How to Make a Digital Brochure (With Examples)
Nailing your digital brochure game is the difference between selling out your products and hearing crickets after launch. For marketers, small business owners, and creative professionals, digital brochures are their online billboards, highlighting new products and services or getting the word out to their target customers.
Here’s how to make a digital brochure using Issuu’s user-friendly platform — plus, preview some examples to get your wheels turning.
Determine Your Target Audience and Purpose
Even the prettiest marketing brochure won't resonate if you don't first outline your target audience and purpose. A deep knowledge and understanding of your target audience lays the foundation for creating content that truly connects, persuades, and inspires.
Understand if your audience is a digital native Gen Z buyer or a seasoned leadership executive, and build your brochure design around their preferences and habits. For instance, one type of audience could expect a more serious, clean design, while another type of audience would expect to engage with your brand on social media.
You should also consider these key points about your target audience:
Demographics like gender, location, household income, and job title or industry
Psychographics around purchasing behavior, interests, goals, and lifestyle choices
Write Your Brochure Content
Outline your brochure content in a text tool like Google Docs or Microsoft Word for easy editing and transparent team revisions. Compelling copy creates an impact and draws the reader in, so pay close attention to headlines, call-to-actions, and formatting for readability.
Great brochure content also includes:
A short, concise introduction that establishes the brochure's purpose
Company information highlights
Product offerings or sales information like price points and packages
Real-world testimonials from past successful customers
A clear call to action to buy a product, request pricing, or visit your website
Start With Customizable Templates From Adobe InDesign or Canva
If you're tech-savvy and familiar with design tools, Adobe InDesign is the crème de la crème for professional graphic design software. If quick and easy is more right up your street, Canva and Adobe Express are user-friendly and intuitive. Both platforms offer beautiful, professionally designed templates to kickstart your work.
Adobe Express brochure templates are bold, colorful, and professional-looking. If you want more in-depth editing options, starting with an Adobe InDesign brochure gives you a guided layout perfect for seamlessly blending your message across a trifold design.
Canva brochure templates are equally versatile, with thousands of digital trifold brochure options for promotional sales, travel guides, non-profits, and more.
Take a look at how to make a digital brochure in Canva or how to make a digital brochure in InDesign:
Start with a layout you love. There are truly thousands of options to choose from!
Customize with your logo, fonts, and imagery.
Change colors to match your business identity, and add icons and illustrations to create a fun personal touch.
Insert and tweak your engaging copy, reworking it as needed to adjust to your template.
Once the final design touches are done, export and publish your Canva or InDesign template as an Issuu flipbook and other engaging assets using our integrations. Then, add interactive elements to take your digital brochure to the next level.
Incorporate Visual Elements Like Images and Video
A picture is worth a thousand words, so consider reducing your brochure copy and relying heavily on high-quality images and video to tell your story. Embed Vimeo or YouTube Videos to tell a deeper story and give your audience more details. For example, include stunning drone footage from your travels to capture the adventure and awesome scenery in your digital travel brochure. Plus, embedding visual elements keeps your audience right where you want them - on your brochure and not on YouTube!
Direct Your Audience to More Relevant Content With Links and QR Codes
Once you've finished designing your Canva, Adobe Express, or Adobe InDesign template, it's time to turn your static brochure into a dynamic piece of content with Issuu.
Incorporate Links in your brochure design for an interconnected and interwoven reading experience. For example, add an external link to your seasonal sale catalog to generate more revenue. Links are a key ingredient for e-commerce sales, turning your digital brochure into a shoppable catalog.
Publish and Share on Issuu
Whether your digital brochure promotes your next customer happy hour or guides readers through must-visit restaurants in Italy, it’s time to get your brand message out of your head and into the world. To start, easily maximize your brochure’s visibility by embedding it on your website. Just grab the auto-generated code from your Issuu workspace and go!
Broadcast your brochure by sharing it on social media as eye-catching Social Posts, link it in a newsletter as a GIF, or even build paid ad campaigns to drive traffic to your landing page. Measuring metrics like impressions, engagement, and clicks allows you to see what resonates with your readers and what misses the mark.
Brochure Examples in Issuu
Ready for some inspiration? Here are some of our favorite digital brochure examples on Issuu: