Although brochure design software is a relatively new development, the brochure has been around for a long time. Going all the way back to the early days of general stores and mail-order catalogs, these humble folded marketing materials have been a reliable and cost effective way to advertise your products or services. Fast forward to today, and brochures are still alive and well!
There’s a fairly good chance that you’ve seen a brochure or two in the last month. They’re displayed in hotel lobbies, handed out on the sidewalk and sent directly to your mailbox. You’ve probably seen them online too, even if you didn’t realize it. Lately digital brochures are all the rage, and for good reason too.
So what exactly are digital brochures, and how do they differ from conventional brochures? More importantly, what is the best brochure design software, for digital or conventional brochures? These are the questions I’ll be answering today.
I’ll dive a little deeper into the distinction between digital and printed brochures in a minute, but for the moment, let’s define the word “brochure”.
A brochure is a type of marketing collateral (either printed or digital) that serves the purpose of informing the reader of a product or service in a visually appealing and straightforward manner.
Considering their similarities, you’d be forgiven for being under the impression that digital brochures are simply conventional brochures that have been uploaded online. This may be true in some cases, but companies that approach digital brochures in this way are missing out!
Here’s the thing: with the right brochure maker software, a digital brochure can offer a plethora of advantages over conventional brochures. Instead of simply offering a way to view brochures on a phone, tablet or computer, a good brochure maker will enable you to interact with readers in a wide variety of ways.
So what are the advantages of digital brochures? There are a lot to cover, but here are some of the big ones:
Cost effective. Digital brochures are cheap. Like, really cheap. Since there’s no per-unit cost, you can leverage near-unlimited reach and scale.
Eco friendly. Digital brochures are a lot better for the environment than conventional brochures. No paper waste generated whatsoever!
Easy to distribute: Digital brochures can be shared in 1,001 different ways. Share them as a link, QR Code, social media post or animated GIF; you can be anywhere your customers are!
Super interactive. Digital brochures offer way more interactivity than your average printed brochure. You can make your products and services come to life with videos, GIFs, page-flip animations and popups and interactive storefronts.
Powerful analytics. Many digital brochure maker software solutions offer a powerful set of analytics tools that allow you to see how readers interact with your brochures. This allows you to adopt a data-driven approach to tailoring your brochures for maximum effectiveness.
What about conventional brochures? Are they still worthwhile? Sure, digital brochures seem like the obvious best choice for marketers in the internet age. But can conventional brochures hold their own? The answer is… it’s complicated. They have their uses, but they tend to be a bit more niche in their application. In most cases, digital brochures are the way to go.
Effective in rural areas: Sure, we live in the digital age; but not everyone has caught up yet. For rural areas with limited access to the internet, conventional brochures are pretty much your only option.
Better for targeting older demographics. Ever had your grandpa call you in a panic to tell you that he accidentally deleted the internet from his computer? Yeah, digital brochures might not be the best way to reach these folks.
Ultimately, most marketers opt for the convenience and cost-effectiveness of digital brochures. Both options offer features and advantages that the other doesn’t, so the best solution is usually a balancing act to find out what works best for your company. That said, unless you fit
As an example, if you own a travel agency in a small town, you might want to focus on conventional brochures; for most other use cases, such as cold outreach or lead generation, digital brochures are the superior option.
Alright, now you know what a digital brochure is, and how digital brochures differ from conventional printed brochures. It’s time you learned what features to seek out when you’re deciding which digital or printed brochure maker to pay for.
If you want to create digital brochures, you should prioritize finding a brochure maker that:
Is easy to use: Unless you’ve got experience in graphic design, you’re going to want a brochure maker with a drag-and-drop design studio that enables you to quickly and easily design aesthetically attractive brochures.
Is cost-effective: You probably don’t want to sink hundreds of dollars into a software solution that can only accomplish what you’d expect from one that only costs a few bucks a month.
Offers a lot of options for interactivity: Remember, one of the primary advantages of digital brochures is their interactivity. Page-flip effects, interactive content, video embed functionality and pop-up content features are all must-haves for a digital brochure maker software.
