We know that a brochure is an informative document which appears to be in the form of a foldable card (usually in 3 fold format), used to introduce a company and its products/services. Basic and standard information like the firm’s name, contact details, logo & tagline, products & services, and benefits the firm can provide to their clients etc. are included in the brochures. Brochures are powerful advertising tools. They establish the identity of a business firm. Such documents can be used to advertise a company or a brand. In the earlier days, traditional printed brochures served as effective means of promotion, but today in this digital age, the companies which were using traditional brochures changed to electronic brochures.
The need for electronic media is increasing rapidly. This is because nowadays, as people spend most of their time on the internet, it is easy to circulate such electronic publications and make it reach the maximum audience. An expert graphic designer could be hired to create an attractive design for the e-brochure, or you can even create your own designs with the help of free templates available on the internet. A lot of templates for e-brochures are available online, which can be downloaded for free. You can just google editable brochure templates and interactive digital brochure examples to get an idea about creating e-brochures and for choosing the best design and template for your brochure. If you are a student or a beginner in the design field, just consider searching for ‘online brochure maker for students’ on the internet. You could create a sample and use it as a portfolio if you wish to pursue a career in design.
How to make an e-brochure?
Creating professional brochures does not require pro-level design skills. Content and engaging design are important in making a great impression of your products and services.
Firstly, choose a format and template which you will be using for the entire brochure. You can search for the format and templates on the internet. Even the Microsoft word comes with a large number of templates for brochures. Adobe InDesign can be utilized for designing these documents. If you prefer, you can also develop a template from scratch, or else you can choose from the existing templates as mentioned earlier.
After choosing a template, customize the templates by making necessary changes that suit your needs. Replace background, customize the font and add your own text and images. Remove or insert borders, text boxes and graphics. Make the design eye-catching to receive maximum attention. Use solid colours for the background. It is best advised to use only a single font or a maximum of 2 different fonts for the entire content because using multiple fonts for different sections can result in a visually confusing design.
Next step is adding the content. Delete the sample text and type in the text required in your e-brochure. Provide necessary headings for them. Write an engaging copy that will help in getting connected with the target audience. Arrange them with proper spacing and alignment. Along with the basic details of your company, you should also include content which defines how your organization is different from others and how the audience can get benefited by choosing your firm. Use descriptive headers, add subheadings, listings and bullet points. Use images, texts and links in the content.
Once you are finished with the design and content, save it in pdf or any other format. Pdf will be the best format for distribution. The finished brochure can be uploaded on your website to ensure its online presence. You will be still able to edit and make changes in future. Make sure that the design is flawless with high-quality images and error-free texts. Once it is uploaded, you can share it through links and emails.
Printable Brochures Vs Online Brochures
Today, many businesses opt for e-brochures rather than printable brochures. Both have their own advantages; however in this technological era, as everything is getting digitized, it is better to move along with that trend. The main advantages of e-brochures are cost efficiency and easiness of distribution. Online designing requires very little resources and effort. Businesses do not require to spend a large amount on printing and distribution of brochures. Also, these brochures are not bound by geographical boundaries; they have the potential to reach everywhere, globally.
The global distribution of e-brochures can happen instantly. They can be sent to people who are living far away from you. You can refresh the content and make sure that you have the latest version of the document. The type of business is also an influential factor in choosing online brochures, for example: if the majority of your target audience is found to be on social media, then you can definitely go for e-brochures. The performance of the brochure could be easily tracked with the help of analytical tools, which is not possible in the case of printed brochures.
The top ten advantages of e-brochures are provided below:
Flexibility
E-brochures are more flexible than traditional brochures. The best design that suits your requirement can be selected from varieties of templates and designs available, which makes them more adaptable. Such property enables graphic designers to design a brochure which can adapt to changes in the marketplace, without the need of reprinting.
Easy to distribute
It is much easier to distribute online brochures. There are several ways to distribute them. It doesn’t matter wherever your target audiences are located; the e-brochures could be still shared with them. You can add and place them in promotional posts, newsletters, other similar emails etc. In such ways, you could connect with a large number of audience and earn their trust easily.
Cost-effective
By designing e-brochures and distributing them online, the printing costs can be saved to a great extent. It is one of the easiest ways to cut marketing expenses. As digital distribution can reduce the cost of printing and publishing, posting these brochures won’t incur high costs. You can share them with potential customers, business contacts, target audience and other individuals.
More responsive than traditional brochures
A large number of audiences can be attracted by sending them e-brochures, as many as you can. As they are redistributable, no need to worry about running out of them. When someone receives these brochures through email or any other online platform, they can easily respond to you. The recipients can quickly provide their feedback about the brochures, responses about the message provided in it and even suggestions to improve the quality of the content and design.
Easy to download
E-brochures usually come in smaller sizes, so they are easy to download. These brochures can be saved in pdf or any other suitable format and can be attached along with emails, newsletters etc. The receiver can share it, save it and download it without any difficulty. In such a way, the clients will get instant access to your brochure and have a great reading experience. If someone prefers a hardcopy of an e-brochure, then he/she can easily download and print it.
Saves time
E-brochures are time-effective, they save a lot of time required for advertisement. By searching ‘how to make an e-brochure for free’, on the internet, you can even design an online brochure on your own. These brochures can reduce the time taken for sending information to prospective clients. Unlike traditional printed brochures, you are not required to make multiple copies and find a storage space to keep them. You can create a single copy of e-brochure and distribute it to many people.
Conveys more information
You can include a lot of information in a small space. Moving images, sound clips, a virtual tour of your organization in the form of 360 image/video, links to other website and publications etc. can be included in the e-brochures. In such a way, plenty of information can be added to a trifold e-brochure. You can also generate more sales by including discount coupons in the brochure.
Environmentally safe
E-brochures are environmentally safe; they help to prevent the wastage of paper. As printed brochures are made of papers, lots of paper sheets are required for printing; However, in the case of e-brochures, no paper is wasted in creating it. The cost of buying a bulk amount of paper sheets can be saved.
Easy to edit and modify
E-brochures can be easily updated and modified. In the case of printed brochures, it is not possible to make any changes once they are printed, whereas, in the case of e-brochures, you can easily modify and update the content. Even the size, style and design can be changed according to your wish.
Serves as a powerful marketing tool
The brochures you send online to your clients can be forwarded to their friends and relatives. In such a way, the overall brand reputation will be increased, and more traffic will be driven to your website. You can even personalize your business by sending brochures to a single person from the target audience. Such an approach will help the sender to communicate on a personal level and have one-to-one communication.
As mentioned above, creating a unique and attractive electronic brochure is essential for advertising, developing your business and increasing brand reputation. Almost all kind of firms, from small to large, encourage the use of such brochures. The communication process becomes fast and easy through e-brochures. Many marketing experts suggest the use of e-brochures than traditional printed brochures as there are many benefits in following such a modern way of advertisement. These brochures serve like a printed medium on the web.