Brochure Marketing Ideas for Nonprofits

Nonprofit organizations, like businesses, often use brochures at the core of their fundraising efforts. Brochure marketing is so versatile that it can't be ignored. Direct-mail brochures are fundamental in securing new and repeat donations from charitable individuals and organizations that are moved by your cause.

Here are a few direct-mail brochure marketing ideas for nonprofit organizations:

Find your audience

Your first consideration when planning a direct-mail brochure campaign should be your target audience, or the people who historically are the most likely to donate money to your cause. Once you've defined who you need to target, you'll need to refine your list with a reputable company such as PsPrint, which offers an instant mailing list widget on its website. As with all marketing, the quality of your list is the most important indicator of campaign success - or lack thereof - and shouldn't be ignored.

Decide on your content

After you've identified your target market and your strategy for pulling them in, you need to decide what to include in your brochure. You can be as creative as you want, but keep in mind that great nonprofit organization brochures should include these four elements:

Mission statement - This isn't necessarily your one-line or paragraph mission statement, but rather compelling copy that introduces your cause and how your organization is involved

Donor confidence boosts - This is where you should demonstrate, with numbers and graphics, what your organization has been able to accomplish with past donations. Show where you spend your money and prove that you are responsible and do achieve positive change.

Profiles of beneficiaries - Profile those individuals whom you have helped (remember to protect their identities, though the stories should be true); and you can also consider profiling donors. Show how your organization connects donors to those seeking help and how far their money goes.

Call to action - The goal of your brochure is not so much to educate as it is to deliver a compelling pitch. Give donors a reason to donate and make it easy for them to do so by visiting a website, sending in a response form or calling a number. If you want to up the ante, seek a local business that is willing to match donations up to a certain date - this adds the extra pressure of a time-sensitive offer since donors know their contributions will be automatically doubled.

Get an eye-catching design

Once you have your list and your copy, you need to make sure you stand out from a sea of competitors. There are tons of distractions clamoring for your donors' dollars, so make sure to hire a professional designer to create a compelling design. Have your brochure printed on quality paper stock run through state-of-the-art offset or digital printing presses. PsPrint is a great resource for quality printing jobs on a nonprofit budget. They can also die-cut flyers in specific shapes and offer oversized brochures - both of which will have great impact on the trip from the mailbox to the recliner and help your message bypass File 13.

This information should act as a springboard for expanding your brochure marketing horizons. Don't be afraid to be creative - just make sure you don't miss any of the key elements of effective direct-mail brochures for nonprofit organizations.

Since 1990, PsPrint has provided better printing and service to nearly 500,000 small business marketers and graphic designers. PsPrint combines state-of-the-art Internet capabilities and the industry's best printing equipment with experienced print professionals and color specialists to deliver convenient online ordering, consistent color matching and 99.7 percent on-time delivery. By offering a 100 percent customer satisfaction guarantee, PsPrint also stands behind every order, every time. More than 70 top-quality and eco-friendly printed products and related mailing services are available online at www.PsPrint.com.