Leaflet marketing is considered to be one of the simplest and cheapest forms of direct marketing, and although response rates are generally quite low, leaflets are inexpensive and can help a business target a specific market.  If a business is based in a specific area or city then mail box distribution can be a very effective way of getting your leaflet directly under the nose of local potential customers.  These printed substrates can certainly catch the eye of readers are not as easily disposed of like electronic methods such as emails.

So, how does leaflet marketing work?

First, you will need to design a leaflet that is attention-grabbing yet easy on the eye.  Some people can make the mistake of putting as much information on a leaflet as possible, but to a reader it becomes unfocused and they will quickly lose interest.  Leaflets should only really contain the most necessary information – business name, contact details and the product/service you are promoting.  Obviously, most businesses these days try to invent new ways to stand out of the crowd with their leaflets, perhaps in the size or shape, or even in the folding techniques they implement.

There are generally 3 things to NEVER forget when designing a leaflet.

-          Include the Business Brand/image – make sure that your use of graphics, colours and fonts are consistent throughout all of your printed materials.  This allows both new and existing customers to familiarise themselves with your business through logos, slogans or use of colour.

-          Include a call to action – if you do not ask the readers to do something active to contact you, then the chances are they that simply won’t.  By displaying sayings such as ‘Call now for a free quotation’ or ‘Visit our showroom now!’

-          Include your URL address – if readers find your leaflet interesting, they will more than likely search or you online and find out a little bit more about you.  Don’t make it more difficult for them by not including your website address!

One of the most important things to consider when deciding to produce leaflets is that the quality of the leaflet will be a direct representation of your company so if you choose poor design and poor quality paper then readers will associate you as a poor service business.  However, by providing a good and concise design, with good quality paper (perhaps even with a gloss finish) then you will portray your professionalism and credibility as a business and thus gain more trust from potential customers.

The distribution of your leaflet will decide the impact of your campaign, and there are several ways to approach this.  Firstly, find some ideal places where your leaflet can be displayed, such as Doctor Surgery’s, Leisure Centres, Community Centres or even local Cafes.  Next, depending on your budget, you can arrange door to door distribution, either through the Royal Mail or through a local newspaper.  Lastly, you can deliver leaflets personally to your target customers in their own homes, and this will not just promote your business, but you will also build up a rapport with them.

The need for companies to choose only the best leaflet printing and delivery companies was underlined this week after revelations of a row surrounding a leafleting drive in Ireland.

The Irish Department of Environment contracted CityPOST to deliver a new leaflet explaining changes to the household charge, after it tendered a lower price than rival firm An Post – a firm which has carried out many previous government contracts to deliver leaflets in the past.

Anger flared after it was revealed that many households had still not received the leaflets – including the Department of Environment’s secretary general Geraldine Tallon.

CityPOST admitted that it had only guaranteed that “86-94 per cent” of all houses would be covered by the deliveries, raising questions about the tendering process, since An Post had guaranteed delivery to 100 per cent of households.

The shortfall was not the fault of the leaflet printing firm Wood Printcraft, insisted the government – even though the company went into receivership last month after printing all of the 1.8 million leaflets.

The usefulness of handing out business cards to potential contacts, clients or customers is well established throughout the business world, but did you know that how you hand your card out can make a great deal of difference depending on which part of the world you are in?

The etiquette of dishing out business cards is particularly important to know and understand in Asian countries such as Japan, China, Thailand and Korea. Asian culture believes that a business card is a representation of your persona, making it more important to present your business cards in the right way.

As the above video explains, casually tossing a few business cards in the general direction of your quarry will reflect very poorly upon you, giving Asian business contacts the impression you are slovenly and care little for either your business or yourself. Treating the cards with care, however, and presenting them individually as if they are precious items, will have the opposite effect.

It is well known among businesses that brochure printing is an important way of making an impact, whether they are used for introducing your business to new clients or promoting change. Brochures can also make money in their own right, when sold alongside art exhibitions or museum shows, so it is good to see one tourism association in the USA making the most of this unique form of publicity – for an even more unique attraction.

Destination Downtown South Boston (DDSB) recently engaged the services of a leaflet printing company to print a brochure publicising its new Fire Hydrant Walking Tour. This is not quite as wacky as it sounds, since the 17 fire hydrants covered by the three-mile walk are works of public art by local artists, painted to depict local figures and historical characters.

