How To Make An Effective Flyer

You've got to do three things! 

• Step one: Get Their ATTENTION
  
  The use of a big bold HEADLINE. Or perhaps an image. it has to be relevant as well. don't use a clip art if it's got nothing to do with the subject. You really are better off paying (or conning) someone artistically inclined than use a clip art that is 1) not quite what you wanted and 2) is available for use by anyone else with the same software. Be creative. Draw something, redraw it, scan it, play with it on your computer and then save it as a WMF (Windows Meta File, the file format of cliparts)
• Step Two: Create a DESIRE
  
  Now that you've got their attention you have to create some INTEREST. Here you have a few lines or paragraphs to let the prospective customer know what you've got and they'll decide whether they want it. It may be a special offer, something free, a limited time only, a unique selling point, or there' something about your product or service.
• Step Three: A Call to ACTION
  
  Now we go for the ACTION. They have to respond to the ad. So you give them the details of how they can contact you. Your name, your business name, your address and your phone number. Use your business logo (you know how to do it yourself, you read my last article).

Pitfalls To Avoid 

The computer is not creative. Only the operator using it.

• Fold a piece of paper in half then half again. Open it. Draw 4 roughs of how you want your flyer to look. Do it quickly, these are not finished bits of art, hence the name 'roughs'. These will give you ideas for layout. Choose the best of the four. Look at what you can improve. Perhaps draw it with a little bit more care and talent. Now take this rough to your computer and use it as a guideline when doing your flyer on your Desktop Publishing package or Word Processor. Too many people lose track of what their objective is, and that's probably because they don't know what it is.
• Don't use your business name at the top of the flyer. Save it for last (or second last). Whatever is the last thing they read will be the thing that stays in their mind, whether consciously or subliminally.
• Use a big bold font for the headline. Perhaps you have the fonts Impact or Arial Black already on your system. These are known as sans serifs (sans = without) they don't have the curly bits on the ends of the letters. Or you may choose to use a decorative font (a style that you'd never uses for a body of text) but make sure it's still readable and doesn't take away from the message.
• For the main body of copy use Times New Roman. This is a serif style font. It has the curly bits at the end. I once had a guy show me his self (mutilated) produced flyer. I suggested he change the font so people might actually be able to read it. Times Roman works for me but he said everybody uses it. Trust me, Times New Roman isn't about to wear out. It isn't a fad, it isn't a trend that's about to go out of style. Alternately you may choose to use Arial. It's clean and crisp. It descended from the Helvetica typeface and it's been around almost as long as Times Roman.
• Set your font size no smaller than 10 points and no bigger than 14. The human eye is able to read anything between these sizes with ease and speed (unless of course your market is the vision impaired).