Flyers that command attention

Many marketers want to bring attention to their online campaigns, but give the offline components the cold shoulder. By doing so, they’re missing a valuable opportunity to command the attention of prospective buyers and convey their messages in a memorable way.

Here are some valuable tips to design flyers that will compel your target audience to sit up, pay attention and take action:

Design

The first thing a prospect sees when he or she picks up a flyer is the design – good, bad or indifferent. It’s the first impression, so make sure it’s an amazing one!

1. Include an infographic, diagram or data chart. Visual elements naturally attract the human eye. Best of all, they can convey a lot of information in a compelling way in a compact space – perfect for a flyer.
2. Consider a comparison chart. Showcase your product’s advantages in a dynamic comparison chart. This is one of those “at-a-glance” elements that can help your prospects quickly understand your product’s advantages over your competitors. Select the product features that help you tell your best story.
3. Create an asymmetrical layout for an edgy design. The human mind loves symmetry. So when you present your prospects with an asymmetrical design, it immediately highjacks their brain’s attention.
4. Be unpredictable. Most print and online designs stick to a grid layout that’s very predictable (translation: boring). Break the grid and go diagonal or run text in an unorthodox direction to grab your reader’s attention.
5. Use white space, sometimes a LOT of white space. Include negative (white) space in your design, so your flyer design doesn’t look cluttered. This sounds obvious, but we see examples of marketers breaking this cardinal rule of design all the time. Resist the temptation to cram one more piece of information into your literature piece just because you have a space for it.
6. Quality photography or stock art. Invest extra time and effort sourcing the best possible photography for your flyer. Quality does make a difference.
7. Font selection. Select fonts that complement the style of your flyer. Old fashioned? Traditional? Edgy? Pick your font styles accordingly, and don’t be afraid to mix serif and sans-serif fonts. Not everything has to always be matchy-matchy.
8. Color! Use powerful, vibrant colors where it makes sense. They will “jump” off the page and capture the reader’s attention more than softer colors will.

Content

9. Write for your audience, not for you. The rules that apply to content marketing also need to be followed when writing copy for a flyer:
   • Focus on the readers’ needs
   • Tell a concise, compelling, story
   • Design for a quick read, using a combination of design and typography
   • Use action words
   • Include a compelling call to action
10. Tell a single story. Fliers can be the perfect size to tell a single story. But instead of focusing on a specific product, why not focus on a single, compelling problem the customer needs to solve?

Production

Production can take a decent brochure and make it absolutely amazing, using techniques like these:

11. Unique folds. Fold like your life depends on it. Unique folds and asymmetrical offset folds can help make your flyer “pop” in the hands of your prospect.
12. Use spot varnish or embossing to enable certain words or design elements to “pop” off the page. Once again, selectively draw attention to the elements YOU want your readers to see.
13. Unique paper and die-cut shapes. Most times marketers and their printers order the most efficient paper for production and keep the final pieces in more traditional sizes. Instead, consider unorthodox die-cut shapes or heavier weights of paper to command attention.

As you can see, there are a number of ways to help your print messaging stand out. All it takes is a bit of inspiration and imagination.