Marketing Print Tips
Flyers vs. Brochures: What’s the Difference?
  by:  |  Jun 22, 2016
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Last updated on January 19th, 2024 at 02:51 pm

After years in the printing industry, it’s become obvious that many people are having trouble telling flyers and brochures apart. Flyers and brochures excel at different kinds of marketing strategies, and the design considerations that accompany these should likewise be looked into.

While we can’t tell you how to run your marketing campaigns, we can give you an insight into what makes brochures different from flyers. Let’s explore the specifics of each format.

Differences between flyers and brochures.

Flyers:

  • Also referred to as leaflets, handbills, and circulars
  • Usually single-sheet and unfolded
  • Printed on one or both sides
  • Often printed on standard 8.5″ x 11″ or A4 paper, but they may be any size so long as they’re relatively easy to handle
  • Best used for short, concise messages
  • Often distributed by hand
  • Have a shorter lifespan compared to most print formats
  • Recommended for short-lived promotions for events such as trade shows and conferences, announcing the opening of a new establishment, newspaper/magazine inserts, handouts, and information sheets for campaigns

Brochures:

  • Made from single or multiple sheets and come in a wide variety of folds
  • Printed on both sides
  • Printed on more durable paper or cardstocks and given a coating to help better resist moisture and fading
  • More costly to print compared to flyers, so the distribution is often meticulously planned out
  • Best used as reference for customers and employees and as a follow-up material for other promotional tools

Both brochures and flyers have their specific advantages, and neither medium is necessarily better than the other. Before you order any print material for offline marketing, try to understand each medium’s specific advantages for your campaign. While flyers and brochures might be substituted for each other in a pinch, you can get the most value for your dollar by going with the one that suits your needs best.


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