update June 7, 2010: Our story is now archived among the JDRF’s past Cure Champions (see May 2010).

It seems that my sporadic reading schedule is always at least one edition behind in my attempt to keep pace with the magazines and periodicals to which I subscribe. So, with that disclaimer out of the way, let me share an important, thought-provoking article that appeared in the December 2009 edition of Outside Magazine.

The article, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, is titled How to Save the World & Influence People. How can you pass over a title like that?

Kristof examines the typical ways that aid organizations and philanthropic nonprofits share their messages, recent psychology findings regarding how those messages are perceived, and some key elements found among those messages that are effective at eliciting public reaction. In a realm where the ability for an organization’s message to resonate with the public can, in some cases,  literally mean the difference between life and death for those who would be served by the organization’s work, any such insights should be considered carefully.

Kristoff tells us that one important finding revealed by recent research is that “We intervene not because of stories of desperate circumstances but when can be cheered up with positive stories of success and transformation. For example:

One experiment found that people are quite willing to pay for a water-treatment facility to save 4,500 lives in a refugee camp with 11,000 people in it, but they are much less willing to pay for the same facility to save 4,500 lives when the refugee camp is said to have 250,000 inhabitants. In effect, what matters is saving a high proportion of people, not just a large number of lives.

According to Paul Slovic, psychology professor and researcher at the University of Oregon, saving a large proportion of group is seen as a success, and is therefore satisfying, while saving a small proportion is viewed as a failure -even if it’s a large number. While I find this quit intriguing, I also find it a bit unsettling.

Regardless of what the finding says about human nature, it certainly seems like something that nonprofits everywhere would be well-served to take note of, and to keep in mind as they craft their outreach and marketing messages. In fact, perhaps the central lessons here apply to all socially and environmentally responsible organizations, nonprofit or otherwise.

The research findings outlined in this article suggest that such groups will have significantly more success in connecting with their target audiences if they use a benefit-focused approach, rather than a need-focused approach. Help your readers to become the hero. For example, rather than sharing stories of the dismal social or environmental conditions that your organization is working to address, or even what you’re specifically doing to address those conditions, share stories of success -stories in which your supporters’ involvement has directly contributed to significant change. In doing so, you’ll not only highlight your organization’s proven ability to enact change, but more importantly, you’ll enable your audience to see a path by which they can be a part of that change. By incorporating such success-oriented messaging across your marketing materials, you’ll improve your success at transforming your audience from sympathetic to engaged -from bystanding to upstanding.

Speaking of marketing…One aspect of this otherwise wonderful article that I found to be unfortunate is the language that Kristof uses at times to describe the marketing industry. The article leads with the question, “What would happen if aid organizations and other philanthropists embraced the dark arts of marketing spin and psychological persuasion used on Madison Avenue?” By referring to the marketing industry in this way, he does little to dispel the belief that the profession of marketing and its goals are inherently at odds with the goals of altruistic organizations. To the contrary, it’s been my experience that too many good people doing good work either fail to realize the power of marketing, or carry a mistaken notion that marketing must be manipulative, and is therefore beneath the purity of their cause. It’s also been my experience that they do so at their own detriment. As Kristoff states, “Like Pepsi, humanitarian causes need savvy marketing. Indeed, they need it far more than a soft drink company.”

Ditto for graphic design, needless to say ; )

Check it out: Read the complete article. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Author’s note: If you haven’t already read the preceding article, Creating an effective brochure #1: Planning, I highly recommend starting there, then coming back to this article. Many of the suggestions below assume that you’ve already given consideration to the information and questions presented in the article on planning.

When creating a brochure, regardless of the organization, service, product or project it will represent, quality content is paramount. A brochure that captures the attention of your audience, engages readers and effectively communicates your message not only requires the use of good writing and design principles, but content that is meaningful and valuable to readers. This is not an area to cut corners. Time invested in researching, preparing and editing content is never wasted. In short, Be as mindful of the character of your content as you are of the content of your character.

The following is a list of suggestions and guidelines to consider as you craft your brochure’s content.

1. MAKE AN EMOTIONAL APPEAL

The old adage in marketing is that consumers buy based on emotions and justify with logic. The need to appeal to your readers emotions holds weight even if you are not selling anything per se, but are looking to compel readers to perform a certain action, change their behavior, or simply contact you or visit a website for additional information.

2. BE PROFESSIONAL

No one wants their brochure to appear cheap or amateurish, as the publication serves as a representation of your organization and its staff. There is no quicker way to suffer this unfortunate situation than by including careless writing errors, poor quality graphics or generic clip art.

As a side note, professional doesn’t always have to mean polished. For example, many nonprofits who depend largely on public and private donations may want to make sure their promotional materials do not appear too slick and polished, inadvertently giving readers the impression that they are well-funded. Nonetheless, in these situations, a clean professional image is no less important and will convey to prospective donors and grantors that your organization has its act together and will use their funds wisely and efficiently.

3. BE PERSONAL

An effective brochure shares your message in a way that connects personally with your audience. If your brochure spends too much time talking about how great your organization or business is, rather than life from the reader’s perspective, it will likely only make a connection with the trash can.

4. MAINTAIN READABILITY

The need for a brochure to be readable seems obvious, but is too often overlooked. It should be easy to the eyes, a clearly displayed hierarchy of information. Key information should be broken up into easily digestible bits through the use of bullet points, arrows, boxes, or other design elements.

When establishing readability, it is important to be realistic and to put the needs of your target audience first. Consider any potential accessibility issues that your readers might have such as visual impairments or language barriers.

5. SPEAK THE LANGUAGE

An effective brochure will speak in a language that is familiar to it’s target readers. Avoid any technical terms that your readers may not understand, as they may only create distance between you and your audience. The simpler your communications are, the easier it will be to connect with your readers.

6. LEAD WITH THE BENEFITS

Rather than pitching your service or product, consider selling its benefits, whether they be for the reader directly or for the community in which the reader lives. By promoting benefits such as time savings, enhanced productivity, safety, or environmental improvements, you are much more likely to capture your readers’ attention.

7. MAINTAIN A CLEAR, SINGULAR MESSAGE

It’s often tempting for the inexperienced brochure writer to include as much information as possible in the brochure, providing their readers with a listing of all the features of your service or product. This temptation often stems from the misguided notion that their brochure can be used to close the sale, so to speak. However, providing too much information and covering too many topics has a tendency to confuse readers and distract them from the core message. Instead, choose one primary theme or message that you wish your brochure to convey, and create all of your content in support of that theme.

8. FOCUS ON A SINGLE SERVICE OR PRODUCT LINE

A brochure is not a catalog and should not be treated like one. The central message of your brochure should be based on a single service or product line. The greater the number of services, items and choices in your brochure, the greater the likelihood you will confuse, overwhelm or otherwise lose the attention of your readers.

9. MAKE A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION

Your brochure should direct the reader to take a specific, definable action such as make a phone call for more information, or visit a website or physical location. If your brochure is well-written, it will leave readers wanting more. If your brochure lacks a clear call to action and fails to make it clear what they can do to get more information, you’ve missed a golden opportunity.

It’s not enough to make your audience thirsty, you’ve got to lead them to the water too.

10. GET GOOD HELP

Consider hiring a professional graphic designer with experience in brochure design. Their knowledge, insights, and talents will produce a more effective brochure, improving your odds of winning the patronage of your prospective customers or clients.