What are the parts of a brochure?

Looking at the blog visit statistics, added very recently, you can see many interesting things, that is, how visitors arrive—from places that seemed incredible to me, such as from inside an email (I ask myself, what was the blog link doing inside an email?) to visitors who enter by mistake looking for something else. It caught my attention that many people enter searching for What are the parts of a brochure?, and they reached the blog through a post containing the word brochure, so I decided to put together a post about brochures, compiling material from the internet. Perhaps it will be useful to some of the visitors from now on.

What are the parts of a brochure?

Definition according to the RAE Brochure. (From Italian foglietto).

1.    m. Printed work, non-periodical, with a small number of sheets.
2.    m. disused. Handwritten newsletter that regularly contained the news of the day.

Definition, origin, and nature of the word brochure [Translator's Note: "Folleto" is "brochure" in the original. From French brocher, to stitch, broche, embroidery needle, from Old French, broqueta, needle.]

Brochures come in many shapes and sizes. Simply put, they are a piece of paper with printed ink on it. Generally, they are used to promote a company, product, or idea, and they can be folded, trimmed, stapled, or one of several binding options. Normally, a brochure is made of just a couple of sheets of paper. Printed products containing more sheets are usually called catalogs or magazines. Paper weight can range from quite light to heavy like cover paper. When the paper becomes heavier, it is necessary to score the brochure to help prevent the paper from cracking at the folds.

Written by Buzz Tatom Original article: "Brochure: A definition." The Odee Company

Others: Brochure: A brochure is a small document designed to be delivered by hand or by mail. Multi-page printed matter that serves as an informative or advertising tool. It is a small booklet or pamphlet, which usually contains promotional material or information about a product. A classic component of advertising elements in direct mail marketing. In marketing, the brochure is a simple way to advertise a company, product, or service.

Three types of brochures:

•    Editorial-style brochures.
•    Literary-style brochures.
•    Journalistic brochures.

For mailings, two basic types of brochures are used above all:

•    The free-form brochure (the layout occupies the entire format of the brochure), and
•    The multi-sheet brochure, which is divided into pages like a catalog.

Three types of brochures in case promotional ones aren't suitable for you (these are an industry standard): bi-folds, tri-folds, quadri-folds.

•    Bi-folds: composed of two parts
•    Tri-folds: composed of three parts
•    Quadri-folds: composed of four parts

A three-panel brochure (tri-fold) is printed on the front and back and folds toward the center from both sides.

For the effective creation of an advertising brochure, it is recommended to:

•    Print clear and attractive titles and subtitles.
•    Make complete arguments. Thoroughly explain the benefits of the product or service and summarize them.
•    Include a good number of photographs showing the products as well as demonstrations of how they work. Attach explanatory captions.
•    Accompany the text and photographs with diagrams or drawings.
•    Follow a logical path through the different products and arguments.

The brochure is an example of a specific-sized document that you must work with. You cannot add an extra page. Your text and images must fit within a precise space, or else the brochure will not fold correctly. A template or sample would be very useful for a document like that. Once that sample has been created, making a brochure becomes a very easy task. You will only need to replace the temporary text while carefully maintaining its position on the page.
The following is perhaps the most complete website I found: http://www.ganaropciones.com/folleto.htm I am going to transcribe the first part.

How to write a brochure. By Ricardo Palmieri

Extracted from the book In a few words. Advertising copywriting manual for print ads and brochures.
Historically despised by copywriters, the brochure is, however, a piece that allows for the extensive development of ideas since much more space is available than in an ad.
This advantage is a small thing compared to the satisfaction of seeing the ad you wrote in the Sunday newspaper, knowing that three million people will be reading it that day.
You only have to look at European and American advertising annuals to see that brochures can contain captivating messages. (It is a shame that, in those brochure photographs, the size prevents reading the text.) The brochure is almost like a three-dimensional ad, but without ceasing to be what it is.

Parts of the brochure

Every brochure usually features:

•    Front cover headline
•    Internal headlines
•    Body text
•    Closing logo

Internal headlines become indispensable when the text is abundant and it is imperative to group the data.

The functions of the other parts are similar to those of a print ad, although with a greater flow of arguments for the reader.

Dividing the information.

Presenting information in sections not only makes reading the brochure easier; it also simplifies the copywriter's work, who can better organize all available material this way.
It is appropriate for this division to go:

1.    From the simplest to the most complex
2.    From the known to the unknown
3.    From the central to the secondary
4.    From the past to the present, or from the present to the future

Also, the data can be arranged hierarchically based on these questions about the product or service:

•    What is it?
•    Who is it for?
•    What is it used for?
•    What features characterize or distinguish it?
•    How much does it cost?
•    Where can it be obtained?
•    Who is using it?
•    Where can more information be obtained?

Don't be afraid of stating the obvious. Everything that might seem familiar to the writer may not be familiar to someone who hasn't heard of the product until that moment. Unless you are addressing an audience with experience in the topic, keep in mind that a didactic style, in the end, is appreciated by everyone.

The following is an interesting website to visit: http://www.jegsworks.com/Lessons-sp/words/brochure/brochure.htm where, if we look at the left column, we will find quite a few options regarding brochures and working with them.

Links. http://www.micromediaargentina.com.ar/folletos/folletos-y-folleteria-offset.php http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folleto http://www.marketingdirecto.com/glosario/datos_termino.php?termino=Folleto http://www.imprentas-info.com.ar/articulos/index.php?itemid=5 http://www.definicion.org/folleto

From here you can download instructions on how to make a brochure with Word: http://www.uv.es/=faustino/avanzado/avanzado/varios/Instrucciones%20cartel%20y%20folleto.doc
In the following link, they teach how to make a brochure in Writer (Writer, the word processor of OpenOffice.org): http://superalumnos.net/node/50

And here in Publisher: http://office.microsoft.com/es-es/publisher/HP051145843082.aspx