Creating a flyer that works is not just about how unique the artwork is. Yes, that’s the part that catches the audience’s attention. However, an effective flyer is more than just visual prowess. It’s also about the copy placement, image-to-text harmony, the font you’re using, and even the flow of the content’s sentence breaks. That’s just some of it, by the way.
It might sound like a lot. Thankfully, gone are the days where graphic artists struggle with how to make a flyer. Design apps and flyer makers like Venngage make it more efficient by eliminating from-scratch designs with customizable templates. However, solely relying on a free flyer design template will not produce an effective promo flyer. Read on for the only and easy-to-follow steps you need to create an effective flyer.
1. Design with a purpose
Before you start working on your fantastic flyer design, your first step is understanding the purpose of your flyer. Is it to announce an event or promote a new product? Where will the audience view the flyer from? Will it be a physical handout? From their mobile phones? Or will it be on a poster in the middle of a busy street? Our focus is designing a promotional flyer in this article — whether it’s for running a business or brand exposure.
These questions will prompt you to use the correct resolution for the images, apply the appropriate layout for the content, and adapt the proper orientation for the design – to name a few. This also ensures that your overall design is targeted to the audience that you intend to reach. Knowing this information will play a crucial part in designing an effective flyer and enabling you to move on to the next steps smoothly.
2. Apply this rule of thumb: Less Is More
Whether it’s in finances, interior design, or food intake, the mantra ‘less is more’ works. And that also applies to flyer designs. The human brain has a hard time processing clutter or, in design, ‘complex’ artwork. A minimalist, simple, less-is-more approach to the overall flyer design makes it reader-friendly is the way to go. This provides your audience only the details that they need to take the next step, without other unnecessary distractions to look at.
This rule of thumb also applies to your design’s headline and copy. Make sure your headline is concise and the remaining copy is succinct. This means using only simple and clear words in your headline. If you need to Google the synonym or meaning of a word in any of your copy, then chances are, it’s too wordy for the average reader. The same goes with your copy; making it succinct implies that you only include straight-to-the-point content. Do away with sesquipedalian terms (see what was done there?).
The minimalist, less-is-more design is a general rule of thumb that most designers prefer to utilize nowadays. This is because it gives the audience a better grasp of the content, which leads to a higher conversion rate. However, not all brands are created equal. While this approach applies to just about everything, it doesn’t mean it applies to all brands. When in doubt, check with the designated brand book and guidelines.
3. Mind your placement
As creatives, it’s our nature to do something out of the ordinary and different from the rest. While we should always find the time to foster creativity, this isn’t always the case for effective promo flyer designs. That’s because the design is meant to initiate a reaction from the audience, and creating novelty designs where the goal is conversion and quick turnaround time might not be the best direction.
Why? It’s because audiences engage with what they know, the familiar. It’s instinct, or rather, cognitive fluency. Your audience will prefer a design where they already know where to look for the information they need to take action. This means the brand’s logo, headline, main image, and contact details should be placed in its standard placement: corners/top/bottom, top, center, bottom.
Deviating from the standard and what your audience is used to will discourage engagement and deter potential conversion.
4. Always include a Call-To-Action
Any advertising or marketing material will not be as effective unless there is a call-to-action (or CTA). A call-to-action is an invitation presented to the audience to persuade them to complete the task set out by the advertising or marketing material, which, in this case, is a promo flyer. A CTA contains a clear and direct command phrase that guides your audience on what to do next.
Whether it’s to ‘Learn More’, ‘Book Now’, or ‘Get Your Free Trial’, the CTA’s ultimate objective is conversion — whatever your conversion parameters are. As with anything in advertising and promoting a brand or business effectively, ensure your CTA’s placement is easy to locate and keep the message clear and straight to the point.
There are no specific ABCs in how to exactly create a flyer that works as no designer has the same skill, and no brand has the same guidelines. However, there are fool-proof steps and principles to ensure that your flyer design will be effective if you stick to it. Whoever your target audience is and whatever industry you are advertising for.
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