How to Make a Flyer

Whether you're trying to find your lost kitten, advertise your guitar lessons or promote your band's gig this Friday, a flyer can be a cheap and effective way to get the word out. In order for your flyer to work, first you have to get people to notice it. Next, you want them to do something about it. This article will help you accomplish both!

Steps

Sample Flyers

Sample Lost Dog Flyer

Sample Business Flyer

Sample Event Flyer

Making Your Own Flyer

Write a headline. Make it simple, and make it big!
- The headline should be no more than five words, fit in one line across the page, and be centered.
- The lettering in the headline should be bigger than any other lettering on the flyer. You want most people to be able to read it quickly from about 10 feet (3 meters) away.
- Use all capital letters in a sans-serif font. Look at any newspaper's front-page headline; that industry figured this out a long time ago.
- Use color if you can. A color matching the image you use in the flyer is even better.
Keep the message simple. Don't make people "read" your flyer—–it should communicate your message at an almost intuitive level. Here are some ideas:
- By the way, which headline jumped out at you? If you're like most people, the "puppies and ice cream" caught your attention. That's not because everybody likes puppies and ice cream; it's because it's bright red, a color that naturally draws the eye.
Add a picture or a graphic. Now that you have the reader's attention, take advantage of it! Give the reader something to look at—–people tend to remember a message better if there's an image to associate with it.
- Use an image-editing application to increase the contrast; this will make the image more noticeable from a distance once it's printed on the paper. If you don't have an image editor, a free app like Picasa (http://ift.tt/fXMYgq), from Google, will work fine.
- The picture should be centered, and its area should be no more than 1/3 of the page.
- Try to use only one image if you can. If necessary, you can include two images side by side, but any more than this will make the flyer too cluttered, which makes it less likely to catch someone's eye.
Place a description below the image. You've got the readers hooked, and they're coming in closer for the details. Make your description text as concise and detailed as possible; it should be two or three lines at most. To emphasize key words, use capitalization, a slightly bigger or bolder font, italics, and so forth––just don't use these options at once as that turns your flyer ugly in a hurry. Use words and phrases that might make your offer more enticing: free, reliable, REWARD.
Add your contact information. If it's important for people to contact you in response to your flyer, add your first name and whatever form of contact you prefer—–phone number, email address, etc.
- You can also use the time-honored "tear-off" method: create a condensed version of your flyer text in a smaller font, rotate it 90 degrees and repeat it several times across the bottom of the flyer. Make a partial cut between each occurrence so people can tear off the contact information conveniently.
Make sure your flyer works. Tape it up on a door and stand back from it about 10 feet (3 meters). Do the main points jump out at you? Looking at the sample flyer here, you can see right away that it's a lost dog—–the cute photo draws you in to want to help, plus there's a big reward! Ask a friend or family member who hasn't seen your flyer to take a look at it, and see if they get its message right away.
Make copies. Now that you've completed your flyer and tested it, print as many copies as you need.
- If it's too many for your printer to handle, or if you're expecting rain (the ink output of most home printers will run if left in the rain), find a local Kinko's/FedEx or office supply store and use a self-serve copier.
- Black-and-white copies are generally cheaper than color. If you decide to go with black-and-white, you might try this: instead of printing the headline and any colored words, leave those sections blank and write them in by hand with a colored marker.
Post your flyer. Where should you post it? Well, where are the people who you want to reach?
- If you lost your kitty in your neighborhood, post your flyer on telephone poles, at local swimming pools and any other nearby gathering places.
- If you lost your purse downtown, post flyers as near as possible to the last place where you know you had your purse. Note that in urban areas there are often restrictions on what you can post, and where––since it's easy to find you, don't flaunt the regulations! Try coffee shops, public bulletin boards, and if you see a pole that's covered with flyers—–it's fair game!

Tips

For more complex flyers, search the Web for "free flyer templates" and pick out a design.
Using brightly colored paper can make your flyer stand out, but sometimes it'll make your image and text less noticeable.
You can use a portrait or landscape layout:

Things You'll Need

Paper
Printer
Scissors

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