Has good analytics integrations: As I mentioned previously, another huge advantage of digital brochures is how easy it is to make them trackable with analytics software. Look for software that has Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics integration at a minimum.
Makes it easy to share your brochures. A shareable digital brochure is a good digital brochure; be sure that your choice of brochure makers allows you to share brochures as a link, embed them on your website and create QR codes for them.
Way more secure: You don’t want 3rd parties editing, sharing or erasing your digital brochures. Find a brochure maker with 2FA and robust security features.
Alright, alright, alright. I’ve taken an in-depth look at what the word “brochure” means in 2024, the differences between digital and conventional brochures, and what you should be looking for in a digital brochure maker. Now, it’s time to talk about how I chose the tools for this list of the best brochure maker software currently on the market.
I’m concerned primarily with five main factors:
Cost: How much a subscription or license to use the software costs
Features: What features the software offers, and how useful they are.
User ratings: The average user rating on Capterra and G2
Ease of use: How intuitive and efficient the interface of the software is.
Shareability: How easy it is to distribute brochures made with the software
These are not the only factors I’ll be taking into consideration, but for the most part these factors are what will inform my choices of software that made the cut, and software that didn’t. But enough with the small talk; let’s dig into the real meat of the issue!
For this section, I’m going to be taking a look at what I believe are the best brochure makers on the market. Each of these software solutions have their own strengths and weaknesses, but all of them do at least one thing very well.
If you’re looking for a brochure maker that simplifies and streamlines the process of making a digital brochure, Flipsnack is the best option on the market. With a wide variety of practical features and nifty innovations, it’s well worth the modest subscription fee.
Pandora, Delta, Electrolux, Converse, Marriott
It all starts in the Design Studio. Flipsnack offers thousands of customizable templates to choose from. No matter what aesthetic you have in mind, you can rest assured that there’s a template that looks all but identical to what you pictured in your mind’s eye.
Once you’ve picked a template, designing your dream brochure is as simple as dragging and dropping your elements of choice in the workspace.
Interactivity was our biggest focus when we created Flipsnack, and it shows. You can effortlessly add videos, GIFs and a variety of other interactive elements for impeccably streamlined content delivery. You can also make any content interactive, so that hovering over it will expand the content to show a storefront, external link, image or whatever else you’d like!
Once you’re finished with your snazzy new brochure and you’ve flipped through it a few times to make sure everything is in order, sharing it is a breeze. You can share your digital brochure as a link, PDF, video, or simply embed it on your website.
You don’t have to worry about security either; with 2FA and a variety of other robust security protocols, your marketing materials will stay safe and sound at all times!
A great option for a wide variety of use cases, although it’s mostly directed towards marketers and retailers. Collaboration tools and design studios make it easy for large teams to work on projects efficiently, making it ideal for large businesses as well.
14-day trial: free
Starter plan: $14/month
Professional plan: $35/month
Business plan: $79/month
Capterra: 4.6/5 stars
G2: 4.6/5 stars
Launched just over ten years ago (way back in 2013), Canva has consistently been one of the most popular design tools for an impressive range of professionals and amateurs alike. With an easy-to-use interface and excellent feature set, it’s a great resource for anyone that doesn’t have a huge budget to work with.
Berkshire Hathaway, HubSpot, Skyscanner, UNHCR, USA Today, Moneytree
Canva is a great way to start making digital brochures without making a huge investment. It lacks a lot of the interactivity that Flipsnack offers (especially if you’re using the free version), but it’s still an excellent tool for making your first brochures.
“So it’s just for beginners then?” you ask. Far from it, actually! It’s a very easy tool to use, but there are a surprising number of customization options and additional functions under the hood. Even more experienced designers can benefit from a membership, especially when it comes to less involved projects that are on a tight deadline.
The templates library is also super impressive; even users with a free account can take advantage of hundreds of premade brochure templates. If you don’t have a design in mind already, the templates library is the perfect place to glean a little bit of inspiration.
