I’ve been working as a graphic designer for a long, long time now. Flyer design is a frequent request – its a reliable form of marketing, even in the digital age. It doesn’t need power or wi-fi to perform, it can be folded up into a pocket or passed onto a friend. Its perfect for leaving behind following a sales meeting or a networking event. Done right, it can be emailed as well as printed, added to websites, attached to emails. The modest Flyer proves to be a very effective marketing tool for all businesses and events.
So how do you go about putting together a flyer? What should you include, and what should be left out? Well, lets go through some components we need to consider when planning the content.
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Who the flyer is for, what is the purpose of the flyer. Is it to inspire an action – perhaps a booking, a phone call? Every other point on the flyer must be checked against this point, so be clear about your intentions. Write it down as your benchmark.
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Come up with a Headline – the first thing that will be read, where the decision to be kept or binned will be made. Design-wise, it doesn’t have to be at the top of the page, but it does have to be the first focus. Bear in mind the purpose of the flyer again – What problem does the buyer have that you have the solution to? What need does the customer have and how do you solve it?
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Products and Services – perhaps include a list of the things your business works with, to give some background to your flyer and its purpose. Make a big list, then make it smaller by removing unnecessary descriptions, wordy statements, repetition.
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USP – Unique Selling Point. Why buy from you and not another business doing the same thing? Guarantees, added value, best prices, bespoke services, certification etc.
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What would you like them to do – email? Call? use a voucher? Use your contact details (correct details!) appropriately. Spell out exactly what you want the reader of your flyer to do next.
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Revise everything up until this point – what can you lose, and still make the overall message compelling?