Leafleting | Letterbox marketing | advertise your business

 Leafleting has been used for different means and purposes. In 1806 Royal Navy made kites sending leaflets from its ships to France, later on balloons were used during the siege of Milan 1848, or the siege of Paris in 1870, a massive increase was seen during WWI where around 6 Billions leaflets were dispersed via airborne means and later on in WWI.

Ex communist Countries, also the Allies have employed leafleting as propaganda and information tool. In Suez, Korean War, Vietnam, Cyprus, Falklands, Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, Somalia, Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosova and in many areas of conflict.

During Gulf War I the fliers dropped by Coalition Forces are though to have contributed in the surrender of around 80.000 Iraqi soldiers.In WWII leafleting reached new heights, each side trying to lower the military morale of the other one.

The Nazis did drop one leaflet depicting a man and a woman kissing, the leaflet said: FAREWELL, do you remember her last kiss? etc, in the B-side trying to remind American soldiers of the loved ones left behind and if they did continue fighting they may die to never see them again.

In 1942 the Allies dropped over Germany a brilliant, wordless leaflet. The leaflet had only one picture, depicting a large field with thousands of graves of German soldiers. The leafleting war continued parallel with the main one and took many forms.

Leafleting in the hands of vicious regimes has been used to alter the mind set of the population and to inflict great harm to different groups of people depicted as enemies. Nazi Germany is a notable example for using leafleting containing false propaganda against its Jewish population, pre / during the years when the Holocaust took place.

Dropped in massive numbers as part of airborne information & misinformation, it is an effective form of psychological warfare, mostly to try and alter the thinking and behaviour of people and military troops in enemy territory. Trying to persuade them to surrender, abandon their position, plant doubts in their leadership policies, futility of resistance or to stop fighting.

Humanitarian leaflet drops – warning of impending disaster, food supplies, emergency plans and evacuations, helping and preparing the population with the new message of hope are very effective. Before the massive communication offered by tv, radio, satellites and the internet, leafleting was the main form of spreading the message to a large number of people, however it still continues to have its place amongst the technology of today.

Leafleting has been used for commercial and marketing purposes, political and subversive messages, recruitments and simple informative messages.

Commercial Use

Airborne means were employed to drop leaflets in late XIX-th century to advertise Lipton Tea, other businesses and for electoral means. After WWII the government banned this method, by using anti-litter laws. There are different ways for leaflet delivery:

-          Door to door leaflet delivery

-          Handouts and street promotions, in high density areas

-          Business to business delivery.

Leaflet Distribution Methods are:

- Solus Distribution, one flier per one letterbox. It is the best and most effective form of leafleting

- Shared distribution, 2-5 or more fliers go through the letterbox, it is cheaper but less effective

- News-share, where the leaflet is delivered with other leaflets usually included with a free, local newspaper or magazine, the cheapest and least effective form. We work with leaflets but not only, often we advice and help different businesses and companies to integrate leafleting into a bigger part of their marketing approach.

 Business communication, business development, sales techniques, local and national advertising is an integral process where leafleting is only one part of the bigger picture and long term strategy. During our work we deliver for different categories and aims, trying to make our clients aware that leafleting is not a one time affair, it is not a magic bullet and one-offs usually don’t work. It has to be carried out long term in order to establish brand awareness, needs to be backed up by an excellent customer support and heightened awareness of the product / service in offer, competitors, places, prices, timing and so on.

Leafleting works, has been going on for long time and will be here for times to come, as  it is direct, attracts attention, is cost effective and can spread a message to a large number of people very fast, but works only Long Term and with right planning, design and organisation.

This is short travel through the history of leafleting and if you have anything new to ad, facts or ideas from past or present you will be welcomed to write to us and we will ad your article to our modest blog.

 Leafleting is the most simple and usual form of Local Advertising, you have rights to carry it out provided you bear in mind the rules and regulations.

a) Door to door. Are you trespassing if you place a leaflet into a letterbox? No. Other ways the couriers, postmen, salesmen etc would be committing trespass. You have “implied licence” to place a leaflet through the letterbox. But if you are asked to leave and you don’t then you will be committing trespass. Also going through security barriers, private places [shops, staff areas] or disrupting a lawful activity.

b) Content of the material. The right to leaflet falls under the freedom of expression, Human Rights Act of 1998 [article 10]Some materials can/ may include graphic images and can cause offence or be seen as unlawful. You can not use:             

* threatening or abusive language towards a group or an individual.             

* insults, defamation or denigration of an individual or a subject can be interpreted as unlawful also.              

* a material that can cause harassment or distress to others.              

