Is print marketing still something to consider in the digital age?
The answer is a definite yes.
In this lesson, we'll take a look at how to design a flyer in a way that's
going to grab people's attention, deliver key messaging, and drive real results.
People are so inundated with digital media feeds, emails, and ads.
It can be a great idea to try something different like print.
Flyers give you the opportunity to capture target
audiences and deliver the most relevant information at the most relevant time.
For example, if the flyer is advertising an upcoming race,
you could pass it out to runners at a local marathon.
If you're advertising consulting services to small businesses,
leave some flyers at a local co-working spot.
Well-designed flyers appeal to an audience in their natural habitat.
What is a flyer exactly?
Sometimes referred to as handbills, a flyer is a quick and affordable
printed marketing piece designed to get a single marketing message across.
Flyers are generally a piece of printed paper in a flat, rectangular format.
They range in size from the small scale to almost poster size.
A single-sided flyer will be more economical to produce
and suits formats where only one side is seen.
Perfect for hanging in store windows or on notice boards.
Double-sided printing may enable the flyer to have one side that is informative
and the other side that is brand driven or more visual.
Perfect if it's going in post boxes or distributed straight to the audience's hand.
And speaking of the audience, always design with them in mind.
A flyer that's going to drive results with millennial business owners is going to be
completely different from the flyer design that really makes an impact on new parents.
A flyer targeted at travel-loving retirees will
be visually distinct from one for corporate entrepreneurs.
The goal is to build trust and make the product or service appealing to an audience.
This goes hand in hand with developing brand recognition.
Ultimately, a great flyer is designed to appeal to the right people
as well as be clearly recognizable as belonging to a specific business.
A brand kit will tie the visuals, logos,
colors, and text to other marketing material produced by the business.
Consistency is key. It will create a connection to the business
and this will help the flyer look legitimate.
A flyer usually concentrates on a single key message or promotion.
The less you try to communicate, the easier the message will be to get across.
Resist the temptation to include any and all information you can fit on the page.
A cluttered page will make it hard for the audience to know
what they should be paying attention to.
A flyer can be reduced down to three simple ingredients.
Imagery and graphics should support and not distract from these three essential ingredients.
A powerful and eye-catching header, a description, and finally, most importantly, a call-to-action.
If you want the audience to attend an event, sign up for an email list,
or come into the office for a free consultation, you need to tell them.
A clear call-to-action, commonly referred to as a CTA, is essential to maximize the
effectiveness of your flyer design and get you the results you're looking for.
Ask yourself: What is the flyer asking the audience to do?
Get in touch?
Buy now?
Find out more?
Go to a website?
The most successful flyers are the ones that drive results. A good CTA will do that.
Next, we'll look at how these elements can be designed for maximum impact.
There are a few design considerations that every flyer needs in order to make an impact.
The way each element is treated on the page will help the audience understand
what's important and what they need to pay attention to.
Think of ways you can draw people in. What would get them excited to find out more?
The headline really needs to stand out and grab attention.
It also needs to be in line with the branding and flyer messaging.
It should be visually dominant. In other words, it should have hierarchy over the other information.
Think about where this flyer will be seen and that
will tell you how big you need to make the headline.
If it's being viewed while being held,
it can be smaller than if it needs to communicate through a store window.
The written content of the flyer like body copy needs to be succinct.
If there are images describing products or services,
perhaps the amount of body copy can be reduced.
Use a font here that is clean and readable.
Body copy is less important than the header to initially grab the audience's attention.
Once you have their attention though, body copy is what will convince the audience.
As mentioned, the call-to-action is very important.
Use hierarchy like a weight, color, or scale, to ensure the CTA is distinct and stands out.
A strong CTA on a flyer should leave no doubt about how to get in touch
or take part in the offer.
Think about the arrangement of objects on the flyer and
how the arrangement could help convey the message.
By keeping things aligned, you show relationships between objects.
This hints that these objects should be understood together.
To help with your alignment, a simple grid might help.
Try a few columns and align the elements of the flyer to one of the column edges.
Similarly, horizontal guides may also help structure the page.
Make use of clear areas of space often referred to as white space.
These areas will help emphasize key design elements.
The more space around them, the more the audience's eye is drawn to it.
What about balance? For starters, each element on the flyer should be proportionate to the rest.
Look at the content of the flyer objectively and work out a logical balance.
Perhaps symmetrical balance works using a centered alignment.
This is effective when you need the audience to read from top to bottom.
Or create a more dynamic layout with asymmetrical balance.
Place objects on the page to create a diagonal movement for the eye.
Just make sure the place where the eye ends up is memorable like a logo or a CTA.
You might also use proportion. If you have a large
graphic that takes up a solid portion of the design space,
make sure to contrast it with smaller text, so the entire design doesn't feel too overwhelming.
There are many ways you can make a flyer design go further.
Perhaps the design works as a great social media post.
Or a simple re-shuffle can turn the layout into a great email campaign.
You can even add it to a website.
Flyers are a great way to create a face-to-face connection with an audience.
In this lesson, we've looked at what a printed flyer is and
the reason a business might produce one.
We've also discussed how to achieve a great design using hierarchy and the design principles.
When you design your next flyer, consider the audience, the message you're sending,
and the call to action.
What do you want the audience to do after they have seen the flyer?
This will lead to a design that drives great results.