11 Important Things to Remember When Designing Your Own Leaflet

Leaflets are one of the most popular and effective ways to promote your business or product. But designing your own leaflet can be a daunting experience. You may feel overwhelmed by the amount of things that you need to remember to include.

In fact, if your leaflet looks unprofessional or contains mistakes, it can actually reduce your chances of boosting business, and may damage your brand image.

But following these simple steps for designing a leaflet can help to ensure that you produce that looks great and promotes your business well...

1) Leaflet Audience

One of the most important considerations when designing a leaflet is the target audience. The aim of the leaflet is to appeal to the people that will read or look at it, so think about the gender and age of the audience. It might pay to do some market research into the target demographic, as this can help to provide useful information into the things that these people are likely to be influenced by. It is important that your leaflet appeals to your target audience without losing your corporate identity.

2) Leaflet Design

The design and layout of the leaflet depends on a number of factors, and is closely linked to the audience. For example, if the target audience are younger people, a modern design may be more appropriate as it would be more likely to appeal to that demographic.

Remember to also include your logo on the leaflet so that the information can be associated with your brand. Another important leaflet design consideration is the layout of the information; if the leaflet folds then you need to ensure that the text and images are easily readable and not lost in the folds.

3) Colour

Closely connected to the leaflet design is the use of colour. You will probably want to use colour in a way that promotes your brand identity, but that also captures the reader's attention. Bright colours are especially useful for attracting a wandering eye. But be careful not to go too over the top, an excessively bright or garish colour scheme can actually put people off.

4) Leaflet Images

Images can be a great way to attract attention and to sell your product. But a poor quality image can look unprofessional. Even if they look fine on your computer screen, low resolution images can look blurred or pixelated once printed. Make sure that you provide high resolution images for your leaflet; aim for 300dpi (dots per inch). Your printer's website will usually provide their dpi requirements on their website.

Remember also to keep images in perspective when resizing, as stretched images will look unprofessional when printed.

5) Purpose of the Leaflet

The purpose of a leaflet has a large bearing on the content and design. The tone and layout will reflect what you want people to do with the leaflet; do you want them to buy a product, attend an event or visit your store? In order to encourage interaction, you may wish to add an incentive, such as “limited stock, hurry!” or “limited time only”.

6) Effectiveness

The success of your leaflet will be a good indicator of the efforts that you put in. Good leaflet design and engaging text can really help to increase interest and interaction. If you are selling a product with a limited number of discounts, include this detail in your leaflet to encourage people to act quickly. You should also add small print containing any end dates to the offers that you are advertising.

It's also important that you keep the message simple and clear for the reader. Technical jargon, although it may be common sense to you (the expert), can be confusing and off-putting to readers. Use simple language to engage your audience, and include a clear call to action that you wish them to perform; “call now”, “buy today”, “order online now”. It's also essential that you include relevant contact details such as address, telephone number, email address and website.

7) Spelling and Grammar

When it comes to the textual content of your leaflet, it needs to be perfect. A 2013 study found that almost 60% of people in the UK would not use a company who had poor spelling or grammar on their marketing materials. So you can't afford to make mistakes on your leaflet, or you risk losing valuable custom.

It can be hard to identify your own mistakes, so get colleagues to check it too. If in doubt, think about hiring a proofreader to cast their professional eye over the copy before sending it to the leaflet printing company.

8) Leaflet Size

Whether you want an A6, DL, A4 or A5 leaflet printing, there are some things to remember about the size of the leaflet. When choosing your design, take into consideration the size of your desired leaflet. You should take into account how much bleed area the printer requires. Also include a 3mm safe area all the way around the leaflet, leaving this space empty of text or images to avoid them being cut off during the trimming process. It may also be necessary to provide crop marks on the leaflet design; check your printer's website for more information.

9) File Format

When it comes to saving the final version of your leaflet, ensure that it is saved in a file format that can be used by the printer and that all the leaflet's layers are flattened. Most printers are able to print from PDF, JPG and EPS files.

When saving PDF or EPS files, remember to export the fonts as outlines or curves. If you do not do this, and the font you have used is not installed on the printer's computers, the typeface may be replaced.

10) Volume

When it comes to ordering leaflet printing, you will need to specify the number of leaflets you require. Will you be handing them out to people in the street, or posting them through letterboxes? Ensure you order enough to give out to the people you wish to target. Ordering too few leaflets can mean that you don't reach as many people as you wished to, and therefore may miss out on potential exposure or sales.

However, try not to order too many, as you may end up with a waste pile of unusable leaflets to dispose of. Ordering too many leaflets can also mean wasting unnecessary money on printing costs.

11) Final Check!

Once you are ready to go to print, check everything again. Is the spelling and grammar perfect? Are the images high resolution? Is the design attractive and appealing? Have you left a sufficient bleed area and applied crop marks if required? Is the file in the correct format?

If everything is taken care of, you're all set to send your leaflet to your chosen leaflet printing company. They will then send a final proof that you will need to sign off once you are happy with your design.

From there, the printing will begin and you'll soon be in possession of your shiny new leaflets to promote your business, product or event.