* racist or discriminatory words towards a person, ethnic group or anyone.

c) Obstruction/s. The section 137 of the Highways Act 1980 is cited in order to explain how leafleting can cause obstruction of the highway. However it has been established that while leafleting one is expected to engage in a reasonable use of the highway and unless you are not physically stopping someone from passing you then you are not committing any offence. It matters if you are polite, non aggressive and to hand out fliers in a civil way.

 d) Damages and fines. If a letterbox has been damaged or if a leaflet has been stuck on property or beneath the car wipers and has caused some damage, it may amount to criminal damage if the owner has to make an effort to remove your flier or incurs costs while doing it. Some Councils may fine you under the Environment Act of 2005, especially during handouts and promotions where people can take your flier and throw it away few meters after passing you. It is important that you are aware of this and make sure to pick the fliers up and to have the means of disposing them.

Leafleting is a basic human right and anyone can and is allowed to do it, provided that rules are followed. In smaller quantities anyone can leaflet and with some practice is not that hard. In case you have considerable quantities is better to call the professionals, as it needs to be done at set times, supervised, organised, with the right amount of planning and organisation. See our blog for articles in door to door leaflet delivery and also for handouts and promotions.

 The question we get most asked by many customers is:

 What is the best leaflet format?

It depends on the business you run. If you want your leaflet to be like a letter (an estate agent) then it could be A4, if you want to include some information but to keep it short, with some prices, directions and offers then A5 is the answer. For a shorter message, to use your flyer as a token, voucher or as a ticket, then A6 fits the brief. As you are aware A4 is the standard printing paper, fold that in half you have A5, if A5 is folded in half again then we have the A6 –postcard size [ A6 is ¼ of the standard A4] Typically, a leaflet will be produced in these different sizes, A4, A5 or A6.

A4 - 210mm x 297mm. A4 size is best used for large amounts of information. The larger size of the A4 format makes it possible for double sided leaflets to be folded to produce multipage leaflets such as 4 page A5 leaflets, 6 page DL leaflets etc.

A5 -148mm x 210mm. A5 has room for a good amount of information and may be better suited to applications where size is a consideration such as mail shots or door-to-door leaflet drops. A5 leaflets can be printed on both sides.

A5 leaflet as delivered by us for CapitalHomes, Estate agents operating in London. A reputable player in the UK Real Estate Industry, with emphasis on the Greater London area.

A6  -105mm x 148mm. small amounts of information, used as handouts to promote specific businesses or events in a more general way. A6 on some considerable gsm ( 300 + ) are easy to deliver, to keep and pass on that other formats.

Eurocenters A6 flier an International English School, as delivered by LADS 3D. Visit Eurocentres web-page, one of leading colleges in UK with 30 centers and students worldwide. Personal & business tuition & courses, Eurocenter gives Cambridge accredited degress and certificates, English language preparations up to academic level. Eurocentres are regular clients of ours.

We distribute them in 4 busy centres as Handouts in Victoria tube st. South Kensington, Knightsbridge and Sloane Square. Distribution door to door the were separated in two parts, Chelsea, Fulham, Victoria, Belgravia, Batersea and Clapham, also in Greenwich, Blackheath and Beckenham.

DL or 1/3rd A4 DL or 1/3rd 99mm x 210mm. This popular size is often referred to as a DL leaflet, (the term is from the envelope size of it). DL leaflets offers economy and an effective size, they can be double or single side.

It is up to you to chose if you want your Leaflets Printed on 1 side or both.
Single Side Single sided leaflets are a good option if on a budget and where the info has to be kept at a minimum, like street handouts, letterbox deliveries, promotions of particular events.Double Side If the amount of info is considerable and you want to go for a creative design then double sided leaflets are the one to consider and compose properly, then to find a good printer.

Folding - Using Imagination  Why don’t you make your investment and money go further, with some creative thinking anyone can fold large format leaflets to create multi-page ones. That will tell your clients that you are a serious business, creative and intelligent. Also it will give you the chance to divide your leaflet in chapters, subheadings and so on. Something that if done on a brochure, almanac, etc will cost considerably more. Imaginative ways to save money and add Pages & Content.

*A4 folded in half = 4 page A5 leaflet. Fold A4 twice vertically, it will produce a 6 page DL one (1/3 of A4). A mini brochure for the fraction of the cost.

Lately the demand for these methods is on the increase as many businesses are seeing returns from them. It is a simple fact, that to reach out to customers one must get as close as possible to the public at large and that is where handouts and promotions came in.

Often we engage in different types of distribution, according to client’s specific requests, such as in shopping centers, major tube and train stations and at large gatherings of people like theatres, cinemas, stadiums, shopping centers etc.  We distribute for a wide range of businesses, from the creative individual working from home up to large organizations like NHS. All our clients have one aim to reach the members of public at large. As a rule, handouts are more expensive and take more time to plan and organize, but they have several advantages over door-to-door advertising: 

·      Leaflets are handed out directly to the people.

·      Distributors can engage with the public feedback exchanged both ways.

·      To spread a message very fast [alongside with billboards, text messaging, radio, morning papers, handout-fliers are amongst the fastest to spread the word]

·      Used near the place of promotion [bar, club, restaurant, supermarket, shopping centre] they can contain discount tokens or vouchers and exchanged right away.

·      Are more concentrated and can target more people at any given time.

·      Accuracy, with handouts it is easier to target urban professionals 25-40 y/o, young families or OAP.

