1. What is a leaflet? Design of leaflets

1.What is a leaflet?

2.Design of leaflets

3. Explore how to write a leaflet in six simple steps

A leaflet is a small sheet of printed paper that puts across a short message clearly and concisely.

Businesses use leaflets to advertise their products and services. They’re often also used to let people know about new stores, special offers and events.

They can either be:

-Handed out face-to-face

-Delivered to customers through the letterbox

-Stapled to a brochure and passed on

What is the difference between flyers and leaflets?

Some people use the words ‘flyer’ and ‘leaflet’ to mean the same thing – but these terms refer to two separate printed products.

Flyers: One piece of paper, with a front and back page – often used to promote events and club nights

Leaflets: One piece of paper, but folded to create the effect of multiple pages and provide space for more content

Which should you choose? It really depends on the amount of content you have to share. Leaflets afford you the space to go into more detail, and the opportunity to create separate sections using the natural breaks created by the individual ‘pages’. Flyers generally focus on one specific thing, such as an event.

What is the standard size of a leaflet?

DL is a perfect paper size for a leaflet, as it has a tall, slim design that works well for many types of business. It leaves ample room for text and space for imagery – the perfect combination.

However, it’s possible to order leaflets in a whole range of sizes, depending on your needs. That’s especially useful if you’re looking to fit leaflets within specific packaging if they’re being sent out to your customers as part of a wider package.

We offer various dimensions ranging from A7 to A2 – as well as our bold square-shaped options, perfect for a contemporary-looking, design-led piece. If you’re unsure what’s right for your promotion, check out our leaflet size guide for more information.

Are leaflets a good way to advertise?

Leaflets are a cost-effective way for businesses to advertise its products and services. They’re a quick method of getting a clear message across to a wide audience.

They also offer you the chance to be creative. Take the opportunity to show off your design skills by creating a stunning promo piece that impresses the all right people.

Leaflets are also likely to be retained by recipients, with 45% of people who receive one through the mail likely to keep it on a pinboard or in a kitchen drawer – according to a DMA study.

What should I include in a leaflet?

The most important thing to consider when creating your leaflet is this: will people understand what it’s about at a glance? If the answer is no, then go back to the drawing board.

When considering how to write a leaflet, think about the message you want the reader to take away. Good leaflets need:

Benefit-led and relatable headlines

Key message or theme

Copy written in plain English

Design broken up with sub-headings

Bullet points to detail key information

Call to action: What do you want them to do?

Key details: Phone number / website / email address / social tags

Contact details should be displayed clearly so people know how to find out more. Include a map with your location highlighted to guide customers to your premises.

Likewise, don’t forget images to showcase your products and boost the visual appeal of your leaflet. The more visual your business, the more you should focus on imagery.

What is the best font for leaflets?

It’s easy to get carried away when picking a font, which is important aesthetically, but make sure your leaflet is readable.

Using an easy-to-read font for any blocks of text, such as descriptions of products or services, is essential.

Helvetica is a strong choice for a leaflet. It’s a simple sans serif font that displays information in a clean and effective way.

The Helvetica ‘family’ includes different components such as Helvetica Bold – ideal for your headers and key messages.

It’s best not to go crazy with the number of fonts you use. If you find yourself using 3 or more on a single leaflet or flyer, you might want to ask yourself if you really need that many.

What is the best way to hand out leaflets?

Once you’ve printed your leaflets, you then have several ways to distribute hem.

You can hand them out directly, making sure you have the appropriate permission, or pay a professional leaflet distribution company.

This can be an effective way to draw people in from a busy street, or to boost visibility in another area – farther away but with high footfall.

Alternatively, you could send them out to customers. You have a few choices:

Door drops – bulk delivering unaddressed leaflets and flyers through letterboxes

Addressed mail – sending them directly to addresses in your approved database of contacts

Send in packages – including leaflets inside the packaging of products you ship to customers

Do I need permission to distribute leaflets?

Check with your local council to see if you need a licence to distribute free leaflets, as this can vary from city to city.

Enter your postcode into the Government’s website for an accurate picture of your local area’s regulations.

You may need to obtain a licence that covers handing out leaflets in the street. However, if you’re posting through letterboxes or leaving them in a building for people to pick up, you don’t need permission to do so, unless these premises are

private. Learn how to distribute flyers and leaflets

How do I design my own leaflets?

