Advantages Of Leaflets That Make Offline Marketing Immutable

In today’s digital age, the benefits of leaflet marketing are often sadly overlooked. In fact, we’re almost in danger of the younger generation asking the question “what are leaflets?” Having been tarred with the brush of being ineffective and old fashioned, flyers advertising strategies have often fallen by the wayside. Yet, there are actually numerous advantages of leaflets when it comes to marketing a product or business, and when done properly, leaflets can be visually appealing and highly effective, conveying vital details about the product or business in question. So long as we are still using paper in modern society, flyers and leaflets can never be entirely obsolete, and they can still represent one of the most effective marketing tools available to you. 

Leaflets or flyers are small pieces of paper that can be used within an advertising campaign by distributing them in person, displaying them in buildings, or posting them through mailboxes. They are both a passive and active form of advertising that is particularly useful for targeting local demographics, and when properly employed, this form of advertising will guarantee at least a single view from the recipient since a flyer must be physically handled in order to be thrown away! When leaflets are done well, they are memorable and visually appealing than any piece of online digital advertising. 

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of leaflets as part of your marketing strategy and discover the advertising advantage that they can bring you and your business, even in the modern digital world. 

Leaflets Are Cost Effective 

There are many pros and cons of advertising by using physical media like flyers, but one of the top advantages is that leaflets advertising is extremely cost effective. It’s much more cost-effective to produce leaflets than to invest in digital online marketing, and leaflets also give a higher ROI. Speedy to produce and distribute, flyers allow businesses to create numerous ideas and designs for the same price as just a single digital advertisement. Printing and distribution costs are low, with free software even being available to enable you to create your leaflet at a budget price. 

As many companies are extremely wary of overspending on an incorrect marketing channel, it’s clear that leaflets offer a significant benefit. They pose minimal financial risk since they’re far cheaper than radio, newspaper, or television advertising. Costing only pence to create and produce when ordered in bulk, they also have a lasting impact – something that cannot be said for a TV or radio advert that is likely to be forgotten almost instantly after hearing or seeing it. Leaflets allow you to get your brand message out to a wide cross-section of the public, promoting your service, event, or product across a broad geographical area while offering you an excellent return on your investment. 

Leaflets Contain Plenty Of Information 

One of the drawbacks of digital marketing is the restriction of a low character limit or word count that prevents you from giving all of the details that you want. Printed leaflets, on the other hand, have no such restrictions and, as long as they look organised and eye-catching, they can be filled with vital information about your offer, your brand, and your products. 

Leaflets Can Target A Specific Demographic

Typically, distribution of leaflets is done by posting them through letter boxes, or handing them out to people in the street. This cost-effective strategy allows you to target local demographics in a way that digital marketing may struggle to achieve. It’s possible to distribute your flyers in areas that have a greater percentage of your business’s target market. As an example, posting leaflets about a luxury product in the mail boxes of only properties in higher income postcodes will ensure that you reach the individuals who are most likely to become your customers. This is a great advantage over online adverts, which often relies heavily on mass email chains and spam mail to promote offers – a technique that can end up wasting money by targeting people who will not be interested in taking them up. 

Leaflets Can Effectively Engage An Audience

A well-crafted leaflet is often the very first point of interaction that you have with your prospective customers, and it allows you to make a good first impression by presenting your business or brand in the most positive light. Including coupons, free services, or discounts in your leaflet is one of the very best ways of engaging customers and of creating the right impression of your company in their minds. 

A leaflet also allows you to talk directly to your prospective customers, asking for feedback and providing ways of delivering it. By adding your contact details alongside your business hours, you can make it simple and quick for recipients to get hold of you, and it gives you the chance to cement a positive brand reputation in their minds by responding in a timely manner and following through on your promises. 

Leaflets Can Be Distributed In Many Ways

There is a misconception that printed flyers and leaflets are outdated, but in fact they can offer your business an excellent reach when they’re used wisely. There are many different ways of distributing leaflets, and you can tap into their unique possibilities to suit the needs of your brand and promotion. 

Distributing flyers direct to customers is a perfect way to reach a lot of people quickly and also to target specific geographical demographics. Putting flyers through doors, placing them on vehicles, handing them out on the streets or at events, or even inserting them into packages that you send out to your existing customers are all effective options. 

Alternatively, you can blanket an area with leaflets to make your message and brand ubiquitous. This is an ideal way to reach a wide audience on a low budget. Public distribution options include placing flyers on bulletin boards within communities, in municipal buildings, at bus, train or subway stations, on vending machines or in public bathrooms among others. 