The idea for the arty fire hydrants came from three DDSB members who saw a similar initiative in New Bern, North Carolina in January 2010. The historical likenesses were developed with the help of the Halifax County Historical Society and local artists were then engaged to carry out the work.

DDSB executive director Tamyra Vest said: “We feel that this is a project that adds unique visual interest as well as having unique connections to the heritage and culture of South Boston. It is a wonderful addition to our downtown historic district.”

The brochures offer a mapped route, as well as a potted biography of all the historical characters depicted on the 17 fire hydrants, along with a colour photo. They are available from the Main Street office, tourism office, chamber of commerce, The Prizery and various downtown locations.

1. Business cards. These are a great way of increasing your business visibility and lodging your brand identity in the mind of clients and potential customers. A good leaflet printing company will print thousands of business cards at competitive rates. Choose a good clear design, as well. While there are many templates available online, the services of a good designer can help you stand out among the competition.
2. Professional content. Whether it is leaflets, business cards, web content or advertising, content created by a professional copywriter really makes a difference. This is often an area undervalued by companies, who pay for their neglect later.
3. A good website. A cheap-looking website gives the impression of a cheap company, and will cost you dearly in internet traffic and sales. A good internet marketing company or design agency can help you to build a site that reflects your company and looks smart and professional – and it need not break the bank.
4. Good software. There are many free software applications to be found on the web, but at the very least a company should invest in decent accounting software and, if necessary, project management software.
5. Leaflets. For regional businesses, regular and wide-ranging leaflet campaigns are an excellent way to complement online promotions and bring in customers, as well as keeping your company profile high. A good relationship with a leaflet printer will ensure that you get the best deals and excellent coverage.

Proof that print advertising in the form of posters, flyers and leaflets is still a key way to get your message across emerged this week after revelations that search engine giant Google is returning to print in order to promote its policies on privacy and online safety.

Google has announced its intention to take out a series of adverts in an array of high-profile American titles, such as Time magazine and the New York Times. It may surprise many people convinced that the only form of advertising that counts – now and in the future – is digital, but even one of the main pillars of the internet can see that marketing approaches need to be fully integrated across all forms of media, with print and online advertising working hand in glove to attract customers and target new audiences.

Leaflets, flyers and posters are especially useful for local businesses seeking to inform their local population, and without such indicators, these potential customers may not even be aware of the business in question. A reputable leaflet printing company will be versatile and able to advise you on the best mix for an effective campaign.

1. Be clear about its objectives. It may sound obvious, but different brochures serve different requirements – sales, product information or the introduction to a new company are just a few of the purposes they can be put to Make sure that the brief is clear, to both the printer and the client.
2. Make the brochure reader-focused. This simply means placing the reader’s experience front and centre when considering design or copywriting issues. Always approach the issue of brochure design from the potential audience’s point of view – your own sensibilities should come a distant second.
3. Agree on the right sort of paper. Although the usual format for a brochure is A4 paper, see if there are any special requirements from the client, of if they have considered different sizes or kinds of paper.
4. Have fun with initial ideas. A brainstorming session is a great way to get off to a good start. Brochures are not difficult to devise if the brief is a clear one, so get those ideas flying around. The sooner you have something to place before the client, the better.
5. Choose a reliable printing company. A good brochure design can be let down with a poor printing firm. Leaflet printers often do far more than just leaflets, and a respected and established company will be able to produce an attractive brochure cheaply and professionally.
6. Make sure you’ve clean and professional copy. A distressing number of businesses these days still think you can get by without the services of a professional copywriter. All the design tricks in the world won’t help if the brochure’s content is weak, or if it fails to get the message across. Assess the copy at all stages of the production process, and revise where necessary.
7. Stick with what you know. If you have a proven set of fonts and formats that have worked well in the past, strongly recommend them to your clients. Do not be afraid to experiment, but equally don’t just do it for its own sake.
8. Fit the brochure to the business in question. The design has to chime with the client’s organisation and its aims. A luxury goods retailer’s brochure should look luxurious, while a non-profit organisation will wish to look plain and professional. Cut your cloth to fit the choice of client!
9. Don’t go mad with the fonts! There should rarely be a need in a brochure for more than three fonts, assigned to the headlines, subheadings and the main copy of the brochure itself. A client with a strong business image will often direct you to its preferred or “house” font, while others will simply be looking for something simple and elegant. Crowding the design with lots of different fonts looks amateurish and messy.
10. Less is more. A brochure works well when its message is focused and is not bogged down or drowned out by cheesy imagery or cheap gimmicks. Keep pictures and graphics relevant and to a minimum.

