Brochure vs Pamphlet: What's the Difference?

Marketing materials play a huge role when it comes to spreading the word about your company's products or services. Both brochures and pamphlets serve the purpose of delivering information to your customers. However, there are a few key differences in how they're used. Here's everything you need to know about brochures and pamphlets in order to choose the right format for your business. 

What is a brochure?

A brochure is a marketing tool that promotes and advertises a business' products or services. It's usually longer than a pamphlet, often consisting of several pages and covering a wide range of topics. 

The purpose of a brochure is to provide existing and new customers with detailed information about your business and the benefits of your products or services. That way, you get the chance to persuade your target audience that you're the right person for the job.

And while most people think of a brochure as a print product, creating and distributing them online gives you more insight into how well your marketing campaigns are doing. In addition to that, a digital brochure is more cost-effective and can be distributed to a wider audience.

What is a pamphlet?

Unlike a brochure, a pamphlet is generally used to spread awareness rather than for marketing purposes or direct selling. Pamphlets cover a single subject in detail with the goal of grabbing your target audience's attention and motivating them to take action.

For example, if you're running a limited time promotion or advertising an event, creating a single-page pamphlet with concise information makes more sense than investing in a brochure. That said, if you're worried about adding to the 85 million tons of paper waste that's created each year by printing pamphlets, consider going paperless and creating them online instead.

What are the benefits of online brochures and pamphlets?

Compared to traditional print materials, online brochures and pamphlets are more cost-effective, eco-friendly, and enable you to reach a wider audience. In addition to that, distributing them is as easy as sharing a link, which means you don't have to hire an additional service to periodically hand out your printed materials. Besides giving you access to a global audience, online brochures and pamphlets also come with the following benefits.

1) Online brochures and pamphlets are more affordable

No matter the budget you have, digital marketing materials are more affordable than physical ones. Granted, you'll still have to pay for a digital platform to create them, but the costs of print and distribution are completely eliminated.

2) Online marketing materials can be interactive

Traditional printed pamphlets and brochures are static materials. Yes, you can add images and design elements to give them some life, but print has limited interactivity. 

By taking your pamphlets and brochures online, you can give your audience a more engaging experience. Clickable links, audio, video, and animations are just some of the elements you can add into a digital format. With print, text and images are all you can work with.

3) Online promotional material is easy to update

Product, service, and event information can change over time. With digital pamphlets and brochures, you can make sure your messaging is up-to-date without the need for reprinting.

4) Online pamphlets and brochures come with analytics and tracking

Distributing printed pamphlets and brochures essentially comes down to putting the information out there and hoping for the best. There's no way of knowing how they're performing and if any changes would make a difference in conversion.

On the other hand, distributing digital ones using online document creation software like Better Proposals gives you more insight into the process. You can see which sections potential customers spend the most time on, and even proactively reach out to customers in real time. That way, you can use the data to improve the effectiveness of your marketing materials.

How to create an online brochure or pamphlet with Better Proposals

You can create a brochure or pamphlet in Better Proposals by modifying one of our templates or starting from scratch. Our Editor takes care of the spacing and formatting, so you don't have to worry about resizing images and making them fit with the text.

What's more, brochures and pamphlets created in Better Proposals are responsive, which means they'll look great on any screen size. In addition to tracking and analytics for each pamphlet or brochure you create, you also have control over the way your potential customers read them. 

For example, you can set brochures with multiple pages to fully scrollable, giving your audience that modern, website feel. And if you prefer the traditional page-by-page view, we've got that as well.

Final thoughts

While people sometimes use the terms pamphlet and brochure interchangeably, the key difference between them is in what you want to achieve with your messaging. A brochure's longer format lets you present your company information and products in as much detail as needed. On the other hand, a pamphlet is great for getting your customers' attention and encouraging them to act.

Whatever your marketing goal may be, one thing's for sure: taking your brochures and pamphlets online is more effective than sticking to traditional print materials. Besides being easier to distribute and modify, online marketing materials created in Better Proposals also come with tracking and analytics. That way, you can see which part of your messaging is working and what needs improving - information that regular, printed materials can't give you.