·      Door to door, is more time consuming, physical and harder to organize and control.

·      The penetration level or attracting the attention of the customer, isn’t easy to achieve.

·      Door to door distribution has to compete with other promotional materials coming through the letterbox.

·      Door to door leaflets as a rule have a higher degree of wastage. Unlived properties, ones that are being renovated, families in holidays or places where the distributor is unable to deliver-for different reasons.

·      Door to door distribution attempts for area saturation and as such is indiscriminate, so it may be hard for an International College of English to target young people from 18-24 y/o by using such a method.  

Handouts are often used in stadiums, tube stations and shopping centers; businesses can use them for a restaurant opening, a premiere, shows, musicals, theaters or simply to spread a message that will benefit their sales, increase exposure and achieve brand recognition at a particular place. Numbers must be taken into consideration. Leafleting as the simplest form of advertising is a numbers game, the higher the numbers the bigger the chance to get you better known in the community. Handouts require careful planning and serious organization.

The Handout Operatives need to be well trained, supported and supervised. By the nature of delivery, people carrying handouts must be well spoken with a high degree of understanding and spoken English, they have to be confident and presentable. Once the printing work has finished and you are ready, get in touch with your Distributor and communicate clearly your aims:

·        demographic groups you need to target.

·        places where handouts should take place.

·        time frames [do you need the morning commuters or people at own leisure] 

 As per any kind of leafleting in general, Promotions & Handouts are no exception; they work in the long term in order to bring gradual and steady returns. 

Hi we have been so busy and not posted in a while. We know its late in the year but hope so far it has been great and our leaflet distribution guide have been helpful to so many of you. I will be making some changes to leaflet distribution website soon so stay tune.

Using methods that are tried and tested is one of the best way to quickly achieve your desired outcome. Relating this to business, follows the same concept as the ‘why re-invent the wheel’ saying. Sometimes instead of brain storming a new idea, it is much easier to find out what works, and do it better. It’s a simple formula, enter an existing market and make your product work better for your customers, or give better service. I went with the kids to see ‘KungFu Panda’ over the weekend and one of the message is that there is no secret to be succesful. You just have to belive in yourself.

Good leaflet distributors are hard to find. They are like the tooth fairy,that is illusive , and therefore difficult to keep and maintain. The problem is that the leaflet distributors are mainly low-skilled workers and un-skilled workers are normally at the minimum wage. They often work as their own account, which means that their income is unstable, so it is difficult to find qualified personnel in a position to accept this fact.

Leaflet distribution companies depends on the quality of its staff, leaflet distribution companies are looking for hard work, physically, caring and personal confidence. Very few people have these qualities when you find them it is important that they are kept within the company.

As a consultant for people who are considering their own small company, I have, of course, many things to share with people. Customers come to me with many questions about the process of starting a business and about the details of what to focus on above all else. Once we have talked through the logistics and the financià «n needed to start a business,

I quickly discussing the keys to running a successful business. The first key that I always talk about is customer satisfaction. Before I share with customers that customer satisfaction is my number one key to success, I make this list in order of priority what they feel are the top ten keys to success in their future company.

This is important because it gets them thinking about their goals and about the real perform for their business a success. Most of the time of my customers rank customer satisfaction somewhere in their list, but it is very rare that it is the number one spot. They are shocked when I reveal my list and they see customer satisfaction at all about the summit.

I feel strongly about the satisfaction of the customer for many reasons. I suspect that the biggest reason is that the whole purpose of a company is inviting customers and to meet a need that they have. If entrepreneurs and potentià retailer entrepreneurs lose sight of the fact that they are in the business for the customer and not for the money, they will never be a successful company. I think that businesses are prosperous and prolonged to the extent that they actually do to the customer the center of all they do.

Satisfaction of the customer means a variety of things for the owner of the company, but the most important and that means that the needs of the customer, the bottom line and the driving force behind all decisions that are made for the company. It means that obtaining and retaining customers is important enough for a company that they are willing to make changes if necessary based on what customers want. A satisfied customer is the key missing in many companies.

Give customers what they want in a way that they want and in a friendly and much more of our companies would do better. Customer satisfaction is difficult to achieve, but with the intention and care can be rewarding for everyone involved.

Doing a letterbox marketing campaign while not rocket science, you need to pay attention to various factors that may affect your results. One of the key thing one must not over look is how much demographics affects the outcome. It is important to plan your campaign and target the right area before doing any massive canvasing.  Ask your distribution company for demographics information as they should be able to provide you with a breakdown you chosen area.

Remember to test test test, do not rely on one bad results

Leaflet distribution can be an effective marketing tool, and many who use them can tell you. It is so effective that it can be used as part of a marketing mix or on its own. If you are doing it on its own remember that two things make a good campaign. Because its a numbers game you must produce enough for you to make a big enough impact, aslo you must properly research you area to ensure that you are hitting the right target.  For a campaign to be successful these are some of the ingredience that are necessary along with hard work