Are leaflets a relic of the past or a powerful marketing tool? In today's digital age, many businesses overlook the potential of traditional advertising methods, even though they offer ideal solutions for companies of all types and industries.
We’ve all seen digital ads on our computers, phones, and tablets as we browse the internet. The media is highly accessible, but how does it compare to a tangible printed item posted through your letterbox? One study found that 42% of people found print advertising trustworthy, whereas only 18% trusted internet websites. Printed leaflet advertising is often more trusted, as it cuts through the digital clutter and enables businesses to connect with customers on a much more personal level. Equally, we must not forget that many people in the UK don’t want to move solely online; research by Two Sides and Toluna in 2021 found 33% of UK respondents and 54% of over-65 respondents preferred newspapers over digital news.
So despite the rise of online marketing, leaflets offer a unique blend of reach, affordability, and directness that can't be easily replicated. In this article, we'll explore the advantages and disadvantages of leaflet advertising and why it remains a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes.
Advantages of Leaflet Advertising
1. It’s cost-effective
Leaflets are cheaper to produce and distribute than other types of print marketing and wider digital channels. Leaflets have a 0% VAT rate, and they can often be designed without complicated software or the need to hire a designer, with lightweight paper styles and cheap finishes available alongside volume discounts from many providers.
Your distribution method can also offer an opportunity to reduce costs, but cutting too many corners in printing or distribution to keep cost to an absolute minimum can also reduce effectiveness. For example, it’s very cheap and easy to print a lightweight, low-colour flyer that you distribute yourself via solus distribution door-to-door or on the street. Still, it’s often these kinds of leaflets that audiences throw straight in the bin or get annoyed at because they were made en masse and not personalised for their needs.
On average, a pay-per-click (PPC) search advertisement will cost a business £3.25 per click (JICMAIL ), whereas an A5 double-sided leaflet, printed on high-quality 170gsm paper with Leafletdrop, costs a fraction of this, at just under 10p per leaflet in a batch of 20,000, going down to 8.5p per leaflet in a batch of 50,000. This gives you more characters to include more information on your products and services and much more customisation so customers can recognise your brand at a glance. When done well, leaflets are more cost-effective than ads, as they drive twice the amount of attention at half the cost (JICMAIL).
With minimal financial risk and bulk production costs of just a few pence, leaflets provide a lasting impact that surpasses the fleeting nature of radio, newspaper, or television ads.
2. It’s easy to reach only your target audience
Leaflets are highly effective local advertising tailored to demographic profiles (e.g., high-income areas, households with children), locations, timing, and seasonality. You can focus leaflet distribution in specific postcodes or neighbourhoods, leveraging consumer insights to deliver leaflets only to those most likely to engage and reach your target audience with remarkable accuracy. Certain thresholds need to be met for paid advertising, for example, making such precise targeting difficult to achieve online without casting too wide a net and reducing effectiveness.
3. It’s measurable through, and supports, digital marketing
While of course there are misconceptions and horror stories of leaflet bundles dumped somewhere by unvetted distributors, leaflet distribution is easy to track, so you know exactly what your campaign’s reach is. While we often think of digital as being tracked more dependably, leaflets can be tracked just as easily with the inclusion of promotion codes or QR codes to drive recipients to specialised landing pages, the use of specific promo codes in your store, or searches for a specific keyword you’ve encouraged recipients to search within your leaflet.
Leaflets also partner well with digital activities to create multichannel marketing campaigns that are more effective than relying on just one channel. For example, a local restaurant could promote a new menu addition on social media and create promotional flyers to distribute around town. The leaflet could then drive customers to like the restaurant’s Facebook page via a call to action for more info or to learn about their specials. A seamless customer experience across different platforms and touchpoints boosts your visibility and makes a bigger impact, making them likely to come back in the future.
4. They give you (almost) complete creative freedom
Your leaflet can include anything you want and be as minimal or maximal as you like. It can be printed in a range of sizes and shapes, and unlike digital ads, it does not have word, pixel, or character limits. They’re truly only limited by your imagination; with ample amounts of sizes, and pages to choose from, leaflets act like mini-informational pack that allows you to sell your business and bring your brand essence to life. Check out this article on ways to build the best brand image.
Leaflets are also super versatile and can be used for multiple purposes, like promoting events, sales, or products. For example, a generic leaflet explaining who you are and what you do can be delivered locally, distributed at any events you attend, or made available as a PDF on your website.
5. They offer genuine connection in our disconnected world
Banner blindness causes online ads to fade into the background for many. Social platforms have turned into pay-to-play battlegrounds, and our inboxes are overflowing with messages. But by their nature, leaflets create meaningful connections with their physical paper presence right at your doorstep.
