Leaflets are a very effective advertising tool to get your message directly into the hands of consumers. However, a really successful leaflet campaign takes some forethought and planning to get a good return on your investment. Here are some top tips to make sure that your leaflets work hard for you.
Get the design and production right
Your leaflet is your chance to make a great first impression, so don’t skimp on the design. Have it professionally designed if possible, with high resolution images, a strong headline, a call to action, and any other important information. Don’t be tempted to crowd in too much, as it’s designed to generate leads rather than close a sale.
Make sure the printing quality is crisp and clear, and consider double- sided for maximum impact. The paper quality is also important- go for at least 150 or 170gsm, or even laminated card if you really want to stand out.
Size matters too—the classic size of the leaflet is one third of A4, because it is small enough to pop on a notice board or fridge door without taking up too much space, but not so small that it could be easily overlooked or discarded. However, sometimes an unusual size can work well, just because it is different and therefore more memorable.
Identify your target customers
Do plenty of research into the postcode areas that you want to target. What are the demographics of your target customer, in terms of age, gender, occupation, income, education level, social group, and so on? Are a lot of the properties in the area rented, or are they mostly privately owned?
Is your target demographic likely to occupy a city centre apartment, an affluent suburban street of detached Edwardian homes, or smaller semi-detached or terraced houses? If you are marketing luxury or high-spend items, you may want to focus on wealthier suburbs, for example.
Use your common sense for any obvious points to take into account—for example, if you are a driveway paving company, there is no point including streets of pavement-fronted terraced houses in your drop. The same goes for gardening and maintenance services; you will be targeting properties with larger grounds and gardens.
Make sure that your campaign has a clear goal, rather than just getting your name on the doormat in the hope of generating more business. Do you have a specific product or service that you want to promote? Is it seasonal—for example, health and fitness venues might make a big push in January when people are making New Year’s resolutions.
Get the numbers right
To make the effort worthwhile, it is recommended to have a print run of at least 5,000, and up to 20,000 to generate a good return on investment- remember that most printers will offer prices on a sliding scale, so it is often not as expensive as you might expect to up the numbers.
You can use online software tools to estimate the number of letter boxes in your target area, to make sure that your print run matches up.
Arrange a professional delivery service
You could try to save money by hiring teenagers to do your leaflet drop, but beware as this may turn out to be false economy. A professional delivery service is likely to be much faster and more reliable. GPS tracked leaflet distribution services give you the peace of mind that the delivery person is covering the target areas and distances in the agreed timescales.
Consider multi-drop campaigns
Research has shown that leaflet marketing works best when it is part of a multiple run of a least three separate drops at timed intervals, and is most effective of all as a part of a long-term marketing strategy.
Have your response ready
The final point to make is that you need to be ready to deal with the enquiries generated by the drop, so make sure that you have enough staff available to handle the extra calls, emails, and so on, with the stage in the sales process worked out in advance.
You may want to give call handlers a script to work from, so that your approach is consistent and the potential customer is getting the right information every time. This will also add the slick and professional image which is reassuring for the new client, and help your staff to speak confidently and fluently on the phone.
If this is not the final stage in the sales process, be sure to follow it up with a new clear call to action.
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