Flyers: How to Get Noticed by Passers-By

When designing flyers, it's important to remember that they're often posted in public places and need to grab attention quickly and drive the message — and a call to action — into your prospects' memories. Otherwise, you risk losing the usefulness of the flyer itself, and you aren't likely to get additional design work after launching an ineffective flyer. The following serves as a brief guide to flyer design and how to get noticed by passers-by:

K.I.S.S The first rule of thumb when creating a flyer that will be publicly displayed is K.I.S.S., which is short for Keep It Simple Stupid. Don't try to cram too much information on one sheet of paper, or you risk losing your audience's attention. Remember that many people will be quickly walking or driving by your flyer, and they won't have time to remember much more than what it is you're selling and how they can get it. For this reason, a powerful headline combined with a persuasive call to action and an address, phone number or website URL is plenty to include on your flyer design.

Be big Use large graphics and images, but don't use too many. In most cases, one or two graphical elements are perfect. There's enough substance to grab attention and make a point, but not so much that your prospects get lost trying to decipher the meaning of your flyer.

Be bold   Use bold colors to attract attention. Robust blues, startling reds, bright yellows and sporty greens are good choices. When designing effective, attention-grabbing flyers, try to remember that your job is not to be an artist but rather a marketer. In this manner, you can forget about aesthetics in favor of something that will force people to look at the message so long as your design isn't gaudy and overwhelming.

Make it readable Never underestimate how large your text must be to be seen from a distance, and don't stray too far from easily read fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Impact and similar styles. Make sure you include plenty of space between your lines so it can be read at a glance, and use plenty of contrast between your font colors and your flyer backgrounds so prospects don't have to strain to read the words.

Testing ... Before you go to press on a beautifully designed glossy flyer, make sure you test the design with several friends, co-workers and others who can offer an unbiased opinion. One of the best ways to do this is to hang the flyer in your window and then invite them over (making sure not to mention that you wish to test the flyer). Once they're inside, ask them if they noticed the flyer and what it said. If the majority of your test group didn't notice the flyer or can't remember what the message was, go back to the drawing board. Following these simple steps will help you create stunning flyers that produce the desired response — action taken and a profit increase. Remember that you don't need to be especially artistic or go overboard with your design to make an impact with potential customers, and you're well on your way to creating great flyers that generate repeat business time and again.