How to distribute flyers

by Guy Shaffer, Head of New Business, MOO

I love working with businesses to identify the best ways of connecting with their customers, and I’m lucky enough to have built a career out of doing just this.

Flyers are one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business, but they only work if they actually reach your target audience. So here are my tips on what you can do to make that happen.

The where and when of distribution

You’ve sorted your design, refined your messaging, placed your order, and now you have a nice stack of MOO Flyers just waiting to be distributed. But how do you turn them into valuable pieces of promotional material that win you business?

The method you choose to get your flyers into people’s hands will depend on your budget, your business, and what you’re hoping to achieve. You might want to try a few to see what works best for you.

One of the simplest options is to prominently position your flyers in a place your customers regular visit. If you can cross-promote (hooking up with another business to jointly promote your products or services), even better.

Another way of tapping into a captive audience is inserting your flyer into an industry publication or newspaper. Tailoring your content and call to action (what you want people to do after they finish reading) to an engaged reader can really pay off.

Handing your flyers out on the street is great for promoting something currently nearby. With this method time and location are crucial. If you’re opening a new eatery you might want to catch people on their way to work, and invite them to join you for lunch. Or if you’re providing a business service, you’ll be best placed near a concentration of offices during the working week.

And then there’s always the good old door-to-door method. Once you’ve got your flyer into the customer’s home or place of work, it’s ready and waiting for when they take a few minutes break or just need some inspiration.

Getting it right

Whichever method you choose, there are a few things to bear in mind to make sure you get the most out of your flyers.

1. Nail your sales pitch - whether you decide to take to the streets yourself or hire someone else (street teams of students hungry for work experience can be a good bet), remember that the delivery can be as important as the flyer itself. If someone comes up to me on the street and says, “Can I ask you a question?” it’s unlikely that I’ll stop to talk. “Do you want to save 50% on your energy bill?” Now you have my attention – yes I do! The trick is to work out what people want and can relate to, and to offer it to them.

2. Look professional - remember that first impressions count. A confident and well-versed corporate street team in branded attire will have real impact.

3. Do your research - if you do employ someone to hand out your flyers, be sure to protect your reputation by checking theirs. Ask around for recommendations before recruiting to make sure you’ve got the best possible team representing your business.

4. Keep it legal – it’s important to stay on the right side of the law, so I’d recommend looking into the local flyering rules. Always ask permission before leaving a pile of your flyers somewhere, or distributing on private property, and avoid intruding on your competitors’ territory – even if there’s no legal restriction, this sort of underhanded tactic will do your reputation no favors.

5. Don’t take it personally - there will always be those who avoid people handing out flyers, but that’s OK. The savvy distributor keeps an eye out for people who look like they might really be interested in the product or service – and isn’t too pushy if they aren’t.

The bottom line

I’m a big fan of the KISS philosophy – ‘keep it simple, stupid’. You have a very limited time frame to catch people’s attention, and even less time to get your message across. You need to make sure your message is very clear, and targeted towards the person you’re handing the flyer to if possible. Give them a real incentive to take the flyer, and have a clear and catchy call to action. That’s the bottom line, really – the simpler, the better.

Fancy putting Guy’s tips into practice with your own Flyers? Click here to get going.

Guy Shaffer is MOO’s Head of New Business for bigger companies. If you’ve got 10+ people in your office, why not give the team a call on (401) 680 4937 (US) or +44 (0)20 8629 1072 (UK) to see if their account managed service could benefit your business?

Written on:

11 Jul 2014

Categories:

Best Practice, PR Tips, Marketing Tips