Flyer/brochure/booklet? Let's clear the confusion once and for all.

This article comes from experience. Many of our clients are flustered when it comes to deciding which one of the following marketing tools design they should commission us with: leaflet design, brochure design or booklet design. 

Surely we always take time to sit down with the client and try to help them decide based on the purpose, when the leaflet design, brochure design or booklet design needs to be ready for printing and, ultimately, the printing budget. But at a certain point we thought, maybe we could point out the differences and the deciding factors on our blog in hopes of saving everyone some valuable time. 

Don't have time to read? A FREE printable recap is available. Click here to download.

Flyer

Flyers (also commonly called leaflets) are marketing tools that are printed on a single piece of paper without any fold. It may be A5 or A4 in size and printed on one side or both sides of the paper.

Flyers are the cheapest between all three, so they are commonly printed in mass quantity and handed out freely to a broad range of audience at high-traffic locations in order to announce an event or a promo. They are also the fastest to produce, so you have plenty of time to develop the design and content.

Speaking of content, information contained in a flyer should be short and impactful. It can be in the form of a sentence or short points.

A periodic thematic flyer is great for gaining continuous exposure and leaving your audience wanting more.

Brochure

Although both are printed on a single piece of paper, the difference between leaflets and brochures lies in the fold: brochures are usually folded into several parts after being printed on both sides of paper, resulting in 4-12 panels depending on the fold style that is used. More information is available in the FREE downloadable material.

Brochures are usually placed for some time at specific places frequented by their target audience. They should contain just enough information and details about one/several products/services to get people interested and contact your store or visit your website.

Infographics can convey a lot of information in a limited space such as that of a brochure.

In order grab the audience's attention, a brochure should have a striking/interesting cover that also portray the product/service that you are selling. It is usually printed on high quality paper with some finishing before folded manually. For that reason, a longer period of time should be spared for production.

Booklet

Booklets are the more distinctive between all three, because they consist of multiple sheets that are bound/stitched together.

What makes a booklet different from a book is the number of pages; any publication that has 48 or more pages are considered as a book, while a booklet has 8 up to 48 pages. One important note: the number of pages should also be a multiple of 4, including the cover pages. 

Creative finishings can create more impact and trigger emotional responses.

Since it has more pages than a brochure, a booklet can contain a lot more information. Therefore it is the perfect format for catalogs, guides or manuals. Booklets are usually printed in a lower quantity that is reserved for those who already have some knowledge of your product/service.

Marketing representatives should always have several in stock to be handed to those who want to know more and are closer to purchasing your product/service.

Click here to download a FREE exclusive tearsheet recapping the content of this article.

You can also check out some leaflet designs, brochure designs and booklet designs that we have developed for a wide range of clients!