You might have to dig deep into your memory bank for this one, but think back to the last time you needed to make a flyer for a project. It's entirely possible this was sometime in the late 1990s when you lost your cat Snowball, or your first year in college promoting your garage band. If indeed it's been a while since you last hit the pavement to pass out your own custom flyer, you might be thinking that they are outdated and not super useful in the digital age.

The truth is that they're actually still an excellent tool for promotion and an awesome method for organic marketing.

Of course, sloppy design and poor production can lead to a huge waste of paper, which we all know is no bueno. Designed correctly, however, you'll find that flyers are often more effective than online marketing techniques.

In order to create a flyer that gets the job done, you'll need to have a basic understanding of the following:

• Brainstorming your flyer
• Design principles
• Production and distribution tips
• Examples of some sweet flyers you can use for inspiration

But before we dive into these topics, let's discuss why flyers are a savvy way to mix up your marketing strategy!

Still Creative and Still Cool

Sometimes thinking outside the box means relying on older methods, and in an age when marketing is almost exclusively digital, that means falling back on something physical.

Flyers are like a personal billboard for your audience. Unlike digital ads that have to compete for metrics, once in a person's hands, flyers stand alone and have the complete attention of your audience (even if just for the briefest of moments).

Plus, this old school method can be very cost effective. You won't have to break the bank in order to produce a top-notch flyer that is both gorgeous and functional.

They are also super versatile! Flyers can be used in a ton of different ways:

• Event promotion
• Job searches
• Help wanted
• Discounts and deals
• Lost pets 😿
• Business opportunities

Of course, making a good flyer is more than just throwing some customizable illustrations on a canvas. So before you start designing, here's how you can begin the process of building your own.

Begin with Brainstorming

A quality flyer needs to be planned out and thought through. It would be a waste of time and resources to lazily throw some doodles on some paper and call it a job well done. That's why before any designing actually takes place, there are several things you'll have to consider in order to execute the perfect flyer.

1. Budget

As with any marketing or personal project, you'll want to consider how much cash you're willing to invest in your flyer. Having a ballpark figure in mind will help determine the quality of the final product.

Thinking of it this way, if you're looking to make a small flyer with fewer colors, you'll be able to get away with a smaller budget. If you want to pack a larger format flyer with lots of cool illustrations and more complex designs, be prepared for a more expensive project.

You'll also want to factor into the budget the quality of the materials you'll use, but we'll touch more on that later.

2. Target audience

Just like a Facebook or Google ad, you want to make sure that your flyer is reaching your target audience. This has important implications design and distribution as well.

For example, let's imagine creating a flyer to promote a dope hip-hop concert coming to town.  The design should probably speak to a younger crowd, and distributed where the cool kids are.

The key takeaway here is that creating an effective flyer requires an understanding of the people who'll be interacting with it. Knowing this will drastically increase its success.

3. Distribution

Having a clear concept of your target audience also will help you plan where to distribute your flyer. This is important because the location can be the difference between your flyers ending up in the trash or still in the hands of the right person.

Another factor you'll want to consider is how you distribute your flyer. For example, are you planning to post your flyer on a light pole? Or will you have to pass them out individually? Knowing this will help you save time when the moment comes to hit the pavement and start sending your flyers out into the wild!

4. Call to action

A beautiful design with no call to action is actually not a flyer, but more like a pretty piece of paper. Flyers should always include some sort of CTA in order to encourage your audience to move a step closer to your objective.

While creating an inspiring CTA is also largely produced in the design phase, you'll want to brainstorm what you want your audience to do once they see the design.

Remember to consider what the end goal of your flyer is, and why you are passing them out in the first place.

Dive Into the Design Process

With the planning phase complete, it's time to start putting some artwork down on some flyers. Here's what you'll have to consider in order to get started.

Format

You can choose between a variety of formats, but there are several dimensions that are more commonly used. If you're thinking about going with industry standards, these are what you'll be choosing from:

• Half Sheet Flyer - 5.5 x 8.5 inches
• Standard Flyer - Industry standard 8.5 x 11 inches
• Large Flyer Format - 11 x 17 inches

As you might expect, the smaller the flyer, the cheaper the production cost. But each size has its purpose, and sometimes large flyers are needed!

It should also be said that there's no limit on creativity! There are plenty examples of awesome flyers that use unconventional formats.

As long as the message is getting across to the audience, formats of all different types should be explored.

Design Principles

One thing about flyer design is that once your composition has been printed, there's no going back to edit them. Because of this, having basic design principles at the top of mind is crucial in order to have the best possible visuals.

Keeping the following concepts in mind will help ensure that your final outcome is clean, beautiful, and pleasing on the eye:

• Hierarchy: Visual hierarchy gives your flyer design a sense of flow and structure. It guides the person viewing it through the elements on a page in order of importance. A great way to include hierarchy is by choosing different sizes for your illustrations and design elements (small, medium, and large elements).
• Balance: A balanced flyer will have an arrangement of elements so that no one part of the design is louder than the others. This lets every element get noticed by the viewer, and also helps guide the viewer across the content.
• Contrast: You'll want some parts of your flyer design to stand out more than others. In order to make the most important parts pop, it's a smart move to use elements that have contrasting size and colors.

Mixed with some of your creative magic, using these intro-level principles will have huge benefits for your flyer campaign.

Production

The production phase is the last big step in the design process. This is also the moment where budget comes into play, as you will have to consider several factors that will determine the final cost:

• Format and size
• Number of colors
• Quality and material of the flyer
• Quantity of flyers

You'll also have to find a company that does the printing and production. Again, there will be factors to weigh, like their turnaround time, the quality they offer, and price per units. Don't forget that printing and production takes time, so give yourself a window in order to get your project done before the last minute!

Flyer Inspiration

Now that you're ready start putting your knowledge of flyer designing to work, take a look at these examples to get the creativity flowing

Set Your Flyer Free!

Now that you know what it takes to make a beautiful flyer, what's left is putting in the work and getting out there in front of your audience. Remember, flyers have been around for decades, so give them a shot and see what they can do for you!

Already flyer design professional? As always, you know we want to see your projects! Tweet us your work so we can feature it!

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