You can even work with other people to get flyers into other locations such as restaurants, cafes, day care centres, banks, doctors’ surgeries, schools, stores, churches, and libraries, or post your leaflets online on social media platforms, community classified lists or your business website. 

Of course, it goes without saying that you must ensure that you’re abiding by the law and any local regulations regarding flyering or distribution of leaflets when handing out your printed media, but as long as you take the time to check out the rules in your area, you can take advantage of the flexible distribution options that leaflets give you. 

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Leaflets Give Customers Something Tangible

When you give your audience a printed leaflet, they have something tangible that they can feel, hold, and link with your brand. That instantly changes up your marketing effort from a passive attempt to reach your target market that could easily be ignored to a more authentic and active experience that both potential and existing customers are going to remember in the long term. When you take that concept even further by including promotion items, giveaways, and discounts, you can really spark positive brand associations in their minds. 

Leaflets Have A Long Shelf Life 

These days, it can be all too easy to just delete marketing emails without really looking at or reading them. However, a well-crafted and properly thought-out leaflet may remain in their homes for many months to come. While they may not constantly look at it, it can still serve as a visual reminder of your brand. If you include something like a calendar on your leaflet, your flyer will enjoy an even longer shelf life, remaining around far longer than an online advert, and massively increasing the chance that it will be read and understood and, hopefully, acted on in the future. 

Leaflets Encourage Instant Feedback 

Part of any successful marketing campaign involves analysing the effectiveness of your strategy to inform your future efforts. Leaflets make it easy to get this feedback instantly, especially if you’re distributing flyers in person. You’ll be able to gauge the recipient’s reaction immediately and that will enable you to see at a glance whether the leaflets are being well-received or not. 

Even if you aren’t handing out your leaflets on a one-to-one basis, you can still use them effectively to monitor your campaign’s success. By adding a specific email address or telephone number to the flyer, you can work out how many people have found your brand specifically through those flyers. If you choose to add a voucher or discount offer to the flyer, that too will enable you to determine the success of your campaign when you see how many people avail themselves of your offer. 

Leaflets Are Very Easy To Read

When you’re designing your leaflets, you need to think carefully about the most important information to be included. Although flyers give you the chance to include a lot more detail about your offer, product, or brand than would be available via digital messages, it’s still crucial that your leaflet is well-designed, uncluttered, and legible to achieve its desired effect. 

Remember that the text must attract attention from prospective customers, and that means it must be easy to read, in a clear and contrasting font. You must also ensure that your flyer is visually appealing and gets quickly to the point so that it catches the eye of the recipient rapidly and efficiently. Using simple language and bullet points will make your leaflet easier to digest, while using contrasting colours and leaving enough “white space” or unprinted areas on the flyer will ensure that your message doesn’t get “drowned out” in the content. Bear in mind, too, that you need to include the essential CTA (Call To Action) – what do you want the reader to do once they’ve viewed your flyer? 

Although it can be tempting to include as much information as possible on your leaflet, remember that the most important thing is to convey your services, products, or offer to the prospective customer. If your flyer interests them enough so that they want to learn more about what you have to offer, they can always get in touch through your website, phone number, or social media presence if you add these details to the leaflet. 

Print Is Still A Trusted Form of Media 

Although we’re living in an increasingly digital age where online marketing is rising to the fore, it’s worth noting that people still trust printed materials, particularly when those materials look professional. In fact, a recent international survey that was carried out amongst more than 10,000 people showed that people put more faith in information that is printed than in digital messaging. In just the UK alone, almost 80% of survey respondents said that they preferred printed magazines when compared with websites. With this in mind, it shows that well-targeted, well-designed leaflets are still, overall, more likely to resonate with their intended recipient than a random digital message. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean your brand shouldn’t have a strong online presence in order to reach a wider market, but there is still plenty of room for targeted physical marketing through flyers and leaflets that can convert prospective customers. With so much online competition out there, it can be time-consuming and difficult to make a mark on the internet, and to rise to the top of the search engine results. Every day, more than two million articles are published on the internet – so it isn’t surprising that it can be so challenging to stand out and get noticed. While you’re working on achieving this marketing goal, sending out printed leaflets can help you complete a double-pronged advertising campaign. 

