Flyers that work

Flyers are a tried and tested marketing method. Whether you’re running a weekly event, promoting a special offer or simply need to generate new leads for your sales team, you can get great results with some quality printed flyers. Here's a few tips to help you create effective promotional flyers.

1. Your flyer 'concept'

The concept is what your whole promotional campaign will be based on. Once you establish this, you can apply it to your flyers and complementary marketing material. Your concept needs to do two things: 1. Catch the attention of your intended audience, and 2. Compel readers to act on your offer immediately, or contact you for information.

Identify your selling point

As well as being eye-catching, your flyers need to sell your product or generate leads. The image itself might do this, but more often the selling comes in the use of words.

Think about what it is about your business that will actually make people want to contact you. What is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? ie. What are you offering potential clients, which sets you apart from the competition?

• Your Unique Selling Proposition should dominate your flyer.

Don't worry about the finer details; a common mistake is to put too much information on a flyer, scaring away potential clients.

Choose your words carefully

When it comes to expressing your selling points, spend time over the actual wording you use.

• People have very short attention spans and often won’t read past the first line.

Snappy, exciting phrases can be very effective, but stay away from the cliché. Remember ‘less is more’ in advertising, so be very strict on word count. Include only the key information on your flyers, in as few words as possible.

2. The flyer design

People are so used to seeing advertising on TV, on magazines, on billboards; that they have developed the skill of ignoring it. This is often referred to as 'poster blindness'.

Make sure your flyer is eye-catching

A useful exercise when thinking about the look of your flyers, is to glance at a crowded notice board to see what you focus on first. Think about why this particular piece caught your eye and how you can apply similar logic to your flyer design.

Avoid the common mistakes

People will take some assurance about your business if your flyer design and print quality look ‘professional’. 

• Images should be of the highest quality, or leave them out altogether.

Use only use one or two fonts on your flyer and throughout all printing; stick to more conventional fonts for the details for easy reading; don't put text too close to the edge of the paper; don't make your logo too big or splash it all over your flyer. 

3. Printing your flyers

Once you've sorted your general concept, engage a print designer to set up the artwork and arrange the printing of your flyers. There are numerous ideas to choose from, you are only limited by time, budget and distribution guidelines.

• Aim for a high quality printing option that's within your budget.

If you're having the flyers dropped into letterboxes, go for a smaller size that's easy to handle; you don't want your flyers to be scrunched up to fit in the slot.

For addressed mail, a thicker flyer designed as a postcard is ideal. You can hand address them for a more personal touch, and your marketing message is not hidden by an envelope.

Print for lifespan

Think about the length of time your flyer may be kept by potential clients. If you're promoting a limited offer inviting the reader to act fast, a good quality paper will suffice. However, if you'd like the recipient to hang on to your flyer for later, in case they need you, choose something more sturdy. For example, a flyer set out as a fridge calendar should be printed on card with a celloglaze coating, so it still looks good in 12 months. 

Quality takes time

Give yourself room to breathe by allowing at least three to four weeks from your concept though to design and printing of your flyers. Bear in mind anything that is likely to delay the production, like getting ‘sign-off’ from people who have to approve your flyers before they can go to print.

• Make sure you have allowed plenty of time to distribute the flyers.

Choose your supplier

Choose a print designer who offers personalised service and will work with you to develop the best flyers you can afford. Simply sending off your text and logo to any old printer may not result in quality flyers suited to your target market. 

Contact us to find out more about flyers, or request a no-obligation quote.