9 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Your Practice Brochure

By Betty Sosnin

1.   Don’t try to do it yourself or work with novices. A well written, eye-catching brochure can attract patients, position your practice and boost your reputation. A poorly written or designed brochure, on the other hand, can actually have the opposite effect. Work with professionals who understand the fine points of medical marketing.     
2. Don’t believe that shorter is better. Some people mistakenly believe that a one-page handout can be more effective than a brochure. This is not true. Your brochure should cover the services you offer and distinguish your practice from others. This usually cannot be done in a single page. Further, single-page handouts look amateurish and unprofessional.
3. Don’t focus internally. Position the physicians in your practice as skilled professionals and mention their credentials, but keep the emphasis on your patients’ needs and how you can meet them.
4. Don’t overpromise. Inexperienced writers are often careless about overpromising -- a serious mistake in medical marketing. Make sure you can back up every claim your brochure makes. 
5. Don’t write above the reader’s head. Use simple language so your brochure will be easy to read and understand. When using medical terminology, define it in context. Never use footnotes or glossaries in brochures or other marketing pieces.  
6. Don’t skimp on design services. A good designer can create an attractive brochure that reflects your professionalism, captures the essence of your practice and supports the writing.     
7. Appeal to the mind and heart. While your brochure should be specific and informative, it should also convey the warmth and compassion you show your patients. One of the biggest complaints patients have about physicians is that they seem rushed and impersonal.  
8. Don’t confuse patient education with marketing.  The goal of your brochure is to attract patients and expand your practice, not to educate your patients or tell them how to prepare for appointments. That should be done in materials written specifically for educational purposes.
9. Don’t forget the all-important call to action. The purpose of your brochure is to get readers to take the next step in the buying process. Yet many professionally created pieces don’t make it easy for people to do this. Make sure your practice brochure includes prominent calls to action with easy-to-read phone numbers and Web site addresses.