Leaflets are one of the understated champions of advertising. They’re cheap, they end up IN THE HANDS of your customer, and provided you’ve designed them correctly, they’re a really effective tool at getting your brand or product in front of your customers and getting a good ROI (return on investment).
We’ve seen hundreds of approaches to leaflet design come through our distribution service over the years, and we’ve put plenty out ourselves across our own group of companies. We work closely with designers and printers for our clients’ mail-outs and our own to see what’s working and what needs work. So, without further ado, here’s our guide to putting a leaflet together…
Plan your Leaflet!
What is the point of this exercise? Is it continued brand recognition, do you want people to aspire to own your product, do you want people to book your service at a time when you’re usually quieter? Decide what you want and lay it out based on that goal so it’s focused, goal-driven and not all over the place.
Don’t overload your leaflet
Don’t overwhelm your customer with every single thing about you and your business. They don’t need to know your family history, your favourite bad jokes or what you like to do in your spare time. Be selective with your information. What do they need to know? What do you need them to know? What will inspire them to convert into a paying customer?
Indeed, the art of advertising, marketing, planning and selling is complicated enough, BUT your language and sentences do not have to be. Leave the long, boring, descriptive, flowery, over thought and unnecessarily complex sentences behind. See what we did there?! Take Away: Keep it simple.
Use imagery to promote your brand
A picture paints a thousand words but not if it is blurry or poorly taken. Take your time to select the images that give the best representation of yourself and your services. Adding an image of a person helps people to relate to your brand on a human level. But be mindful – if you’re selling the latest DJ equipment but your image shows a smiling elderly person, you’re not going to attract your target audience at a glance!
Make sure your leaflet is easy to read and follow
Make it easy for your customers to read and absorb all the fab stuff that you want to tell them. Guide them through the information by using hierarchy in your design. The top of this hierarchy is a title which needs to grab the attention of your customer in mere seconds in order that they will read on. A good approach to a leaflet title is a question and answer –
Leaky roof? We fix those…
Follow this with a bit of information (as little as possible in order to get your point across) and make sure this information is smaller and less important than the title. But ensure that all your fonts are at a comfortable size; everything should be as easy as possible for the customer to take on board. If people struggle to read your leaflet you can bet it will end up in the bin before they’ve fetched their reading glasses out.
Also, bear in mind, AS WITH TEXTING AND EMAILING, THIS FORMAT CAN COME ACROSS HARSH AND AGGRESSIVE! It’s ok for a headline, key words, and a CTA but go easy on the caps!
Finish with clear details about what you’d like your customer to do next. You’ve wowed your customer with your super leaflet and then…Nothing. They have reached the end of your leaflet and they are left wondering what do next. Do they call? Email? Perhaps there is a deadline they need to be aware of? Your first stop in the contact section is a Call to Action (CTA). A good CTA does what it says on the tin – calls your customer to action! Here are some examples:
CALL TODAY
HURRY, OFFER ENDS NEXT WEEK
GET A LEAK-FREE ROOF BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Once you’ve decided on your CTA, make it easy for your customer to reach out to you with clear contact details. For these, remember your NAPS: Name, Address (physical or website), Phone number and Socials!
Your call to action and contact details should be the second most important thing on your leaflet in terms of hierarchy, so make sure the font size and colours reflect that importance.
Spell check, spell check, spell check!
Poor spelling could seriously damage the effectiveness of your leaflet. You don’t need to have swallowed the Oxford English dictionary, or know every word ever invented, but you do need to use proper grammar and include no spelling mistakes or errors. Take your time to check good old Google if you are not sure, or ask a buddy to have a check over your draft version. You really don’t want your customers thinking that you don’t care enough to proofread.
Here’s our checklist for the perfect leaflet design for your small business:
- Make a plan! What is the aim of this exercise?
- Create a catchy marketing-driven title that speaks to your customer
- Provide some information about your product/service/event, but not too much!
- Use an appropriate image
- Focus on a strong Call To Action
- Add clear contact details – NAPS!
We hope you found this post useful, if you would like help with running your own successful leaflet campaign in and around Southend-On-Sea, then give Essex Leaflet Angel a call on 01702 780026 OR…