A creative and well-designed flyer or leaflet can help your brand stand out against competitors. However, it must have a strong design that:
- Grabs the reader’s attention
- Presents the information clearly
- Keeps them interested
- Encourages them to act
Read our 10 tips to creating an effective flyer and leaflet design and turn your latest campaign into a marketing triumph.
1. Choose the correct size
Flyers and leaflets come in a wide variety of sizes, each is suited to different purposes. Here are the most common sizes and their effectiveness for each type of campaign:
- A7 – Popular for on-street flyer distribution and small enough to fit in your pocket.
- A6 – Postcard size and ideal for handing out or delivering through letterboxes.
- A5 – The most common size for letter box leaflet distribution such as takeaway menus and invitations.
- A4 – Standard paper size, usually used as menus or guides to display a large amount of information.
- A3 – More for display purposes, such as a poster or a pinned-up advertorial.
Keep in mind the different paper sizes when organising a specific promotion or considering the various distribution methods.
At Solopress, choose from A7 to A3 size flyers and leaflets as well as DL, square and folded styles.
2. Make it look professional
Investing in a high-quality, professionally designed flyer or leaflet can make all the difference between gaining a new customer or losing one. Unprofessional looking flyers and leaflets which are overloaded with information, badly designed or unreflective of your branding can have a negative effect on your company.
Spending time and money on professional printing can enhance your image and build confidence that you’re the right choice for your customers.
3. Write a strong headline
Many people will pick up a flyers and leaflet that comes through their door and discard them after a quick glance.
That means, you have a relatively short window in which to grab their attention. Don’t use your business name or product category as the headline. Instead, create a tagline that generates some interest.
Find out what’s important to your customers and incorporate that into your leading line. Catchy headlines work, but they need to relate to your business and the content presented in the rest of the design. Additionally, discounts or sales work well at enticing the reader to pause and read your leaflet or flyer in more detail.
4. Use language that sells
Language is a powerful tool. The right copy can be the difference between a sale and a fail.
The language you choose should evoke certain feelings in your audience and communicate how your company is best suited to them.
Whether that’s ordering dinner, purchasing a product, or voting at the next election – use the wording that places you as the solution.
Depending on the content and context of your message, you might want to include attention-grabbing copy such as “exclusive”, “free”, “bargain” or “earn”.
5. Pick a powerful image
An image says a thousand words, as the old saying goes. Eye-catching visuals are more effective than 500 words of copy.
Studies show that information displayed in images is digested faster by the reader. So, including images and logos in your flyer and leaflet design is important, as it helps break up any text you may have.
Phil Cleaver, Professor of the Creative Industries, says: “We navigate our daily decisions by the symbols (images) that surround us. A symbol can be crucial for representing a set of ideals for people to align themselves to.”
Top tip: Make sure the images are relevant to what is being said, or the brand image you want to portray.
6. Be succinct – less is more
In today’s world, content must be digestible, easy to read and concise.
The same goes for any flyers or leaflets you distribute. Getting your message across in as short a way as possible is your best chance of a successful campaign.
Be authentic – talk only about what you know and believe. “In a crowded marketplace of brands, people place high value on perceived authenticity,” Phil Cleaver explains.
7. Make your text scannable
Displaying information in an easily readable manner is a sure-fire way to get your point across quickly. Bullet points are a good start – giving the reader the information they need in a digestible way, this includes:
- Add a Call-to-Action (CTA) – What do you want people to do after reading your leaflet? Include a phone number for your business, or information on how to get involved in your scheme or event.
- Consider spacing – Space out your copy. Cramming text into a small corner of your design is going to leave it unreadable and unengaging.
8. Try different distribution methods
You don’t need a huge budget to print your flyer and leaflet designs. Try a few things to see what works best for you and your target audience.
To begin with, test the market with a few handouts and see whether the public is receptive to your offerings. Experiment with different messages, headlines, images or even paper types to find the one that fits.
It can be a case of trial and error to begin with. Make sure to monitor each variation’s success, the ones that give you the best results are the ones you’ll want to print again.
9. Distribute effectively
There are several ways to distribute your leaflets, including hand-outs in the streets, letter-box distribution and delivering to other businesses in the local area. Experiment with the different methods and see what works best for your branding.
If you are using an external company, make sure to give them clear directions on who to target and which areas to hand out your flyers and leaflets in.
Check out our guide for more guidance on the most effective distribution methods for leaflets and flyers.
10. Track the results
A well-designed leaflet may grab a potential customer’s attention, but the only way to successfully monitor its effectiveness is by tracking.
You can track each flyer or leaflet success by printing a different phone number, promotional code or even QR code to the design.
Only by tracking your campaign can you see what kind of response you are receiving and whether your distribution has been a success.
Order flyers and leaflets for your next campaign with Solopress. We offer free UK delivery and a super-fast turnaround when you order today.
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