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Leaflets Are Versatile 

Flyers are surprisingly versatile marketing tools that you can use for multiple purposes, from establishing your brand identity in the marketplace to promoting events, sales, and products. You can also add discount vouchers or coupons to your flyers which encourage recipients to take up the incentive and make a purchase or get in touch with your business. As leaflets come in many different shapes and sizes, you have lots of options in terms of design. From simple flat flyers to leaflets that are folded in complex ways, they represent a flexible and creative way to market your brand or product. 

Leaflets Are Very Customisable 

A top benefit of using leaflets as part of your marketing strategy is their customisability. You can create customised messages for your target audiences while ensuring on-brand consistency by using the same layout, colours, fonts, and logos so the recipient can immediately recognise your company’s style. 

Altering the text, images, and calls to action will bring an already-designed leaflet up to date for a new product or event, saving you a lot of time and effort on coming up with an entirely new flyer from scratch. 

Leaflets Have Eye-Catching Folding Styles 

Leaflets are a printed form of media, and that means they can do something that no email marketing message or digital ad can do – they can be folded! 

A good-looking leaflet not only gives you the capacity and space you need to get the most out of your content, but it also allows you to get really creative in terms of design so that you can show off your brand message in a stylish and effective way that resonates with the recipient. 

You may not have realised just how inventive it’s possible to be with folded leaflets, but if you unleash your creative side, you can ensure your folded leaflet doesn’t just stand out from the crowd, but that it’s entirely unforgettable! 

Of course, you can always go with something simple like a bifold or tri-fold design that gives you maximum space to outline your offer and showcase your brand, but when you really want to wow the recipient, there are many other ways that you can create the desired effect, perhaps by making your leaflet into an optical illusion, or folding it into a shape that suits your brand or niche. Playing with typography, you can use folds to reveal different messages every time the leaflet is turned around, or position the text across the leaflet’s folds to create an impressive three-dimensional effect. Some of the most popular fold types include: 

  • The gate fold. This option uses two parallel folds that create three panels on each side that open in the same way as a double gate. 
  • The concertina fold. This is sometimes called the zig-zag fold and involves the leaflet being printed in a style like an accordion. 
  • The cross fold. This fold involves taking a printed large sheet and reducing it in size by folding it down a number of times. 

The more unusual your folds can be, the more likely the recipient is to remember your brand and to seek it out again in the future. 

Leaflets Are Simple And Speedy To Produce 

Crafting an effective online marketing campaign can be a time-consuming exercise. Search engine optimisation techniques take many months to show a result, and extending your marketing reach organically requires a lot of effort on your behalf as you strive to boost your business up the search engine results to the coveted top spot. 

When using leaflet advertising techniques, however, you can see results from your marketing campaign almost immediately. Flyers are convenient, quick, and simple to produce and prepare. Whether you’re designing and producing them yourself or using the services of a professional printing company, your flyers can be made and ready for distribution in a very short space of time. Within a few days, you can get your brand or new product out into the marketplace, and start seeing a virtually instant response from your prospective customers. 

The Benefits Of Leaflet Advertising 

As you can see from all of the points that we have outlined above, leaflet marketing is certainly a highly effective and affordable way to raise awareness of your business and to promote the services or products that you have to offer. Thanks to their cost-effectiveness, convenience, and the ease and speed at which they can be produced and distributed, they represent an ideal solution for companies of all types and industries , especially those that are just starting out and need a budget-friendly advertising solution. 

It’s clear that digital marketing strategies are the campaigns of choice in today’s increasingly online world. But, while flyer marketing should be part of a comprehensive, wider marketing campaign that involves social media, posters, newsletters, blog posts, and a website, it is certainly far from being dead in the water. Leaflet advertising is undoubtedly still an extremely useful tool for any company to harness. As long as leaflets are well designed, they represent a fantastic way to get a brand message out to its target audience and to engage efficiently with your intended market at a price that won’t break the bank or take forever to show results. 

Bear in mind, too, that a significant proportion of older adults rarely use the internet, with those who do so only infrequently making online purchases. Therefore, using digital marketing to appeal to this demographic may not be a cost-effective choice. Add into the mix the fact that adblocking software is being used far more frequently by internet users of all ages to reduce webpage “noise” and to achieve a more streamlined look, and you can clearly see that running a digital marketing campaign for your brand may not always be the best or most efficient course of action. 

Traditional media like printed leaflets continues to maintain a steady, sizeable portion of the advertising market, and that means you should certainly employ it as part of your company’s marketing strategy. It can form a vital foundation on which to base the rest of your advertising campaigns, and to attract an audience that will remain loyal to your brand for many more years to come. 

Shelly Parker

Shelly Parker

Auteur

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