Canva also comes bundled with a pretty impressive set of security and privacy options that make it exceptionally easy to safely and seamlessly get your brochure into the right hands.
Non-profits, schools and universities are a large target demographic, as many are eligible to claim free access to the tool. Marketers are also among its target audience, although not the sole focus of the tool itself. It’s distinctly multi-purpose; whether you’re a college student or a CMO, there’s a good chance you can use this one on a daily basis.
It doesn’t require previous graphic design knowledge to use, but it’s versatile enough to create fairly complicated and visually appealing designs if you have the skill to do so.
Entry level plan: free
Pro plan: $15/month/user
Canva for teams: $30/month/first five users
Educator plan: free
Capterra: 4.7/5 stars
G2: 4.7/5 stars
For anyone in the wide, wonderful business world, the name Adobe is likely pretty familiar. As the company behind some of the most well regarded and most widely used programs in the world, you’d expect their brochure maker software to be equally impressive. You’d be right; Adobe InDesign doesn’t disappoint!
The North Face, Apple, Deloitte, Fujitsu
InDesign is an interesting entry on this list. Unlike most of its competitors, InDesign does not use a tiered pricing scheme. You can access the whole feature set by paying a monthly $22 subscription which permits use by one user.
This is a double edged sword; if you’re a freelancer, it’s a pretty reasonable price that nets you a ton of features. If you own a larger company with a team of designers, this price tag can make your budget balloon out of control very fast.
Whether you’re a business owner or a freelancer, there’s no denying that InDesign has an impressive suite of features. The publishing options and interactive elements available to InDesign users are limited when it comes to digital brochures. However, its print publication features are second to none.
From print formatting to meticulously designed templates, it’s very clear that Adobe designed this software from the ground up as a print design tool. If you’re looking for a digital brochure maker that you can use to create print brochures, this is the one for you.
Directed towards skilled professional publishers and designers, primarily those involved in the publication of printed marketing collateral. Requires more skill to use, but offers more control of the final product than any other tool in the list.
Single user – $22.99/month
Capterra: 4.8
G2: 4.6
With over 2 million monthly visitors, Venngage is a giant in the world of digital brochure makers. This tool offers an incredible amount of versatility when it comes to designing printed and digital publications, alongside several unique and useful features.
The New York Times, AirBnB, Google, HubSpot
In my testing process, I found the most attractive aspect of Venngage to be its multi-role feature set. With a respectable amount of options for designing both print and digital publications, Venngage is one of the best tools available to marketing teams using a hybrid approach to marketing.
Another really attractive feature that sets Venngage apart is its integrated QR-code maker. With just a few clicks of your mouse, you can create a unique QR code that links to a digital version of your publication, a page on the web, or anything else that can be found using a URL!
One area where it falls a bit short is that of interactivity. Although the collaboration, design, security and sharing features are completely adequate, the interactive elements on display just didn’t quite do it for me. Whether or not this is a good option depends on how you intend to use the program, but if you’re looking for interactivity you might want to look elsewhere.
In my opinion, Venngage is best suited for marketing teams who intend to use print and digital media simultaneously. The collaboration tools are quite good, and its versatility makes it a very good option for companies looking to keep all of their marketing designs in one place.
Free plan – $0
Premium – $10/month
Business – $24/month
Enterprise – $500/month (10 users)
Capterra: 4.6
G2: 4.7
Compared to the other companies I’ve featured in my roundup so far, Marq is something of an outlier. Firms like Adobe, Venngage and Canva dominate the competition with instant brand recognition and sky-high marketing budgets. Marq takes a different approach, billing itself as an all-in one content marketing solution that’s perfect for small businesses.
Reinhart Realtors, D1 Training, Berkshire Hathaway, Yext
Although it isn’t as full-featured or polished as some of the other options on this list, Marq is perfect for small teams that don’t have the luxury of a huge marketing budget.
A few of the features that Marq does offer include a built-in stock photo library, a full complement of editing tools that are super easy to use, and a proprietary QR-code generator. If you’re a one-person marketing dynamo with no time to lose, these features are a godsend.
