The Oldest Brochure?
Brochures are everywhere!
Every business, nonprofit, government program, volunteer organization, and tourist attraction seems to have one.
But how did this all start? What good are they in today’s digital age? And how can we make effective brochures that give us a return on investment today?
The first Brochure in History?
I used to think that the first brochure was written by Hernán Cortés, a Spanish conquistador of the 1500s. According to Ripley’s Believe It or Not (or at least my childhood memory of the book), Hernán Cortés wrote a broadside promoting the sale of turkeys.
Back then, a “broadside” was a single sheet of paper announcing something important. A messenger of the crown might ride into town to hand out broadsides, proclaiming something newsworthy. But here, Cortés used it to sell something, making it the first case of a brochure.
So imagine being a townsperson of 16th century Spain. When you needed to buy meat, you went to your butcher or bartered with a farmer. Then, one day, someone hands you a piece of paper about turkeys. Turkey meat tastes great! It’s tender and delicious. It’s so easy to cook. Here’s where to buy this great turkey meat. Would you follow through with the paper’s promotion?
That’s the First Lesson from the Ancient Art of Brochuring: Understand your Goals.
In Robert W. Bly’s excellent book, The Copywriter’s Handbook, he lays out three types of brochures corresponding to their purpose.
Product Brochures. The turkey example from above. They were very popular in the 20th century but kind of rare today. However, I have seen product brochures for different types of insurance.
Service Brochures. These fit well for any intangible service (like copywriting), B2B services, or anything with a long sales cycle. Moving companies, tax services, audio-visual integration, etc.
Company/corporate/capabilities brochures. You’ve probably encountered college brochures trying to get you to send your kids somewhere. Or nonprofit brochures explaining the cause and what they are doing about it. While the first two are trying to sell you something, this brochure is selling you on the company. It works very well for B2B services. However, every business and nonprofit could benefit from a concise, explanatory capabilities brochure.
A single brochure can only fulfill a single purpose. Luckily, you can write multiple brochures!
While the story demonstrates purpose, I could not find any evidence for it outside of Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest recorded use of “brochure” comes from 1765. Philip Dormer Stanhope (1694–1773), a politician, diplomat, and French nobleman, wrote a letter commenting on the brochure published by another noble family.
This makes a lot of sense, as before they became a mass market advertising tool, brochures, and pamphlets acted as the stage for many debates. Religion, social issues, political policies, and even current events were discussed via the magical medium of brochures and pamphlets.
Remember high school history? Does Common Sense by Thomas Paine ring a bell?
Common Sense was a pervasive 47-page pamphlet advocating the Thirteen Colonies to become independent from Great Britain.
The United States— kind of, sort of— owes its existence to Pamphlets.
That’s the second lesson: use the space wisely.
The 47-page pamphlet design has fallen out of favor and for obvious reasons. Some B2B company/corporate/capabilities brochures might lend themselves well to long-form packages. But most of us will be using the tri-fold brochure.
You can only fit 350-450 words on a tri-fold brochure.
You only have 350-450 words to draw attention, draw them into your benefits, and call them to take action. It’s vital that you organize your information. Use bullet points, diagrams, & number lists to make it easily digestible. If you sacrifice space for visuals, make those visuals worth it! Product photos, location maps, and graphs tend to work the best.
The best way to organize information is via stories.
This is what elevates a passable brochure into a great, memorable, & engaging brochure. (This is also where copywriters prove their worth.)
People read brochures like they do novels: front to back. They need a logical progression. That might be the steps it takes to participate in a nonprofit. Or the 5 questions you need to ask yourself before going solar. Or what it takes to future-proof your hybrid conference room so your team thrives for years to come.
Again, this is where copywriters thrive, so I’m not giving away all my secrets. Wink
Let’s go back even further. Ever heard of the Protestant Reformation?
Martin Luther is credited with starting the movement via his Ninety-five Theses. It was originally a letter sent to the Archbishop of Mainz calling out corruption in the Catholic church. The letter went ignored because… well… The Archbishop was a large part of that corruption.
Martin Luther adapted the letter into a 4-page pamphlet and used his university’s printing press to create copies. This was 1517; the printing press was still new, and only a few institutions had them. As the story goes, he posted these copies on every church door in the city.