Through your leaflet advertising, you can talk directly to your customers without third-party platforms warping your message, ask for feedback and provide ways for customers to deliver this so you can learn their genuine sentiments. Something tangible that they can feel, hold and link with your brand creates a more authentic and active experience they are more likely to remember. But don’t just take our word for it, according to DMA:
- 45% of consumers regularly keep flyers in their homes.
- 38% of pamphlets people keep for at least a few days.
- 13% of leaflets people keep for over a week.
- 79% of consumers keep, pass on to a friend or glance at the contents of flyers they receive.
6. They can be distributed exactly how you want
There are many different ways of distributing leaflets, and you can tap into their unique possibilities to suit the needs of your brand and promotion. Putting flyers through doors, placing them on vehicles, handing them out on the streets or at events, or even inserting them into packages that you send out to your existing customers are all effective options.
Alternatively, you can blanket an area with leaflets to make your message and brand ubiquitous. This is an ideal way to reach a wide audience on a low budget. Public distribution options include placing flyers on bulletin boards within communities, in municipal buildings, at bus, train or subway stations, on vending machines or in public bathrooms among others.
You can even work with other people to get flyers into other locations such as restaurants, cafes, daycare centres, banks, doctors’ surgeries, schools, stores, churches, and libraries, or post your leaflets online on social media platforms, community classified lists or your business website.
Disadvantages of Leaflets
1. It’s easy to make leaflets ineffective
To maximise your leaflet advertising impact, it's crucial to navigate the targeting tightrope with finesse. Broad, unfocused distribution can quickly turn leaflets into unwanted clutter, leading to missed opportunities and wasted resources. Leaflets can be easily discarded or lost, although this is also the case for other forms of advertising like branded merchandise or email marketing. You need to ensure you’re not giving your target audience a reason to do this through over-distribution or poor design and readability.
When you take the time to understand your ideal customer—their demographics, interests, and whereabouts—you can craft leaflets that resonate with their specific needs and desires, which dramatically reduces the chance that they will lose or discard your leaflet or become annoyed and create a negative association with your brand. We’re big fans of leaflets, but we also admit that they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, so the more you can ensure you send out material to households it will resonate with, the more genuine attention and better ROI you’ll gain.
Find out how to avoid your leaflets going in the bin
2. Can become passive advertising
Depending on your chosen leaflet distribution method, you may end up relying on just displaying your leaflet somewhere in the hopes of someone paying attention. Unless you’re directly delivering to people on the street or through letterboxes, so for example, if you’re leaving leaflets in a pile somewhere for people to pick up if they want them or pinning them on noticeboards, leaflets can be easily ignored, which hugely reduces the impact and therefore ROI of this marketing channel.
3. Cost and effort can outweigh engagement
As with any other marketing channel, depending on how you action leaflet advertising, it can create more work for your team, and upfront costs can become significant. You may find yourself stretched across several different suppliers for design, print and distribution, which requires much more work than a single online platform you can access and update at any time, like Leafletdrop.
Digital ads are usually very simple to set up and manage and are usually done through one supplier. Leaflet advertising can sometimes rely on multiple suppliers like designers, data experts for targeting, printers and distributors, meaning more work for you and your marketing team.
4. Environmental concerns
While leaflets offer a tangible way to connect with potential customers, environmental considerations are growing for suppliers and audiences. Concerns about excess paper consumption naturally arise regarding leaflets, but responsible practices can mitigate this.
Choices like carbon printing, carbon-balanced paper, and using recycled materials can significantly reduce the environmental footprint of leaflet campaigns. By opting for sustainable options and considering the overall effectiveness of your leaflet distribution, you can make a positive impact on the planet while still achieving your marketing goals.
Find out more tips to improve sustainability in your leaflet campaign.
5. Permits and permissions required can get complicated
Leaflets can quickly land you in legal hot water if you don't tread carefully. As designated throwaway materials, leaflets fall under littering laws, and distributing them without the necessary permits can lead to fines or legal action. Permit requirements vary, so it's essential to research the specific regulations in your area but you can find out more about leaflets and UK law in general in our guide. When it comes to distribution methods, respect individual preferences and avoid littering.
How to Use Leaflets to Your Advantage
Now that you know about the pros and cons of leaflets, how can you use them to your business’ advantage? As you can see from the lists of benefits and disadvantages, the number one factor for generating business from leaflets is an engaging design that compels the reader. Ultimately, your flyer or leaflet is your opening sales pitch or introduction to a brand new customer, so it needs to be high quality and convey your brand with just enough information about you to engage the reader without overwhelming them.
If you need any help with leaflet design, our experienced team are on hand to create professional designs that stay on-brand and make a significant impact on your audience.
Whether you are looking for more information or are ready to launch your first leaflet campaign, we can get started on your advertising journey today.