Marq is also exceptionally well-suited for use as a marketing content management system, with an easy-to-navigate asset library and brilliant set of sharing and publishing tools. Their security architecture is also top-notch, with a wide variety of online safety options such as 2FA and SSO on tap.
Their pricing is quite reasonable too, which makes it a great pick if you can’t afford multiple SaaS marketing tool subscriptions. This tool can’t “do it all” but it can do a lot.
Small businesses, particularly those without a large budget to spend on marketing. Great for owner-operator type companies that are growing but want to stay lean and mean.
Two week trial – $0
Pro plan – $10/month/user
Team plan – $12month/user
Business – Let’s talk
Capterra: 4.6
G2: 4.4
Now that you’ve got a good understanding of what tools are available on the market, how much they cost and what they offer in terms of features, pricing and user reviews. Now it’s time to answer some frequently asked questions.
One question I hear a lot is “what’s the difference between brochures and flyers?” It’s totally understandable; unless you’re in marketing, the distinction might seem a bit superfluous. If you are in marketing, however, the distinction is pretty important. At their core, brochures and flyers tend to target very different market demographics.
Let’s start with flyers. Flyers are generally used to promote products or services to potential customers at the top of the funnel. These individuals probably haven’t heard of what you’re selling, so your goal isn’t to provide them with an encyclopedic description. Instead, a flyer is usually a brief, promotional form of marketing collateral that presents a short rundown of what your product or service can do for them, and why it’s better than its competitors.
Brochures, on the other hand, are generally longer and more densely populated with information. Since they’re usually aimed at mid- or bottom-funnel targets, they tend to present a much more detailed description of your product or service, along with any information that might lead a potential customer to buy.
Now to answer the million-dollar question: are brochures still effective? The long answer to that question is a bit complicated, but in short, yes. While they aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution to your marketing needs, they’re a tremendously effective tool for a lot of applications.
As I mentioned earlier, brochures have a pretty well-established place in the marketing funnel. They’re most effective when used to target potential customers who know about your product or service and have expressed interest in buying it, but aren’t yet ready to shell out the cash.
Coupled with some thorough market research and a decent distribution strategy, a digital brochure is the perfect tool to show these clients how your product or service works. Bonus points if you can show them how it meets their needs in a way that your competitors don’t!
Retail brochures
For retail stores, brochures are a great way to show what products are available for purchase, how much those products cost, and why this store in particular is the best place to buy these products.
Digital retail brochures are also great for retailers that frequently run giveaways, discounts, sales and other types of limited-time promotional events. With just a few clicks, retailers can edit their brochures to update, add or remove promotions from circulation, instantly generating interest and boosting sales.
Wholesale brochures
Another market sector that takes full advantage of the marketing potential of digital brochures is wholesale. Wholesalers generally have a much more segmented audience than most businesses, with buyers that know what they want and where they can get it.
Digital brochures are the perfect marketing tool for these buyers. Flipsnack, Marq, Venngage and many other brochure makers offer a large suite of analytics tools and integrations such as Google Heatmaps, Google Analytics, lead generation forms and much more. These tools help wholesalers hone their digital marketing strategies in an extremely competitive industry.
eCommerce brochures
The last example of a market sector that commonly makes use of digital brochures is the ecommerce industry. Typically targeted at sellers rather than buyers, these digital eCommerce brochures are usually created to help vendors decide what features they’ll benefit most from, and how they can use those features to their best advantage.
eCommerce companies such as eBay, Amazon, AliExpress and many more have been ramping up their use of digital brochures as it becomes increasingly clear that they’re a great way to get people on board with their platforms.
As with many other facets of digital marketing, digital brochures can be a confusing topic. Hopefully, I’ve cleared up any confusion you had on the topic, and given you some insights on which brochure makers are worth your hard-earned money.
Of course, there’s stuff I couldn’t cover in this article. Fortunately, we’ve published quite a bit of information-rich content on the topic that will help you navigate these treacherous waters with style and efficacy. Be sure you check out our articles on how to design an effective digital brochure and how to create a brochure marketing strategy!
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