Reports this week revealed that the average fare on London transport has increased by an inflation-busting 5.6 per cent, affecting everyone in the capital who travels by buses, trams, trains, the Thames ferry services, the Docklands Light Railway and the Tube.

Declaring that “this is the wrong fare rise at the wrong time,” Mr Livingstone announced that over half a million flyers are to be delivered to households across London as part of his new “fare deal” campaign, in which he pledges to return Transport for London’s fares scale to last year’s levels if elected mayor when the capital’s voters go to the polls in May.

“Before millions of Londoners even arrive at work this morning they will have felt the pain of a fourth year of above inflation bus, Tube and train fare hikes under Boris Johnson,” the former London mayor added.

Flyers are a great way to get your big idea across to large numbers of people – harder to ignore than promotional emails and very good value for money, if the right leaflet printing company is used for the job. Flyers have proven their worth in any number of promotional drives, political campaigns or publicity initiatives. Ken Livingstone will be hoping that their effectiveness now rubs off on his campaign to be restored to City Hall.

Transport for London insisted that the fares increase would help to ensure that much-needed upgrades went ahead and so-called “front-line services” were maintained.

Incumbent London Mayor Boris Johnson also defended the fare rises, arguing that “if you don’t invest in London transport it will simply bust apart at the seams.”

He added that the price rises ensure that “we continue apace with plans to overhaul London’s transport system in the face of unprecedented demand.”

Nowadays, business cards are considered an indispensable part of getting one’s message across in the commercial and professional spheres, leaving behind a hard-to-ignore reminder of a business visit, providing contact details that can be easily fitted in a wallet and carried around. There are also many promotions that can be run using business cards, such as making special offers or prize draws to clients who put their own business cards “in the pot.”

But prior to the 19^th Century the practice was not known, or particularly widespread, with letters of introduction being the preferred method. Mendeleev might have been thought to be above all that, but the Royal Society’s archives in London possess a tiny, decorated envelope addressed to a “Professor Thorpe” at the society’s offices, postmarked from Russia and dated 1901.

The letter was sent by Mendeleev and contains two business cards, aimed at using his own scientific clout to introduce a younger colleague, Dr Duncan to Professor Thorpe at the Royal Society.

The first business card bears Mendeleev’s name, his address, and describes him as a retired professor from St Petersburg University. The second card bears the details of Dr Duncan and is signed by Mendeleev – presumably as an endorsement aimed at launching him on the London scientific scene!

Prof Martyn Poliakoff told the Guardian newspaper that he was thrilled at this evidence that Mendeleev was quick to embrace newfangled business cards.

“I think it’s terrific,” he added. “It’s pretty much as close as we can get to Mendeleev.”

Launching the brochures during the middle of the month, police informed revellers in the region that “The Drunken Disorderly Inn” was opening its doors once again, promising full bed and breakfast facilities to anyone who is picked up over the festive season ruining the atmosphere of glad tidings and goodwill to all men by indulging in booze-fuelled antisocial behaviour, vandalism or violence.

The brochures invite potential offenders to come and sample the hard beds, long-life ration pack food served on plastic plates, lack of natural lighting and minimalist stylings that makes a night in one of the police’s custody suites such a unique experience.

Additional “comforts” and “customer service” highlighted in the brochures include wipe clean mattresses, top-level security and “open plan” en-suite toilets.

Announcing the new borchures, Chief Inspector Mark Bell of Greater Manchester Police’s Rochdale Division said: “Thousands of people go out to pubs and clubs to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, and we are determined that they can do so without falling victim to drunken violence and antisocial behaviour. With this brochure we want to send out a clear message to potential offenders that drunken behaviour will not be tolerated. It’s your night out and it’s your choice. Don’t spend it with us.”

The brochure also offers handy advice to anyone who might be wishing to steer clear of a night or two at the Drunken Disorderly Inn – pace your drinking, stay with friends if you can’t make it home after a session, plan in advance how to get home safely and use a trusted taxi firm if travelling by cab. Above all – don’t ruin the Christmas season for other people.