You can take a proactive role in creating your own leaflets by submitting your designs to us using Photoshop or InDesign.

If you aren’t experienced with design software, you can use our free “create your own” tool online, selecting from a wide range of attractive designs and inputting your own info and imagery.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for something unique and professional, you can task our designers with creating bespoke, eye-catching leaflets. Prices start from £60.00 – for more information, please call on 01702 460047 or email [e-mail].

Ready to get started?

You’ll get free next day delivery when you print leaflets with Solopress. When your order arrives, you can start distributing right away. Shop leaflets today

Writing a Leaflet

Leaflet campaigns can highlight the benefits of your latest product, promo or showpiece event – placing your message squarely in front of your audience.

But what makes a leaflet campaign successful? Clever content, succinct messaging and solid tone of voice are all important. Explore how to write a leaflet in six simple steps:

Step 1: Establish your own tone of voice

Tone of voice is summed up as the way in which a brand communicates with its customers and the wider world. All content you create – from press ads and blog posts to site copy and social media – must sound consistent in terms of words used, sentence structure, chattiness, cultural references etc.

The most successful brands totally master tone of voice. Think about the way Apple, for example, speaks. Or the offbeat charm of Innocent smoothies – all Fruit Towers and the Banana Phone.

Consider the language your target audience will be most receptive to and use this to pique their interest with convincing and compelling wording that’s true to your brand.

Step 2: Create eye-catching headlines

We are bombarded with hundreds of marketing messages every day. So how can your message rise above the background noise?

Grab the attention of your audience with a headline that’s catchy, relevant, and benefit-led. One key tip is to place the main benefit of whatever you’re advertising in the headline, surrounded by supporting language. This is called benefit-led. For example:

Sale: lead with the offer itself

Event: use the details of where and when

Product: focus on the main benefit

Step 3: Focus on the USPs

What’s special about your event, product or service? What does it have that its competitors do not? These are the questions you should be focusing on when it comes to crafting your USPs, or unique selling points.

Build your leaflet around these features, and translate them into lifestyle benefits. Say, for example, you’re selling a smartphone that offers a better screen than others. You don’t simply say ‘it has a better screen’.

You say something like: ‘Netflix on your phone looks as sharp as on your TV with the screen on the…’ Turn features into benefits.

Position them in prominent places in an eye-catching way. Lists are a brilliant way of clearly highlighting the take-home points of your leaflet – and grouping additional USPs. Your new phone has more to shout about than its new screen, after all.

Step 4: Include key details

The essentials of your promotion must be included in your leaflet. News stories, for example, are always written to cover the who, what, when, where, why and how. And your leaflet should follow the same principle.

Company contact details, event dates, locations, product prices and promotional discounts are all vital. They’re the snippets of information your readers need to act upon the call to action within your leaflet.

While the title takes precedence for drawing in the reader, these nuggets of information will help to guide them towards your desired action.

Step 5: Get straight to the point

Keep it concise when you’re listing important information related to your promotion. Be expressive, but also ensure what you’re saying is pertinent.

Plainly outline what you’re offering and speak directly to the customer. You’re trying to persuade them to call, e-mail or visit the website, so talk to them using language such as “you” and “you’re”.

Emphasise the benefits they’ll receive from whatever you’re advertising and feed their hunger to learn more about it by being descriptive.

Step 6: Finish with a call to action

Prompt your reader to act upon your leaflet by including a clear call to action, which signposts exactly what they need to do next to…

Take advantage of your offer

Find out more about the product

Book tickets for your event

Whatever action you want them to take, be clear. Write in plain English and don’t confuse with flowery language or metaphor.

Phrases such as “Visit our website at…” “Discover more by joining us on…” and “Explore our range at…” are perfect examples of CTAs that are expressive and lead the reader to the next point.

A strong CTA can make the difference in your leaflet campaign being a success.

Leaflet writing: Do’s and don’ts

Do’s:

Do use short, snappy sentences to keep the reader’s attention

Do showcase your credibility by including awards won or qualifications

Do use persuasive language

Don’ts:

Don’t overload the reader with too much information

Don’t waste the back page – print on both sides

When you print leaflets with Solopress, you can be sure of a quality product that hits your design goals. Simply upload your artwork using our online template and we’ll handle the printing.

Order today and receive free UK delivery – ready for your next leaflet campaign.