Distributing leaflets is an incredibly effective and affordable way to get your message across to people and build your brand. As well as helping you to reach out to people within your catchment area, leaflets also give your business access to those customers who may not be able to or choose not to use the internet.
Despite the fact that we’re constantly being told that we live in a digital age, a staggering 48% of consumers say that they tend to respond favourably to advertisements delivered to their door by leaflet.
While leaflets are a highly viable form of marketing for businesses, it’s important to get your design right if you want to attract those all-important customers. In this article, we’ll take you through some of the dos and don’ts of designing an eye-catching leaflet:
How to Create Eye-Catching Leaflet Designs that convert
Leaflet dropping is all about relevance to the reader, but you need to catch the reader’s attention so that you can engage their interest in your offering.
Present it to the reader and make the right impression and that leaflet will not only be kept but also be acted upon.
Whether you need your potential customers to act on a short time offer, or you simply want to make them aware of the services you offer, your results are directly linked to the design of the leaflet. It needs to be eye-catching and in keeping with the style of your business so that your customers know what to expect and can’t resist reading the whole leaflet.
Sometimes there is a temptation to fill up all the available space with text, getting as much information to your customer as you can. However, you only get a few short seconds to make a good first impression, grab their attention, and keep it.
Fill the page with text and they may scan it and find something that explains to them the point of your leaflet but they may not.
Many people picking up the leaflet from the doormat will assume it’s not relevant to them and not take notice of its content. The trick, therefore, is not to waste this valuable opportunity that they have your leaflet in their hand and they are looking at it.
Generally, we read a leaflet from the top and work down the page, therefore the headline is a highly important factor in engaging their attention and getting them to believe that this could be something of interest to them.
The Dos
While the object of a leaflet is to impart information, you first need to grab the reader’s attention – and fast. These days, people have relatively short attention spans and, so your leaflet needs to be attractive and carry a clear message. Here’s how it’s done:
The colour of success
Although it’s universally accepted that bold tones are great for grabbing attention, different colours tend to evoke different emotional responses and, so choosing the right colour for your messaging can be crucial:
Red alert – A good bright red is an automatic attention grabber and denotes passion and intensity, making it a great colour to use if you want to catch those impulse buyers. Red is also used to indicate danger or urgency, so, within advertising, it should be used cleverly – and sparingly.
Blue – Unlike red, blue is considered a ‘cool’ colour that evokes safety, peace and relaxation. Blue is a popular colour for companies such as banks and financial organisations as it is said to ease tensions and to engender trust. Blue is incredibly versatile for use on leaflets as you can go with a subtle sky blue as a background or a bolder cobalt for a bit of eye-popping colour.
Green – As well as being another trust colour, green tends to insinuate an attachment to nature and the environment, and, as such, green is often used by eco-friendly companies. Green is also a popular choice with pharmaceutical companies who are keen to broadcast a message of trusted, natural ingredients.
Killer headlines
Your leaflet should have a killer headline that communicates your overall message but also grabs attention.
If you are selling a product or service the headline, when carefully designed, will draw them in and then the message must move powerfully on to build on this initial interest and get the reader wanting what you have on offer.
Most people will quickly scan the headline of a flyer, so you have seconds to grab and keep the reader’s attention, 3 seconds to be precise (so, no pressure then!).
Feel free to use humour or fun in your headline – as long as you make sure that it clearly communicates the objective of the leaflet.
The leaflet copy
Now we come to the actual content of your leaflet; the bit which will hopefully net you a sale.
You need to make it simple for the customer to understand and do the work for them. You need enough information to explain the purpose of the leaflet and the type of offer you are making, but it needs to be displayed in an impactful manner, with the benefits to the reader of your product or service.
First things first, be sure to break your text up into easy-to-digest chunks, as most people will quickly lose interest when faced with huge amounts of uninterrupted text.
Secondly, keep your content as short and to the point as possible for the same reasons.
Finally, make sure that you have created a profile of your target customer as, ideally, the tone of voice of your copy should mirror the kind of language used by your audience.
Remember the most important response driver are the words you use as Andy Owen the well-known direct marketing copywriting specialist says,
“As a writer words are your weapons. They are the arrows in your quiver; you should always strive to use the most effective ones. The words that make people do positive things”.
Paint a picture
As well as using copy to get your message across, bullet points and infographics can help to hammer the point home by giving a visual reference to your overall messaging. Similarly, photographs and pictures can be great tools for illustrating your message – just make sure that you have permission to use images before going to print.
Make the design current using up to date images but don’t over-design it or be too clever, this is a door drop not a design for an art gallery.
The Call To Action
So, you’ve nailed the colour of your leaflet, you’ve got a killer headline and, some fantastic imagery accompanies your copy – you’re all set, right?
Wrong. While all of these things are essential, your work is essentially wasted without a strong and clear call to action. After all, there’s no point telling people about your business without letting them know what you want them to do next.
Your call to action should be clearly visible on the page and, where possible, should express just one course of action to avoid confusion; for example, call this number or email us at this address.
Although a sale may be precisely what you’re after, try to avoid using certain call to action words like ‘Buy’. Instead, try more gentle messaging such as ‘Find out more’ or ‘Call us today’ which are more likely to get those fingers clicking over to the phone or the laptop.
The Don’ts
Now that you’ve got an idea of the things that you should be including on your leaflet, it’s time to tackle the things that you shouldn’t:
Headscratcher
We’ve mentioned that your headline should be grabby and interesting – but don’t be tempted to be too clever. If your headline is confusing – or worse, misleading, your leaflet will no doubt end up in the bin.
Get busy
We understand that you have a lot to say – but you don’t have to say it all at once. One of the most common mistakes on leaflets is to cram them full of information and images, which overwhelm the reader and cause them to lose interest. Always keep the reader in mind and keep your messaging short and concise where possible.
Font fails
We get that you’ve come over all creative while designing your leaflet but, try not to get too carried away.
It’s usually a good idea to stick to just one font, two at the most, as any more can result in your leaflet looking confusing and just downright scruffy.
Always be sure to pick a font that is easy to read rather than a more fancy one.
Conclusion
Well-designed leaflets have been shown to double and even triple the response rate in some cases. An excellent leaflet will grab the reader’s attention with an easy to understand headline and then lead them gently by the hand all the way to your call to action.
To do this, it needs to be attractive, easy to read and contain copy that compels the reader to find out more about your business. Quite often, your one chance to do this is through a quick glance when the leaflet is lying on the doormat – so use this method to test your leaflet design to see if it makes the grade.
If you implement all these tips into your next leaflet design, you are much more likely to have a successful response from your leaflet distribution campaign.
