How to Create Actionable Leaflet Distribution Artwork
Design compelling leaflets that grab attention, speak directly to your audience, and inspire immediate response.
People will judge your business based on what you send them. Your flyer will reach thousands of homes and will often be viewed by everyone living there. All these people will spend their three seconds (and hopefully much more time subsequently) judging your business.
This page will show you how to create artwork that showcases your company's incredible value and why people should take action. In addition, we will cover the marketing principles, specifically for door-to-door marketing, which will dramatically enhance your overall return on investment.
Create Relevant Artwork
At Flow, we always aim to have an initial consultation with you to establish your goals and your ideal customer profile. These insights form the foundation for how we demographically reach your ideal customer and how we get that message across.
People are most likely to engage with your marketing when it is relevant to them - where it identifies a need they have and tangibly demonstrates your business as their solution. Therefore, the use of imagery, headlines, content, and calls to action must be specific to that recipient.
For example, you're a private high school marketing manager and need a strategy to attract current Year 6 students and their parents to your upcoming open day. We have identified the appropriate postcode sectors and now need a flyer design. The imagery needs to involve kids; they need to be in a stimulating environment, enjoying their time with friends.
The headline identifies the need and speaks to both the parents' emotional and logical brain(s), such as 'Would you like to give your kids the best possible education?' What good parent is going to say no to that?!
The call to action (CTA) then positions your school as the obvious solution, such as 'Take the first step by booking in for our exciting Open Day on...'
Design Leaflets that Stand Out - Top 5 Strategies
Remember that your leaflet, flyer, brochure or whatever format you choose to send will likely be delivered alongside other (non-competing) printed items and the mail. For your business to see a return from your door-to-door campaign, it must stand out. Here are the top five strategies to help your flyer stand out:
1. Use an eye-catching and appropriate image
If we continue with the private high school example, a flyer featuring a large image of the school building is unlikely to appeal to parents or children. Even if you have a beautiful building, this should be a secondary image found on the reverse and may be positioned next to a visual map.
Instead, images of kids doing exciting science experiments or playing sports in your gym will catch the receiver's eye. With imagery and marketing in general, you're not selling what you do but the benefit it brings.
2. Create Memorable Copy
Alliteration is an excellent tool for making your leaflet's content memorable (hopefully you noticed it in the sub-headline above!). The headline, sub-headline and call to action must all stand out - so make them bigger. When it comes to your body of text, use bullet points rather than paragraphs, as they are easier to read and digest. Also consider the fonts used.
Typically, we aim to maintain brand consistency, so we would use your brand guidelines document (where available) or consult your website to keep the same fonts, style, colours, etc.
3. Always Give a Reason to Respond
Following on from the copy, the most critical element is the call to action (CTA). People will not act if you simply provide information. The CTA doesn't need to be a discount, but it does need to ask the receiver to take some form of action.
In the school example, 'Visit our open day' is a much more appropriate CTA than 'Sign your child up immediately'! CTA's often work most effectively when the recipient needs little commitment - instead, you're simply prompting them in the right direction.
4. Keep Your Artwork Simple
There is a common request from clients to cram as much information and as many offers as possible into a flyer design. However, this is counter-productive. A busy flyer overwhelms the recipient and leads to no action. Instead, we recommend establishing what specific goal you wish to achieve from the flyer and keeping your message on point.
5. Showcase your Credibility
In sales and marketing, it's essential to remove potential barriers a new client may have. Unfortunately, it often takes multiple touchpoints before a prospect takes action, as they need to build trust. You can help alleviate this in three simple ways:
- Testimonials. A compelling 5* testimonial that references the flyer's offering demonstrates how someone has benefited from your product/service.
- Certifications. Trust by association is achieved with accreditations. If you're a member of FSB or have an ISO, for example, these boost credibility.
- Awards. Business awards are hard to win, so if you've managed to win one, flaunt it! Awards are excellent demonstrations of a credible business.
Next Step
All the information has been provided to you with the fundamentals for creating powerful artwork for leaflet distribution campaigns. We offer you the complete package at Flow - from initial consultation, strategy, artwork, print, and distribution. This helps us provide door-to-door campaigns that are simpler, faster, and cheaper for you.
The next step is simply to get in touch, and we can begin helping you build your business.
Maximise your Leaflet Distribution Results
- Define your ideal audience profile: Establish your campaign goals and target demographics first so your messaging aligns with the specific needs of the households you reach.
- Lead with benefit driven imagery: Use high impact visuals that show the positive outcome of your service rather than just a picture of your building or equipment.
- Write concise and memorable copy: Keep your headlines bold, use bullet points for easy reading, and maintain strict consistency with your established brand guidelines.
- Provide a low commitment call to action: Guide prospects in the right direction with a clear, next step instruction that requires minimal effort or risk from their side.
- Keep the overall layout simple: Avoid cluttering the page with too much information, focusing instead on a single commercial goal to prevent overwhelming the reader.
- Showcase your trust and credibility: Embed five star testimonials, industry awards, or official accreditations to eliminate barriers and build instant trust with potential customers.