We don’t know if he actually nailed them to church doors. But we do know that several hundred copies were printed and distributed across Germany. These copies sparked lively debates among the emerging proto-Protestant groups. Because they spanned several countries, these debates were held via brochures and pamphlets.
That’s the Third Lesson from the Ancient Art of Brochures: Know Thy Printer.
The tri-fold brochure is the platonic ideal of the modern brochure. But don’t limit yourself to two folds. There are all kinds of creative brochure forms to take advantage of. There are roll folds, accordion folds, bi-folds, double gate folds, single gate folds, and so much more!
I once received a tiny 3-inch by 5-inch brochure from an agritourism group, but it unfolded into an arch B size (12 in. by 18 in.) piece of paper. That’s over 14 times the area of the easily stored, handheld flier, complete with a map and location details. And it’s much more memorable than the boring trifold everyone else uses.
You can only take advantage of these unique brochures if you know what’s available. So talk to your local printer.
Digital printers tend to have a wide range of printer services, from booklets to direct mail. But their service lines tend to be limited.
I prefer local printers and recommend them to small businesses (even those with a global/digital reach). They often provide test prints so you don’t blindly mess up your bulk order. You can feel the quality and texture of the paper stock rather than choosing from descriptions. Most importantly, they’re real human beings who won’t leave you on hold for hours on end. They are not just a cog in the machine; they are the people bringing your advertising to life.
Talk to your printer; they can help you creatively solve your marketing problems.
Plus, I’d rather talk to a real human than be misinterpreted by “an advanced customer-service AI.” If you’re in the Washington D.C./Northern Virginia area and need a printer, hit me up. I have plenty of referrals to share!
Let’s go back even further. To the Very Birth of Brochures and Pamphlets!
History is not neatly categorized like chapters in a book. It’s messy, disorganized, and often confusing. Everything a brochure shouldn’t be.
Brochures and pamphlets evolved from newspapers. It all started with the Gutenberg’s printing press. It made writing more accessible, it increased literacy and helped accelerate mass communication. Blah blah blah, you remember high school history (hopefully). Listen, I’m summarizing a lot of history here because we’re just focusing on the broad strokes.
For the first century or so, only a few institutions could operate and maintain the bulky machine. That was mainly governments and universities like the one Martin Luther taught at. Many European governments made national newspapers. However, they were susceptible to government control and propaganda. They were also geared towards the elite. These early newspapers focused more on international events that affected policymakers.
Around the 1600s, printing press technology became more accessible. Smaller provinces and towns could afford to print their own newspapers. Common folk had local newsletters focusing on domestic events. Some businesses even advertised in the paper. These local papers were harder to regulate. That’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, you're free from government censorship, but on the other hand, you have no standards to prevent disinformation.
Gradually, more and more people used these printers to disseminate information in condensed formats. These little booklets and jumbles of paper needed to be stitched together, which is how we get the word “brochure.” “Brochure” comes from the French verb “brocher,” meaning “to stitch.”
The Fourth and Final Lesson From the Ancient Art of Brochures: You’re free!
The technology through which we communicate deeply influences how we communicate.
In modern communications, we’re confined to changing SEO guidelines and algorithmic biases. For example the LinkedIn algorithm deprioritizes posts with external links. They want you to stay on this platform as long as possible. That’s just a mild example. Some social media platforms (which will remain unnamed) shadow ban and demonetized their users for speaking on important topics.
Good copywriters naturally weave in SEO keywords to enhance helpful content. But a lot of “optimized content” comes off as stilted, awkward, and ingenuine.
But brochures are made for the real world. You’re not writing them for search engines or algorithms. You’re writing them for people. You can write naturally. You’re not bound to SEO rules or internet censorship. If you want to link to something, you can use a QR code. If you’re a political nonprofit, you can speak out without the algorithm crushing your message.
Let’s review the key takeaways.
Understand what your goals are. Are you trying to sell a product or service? Are you trying to persuade people to donate to your nonprofit? Or are you sharing the capabilities of your company?
Make the most out of your limited brochure space by organizing your information.
It’s all about the folds! Get creative with your brochures by collaborating with a local printer.
Brochures are written for the real world. You can write more naturally, authentically, and friendly when unbound from algorithmic biases.
Next week, we’ll learn from the modern history of brochures. We’ll see how the last century transformed print advertising so we can make better brochures today.