Direct mail makes up a big part of how many people view direct marketing. One way to do this is by using leaflets and flyers to provide information on a product or service or perhaps just information on your company in general. Having an online presence is essential but you need to point people in that direction so the printed mailer or flyer is a great cost effective solution.
Whether you are a business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C) organisation, getting the right information to your customer base will continue to be a key challenge in your marketing objectives. Direct marketing can continue to play a big role in meeting these objectives and keeping your brand and your name fresh in the mind of customers.
Getting a leaflet right is not always easy and the challenge is to try and make it stand out for the reader and provide the necessary information to drive sales and enquiries. A professional design can often go a long way to creating the perfect first impression with your leaflet. There are a number of steps we would suggest following to help create a great leaflet.
- Space:
The old adage of ‘less is more’is certainly the case when it comes to designing a leaflet. No one wants to read through a leaflet that is simply full of text. It takes too long and doesn’t look good. Clutter is never a good thing, so be sure to remember space when designing your leaflet. It is also important to remember to use the whole area of your leaflet and don’t simply concentrate on one corner or the centre.
- Imagery:
While ‘less is more’ can work well with leaflets, including images always works well. It is important to ensure the photo being used is high quality and ready for a printed leaflet. Images are also important if your leaflet includes products and product prices, as you will want to showcase the quality of the product in the best possible way on the leaflet. Use a high quality stock image or commission some stunning product photography with us.
- Readable:
It is important that your audience can clearly read and understand the message you are trying to get across in your leaflet. Try to avoid using light colours like white and yellow for text as they can often be hard to read unless applied to a dark background. Short, snappy sentences work well and try to get a clear, simple title that will grab the reader’s attention. Something like “Sale Now On – Up To 50% OFF!” works well. Try to avoid using text that is less than 10 point as some readers may struggle to make it out.
- Quality:
At digiprint, quality comes in a number of ways including the quality of the content and the print quality. The quality of the content really comes down to the message you are trying to get across to your audience but remember to keep it short and to the point. The quality of print is also important as a leaflet is something that is physically lifted and can take a lot of abuse. The better the quality of the leaflet, the better the impression you will leave with your customer. Most leaflets will range in thickness from 150gsm with finishes including matt, silk and luxury papers. It is also important to remember when designing for printing leaflets that you save your file as a pdf in CMYKformat as RGB is used for computer screens.
- Call to Action:
Finally, it is important that your leaflet has a clear call to action. A call to action is what you will be using to encourage further action from your customer. So whether you have delivered leaflets via a door-to-door mail drop, trade show or through your own business premises, it is important that there is a clear call to action that will help you measure the success of your leaflet. This call to action can take place in many formats including:
- Link to website
- Social profiles – Facebook, Twitter, etc.
- Contact phone number
- Email contact
- QR code
- Price (especially if a special offer is being promoted)
Before you get ready to open up Paint (you know who you are – don’t go there!) or Photoshop to start designing your next great leaflet that is going to have the customers knocking your door down just remember these five tips and check if your leaflet includes them.
For more information on how to design a leaflet for printing, get in touch or visit our template section at our printing.com studio to download some leaflet templates to get you started.