Design Basics: Flyers

Compared to other forms of advertising, designing flyers should be a breeze, right? After all, the flyer is one of the most basic forms of advertising there is. You have a single sheet of paper to worry about and nothing else.

I won’t try to claim that a flyer is as complicated as a brochure to design, but there are some important details to be aware of before you go off and start designing them yourself.

These days I see a lot of flyers I just know people are making at home using something like QuarkXpress. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this, but I think you’ll be better served knowing more about flyer design before you go off and start making your own.

The first and most important thing about a flyer is the primary message you’re trying to convey. If your goal is to make some nightclub flyers than you want to decide what it is about the nightclub that you think will be your best selling point.

Let’s say you have a certain night that has great drink specials. This is the main point you want people to be aware of, which means this should be the biggest thing on your flyer. You want to grab people’s attention right away before they can throw that flyer on the ground, and we all know that’s what most people are going to do.

I see a lot of flyers that seem to have no particular point it emphasizes. Nothing is bigger than the rest, and so nothing really jumps out at me. Those are the flyers I drop in the first trash can I happen to pass.

A flyer needs to jump out and grab a person’s eyes. It needs to make sure they don’t look at anything else until they’re done looking at your flyer. Whether your flyer is for a nightclub or your plan on making some business flyers, you have to make sure your selling point is prominent.

Along with a strong message you need to have some strong visuals. A person is likely to see the image before they see the message, so give them something they’ll stop to look at. You could go for the extreme out of the ordinary kinds of images or the more colorful, flashy look. What you plan on selling will be what will decide the best kind of image to pair up with your message. Only you can know what that is.

And of course, make sure you have plenty of flyers made up. The cost to print flyers is cheap compared to almost any other form of advertising. Take advantage of it to get as many flyers as you can. The more people you hand them to the more opportunities you’ll have to find those people who will take your message to heart.

If you want to design your own flyer, by all means, go right ahead, just be aware of what all goes into them rather than waste your time on something people like me will just dump in the trash.

Jumpstart Your Product’s Debut With Color

There a whole lot of “maxims” out there when it comes to starting a business. There are almost as many opinions about how to go about presenting your product as there are people who have ever thought about the subject.

However, one “maxim” that is almost never mentioned, but should be, is:

INVEST IN HIGH-QUALITY, FULL-COLOR LITERATURE!

Far too many would-be entrepreneurs believe that promotional literature is an area in which they can save some money and help their startup budget. It is simply not the case. In fact, skimping on your literature could spell doom for your entire enterprise.

Think a customer is going to pick up your bland and white brochure, when there is a full color brochure right next to it? Probably not. Think your dull, commonplace flyer printing is going to stand a chance next to an attractive, colorful flyer? No way.

As you are planning your brochure printing, booklet printing, and poster printing, take the time (and money) to design intriguing, colorful pieces. Make items that will catch the customers’ eye.

You will be very glad you did once your product hits the market and you see the fruits of your investment. The profit will far outweigh the costs.