We have talked at length about the importance of keeping a singular message in your leaflet distribution efforts as well as the importance of design in our previous blogs on the topic.
Let's have a look at the final step in the how to make a leaflet mini-series. Let's look at print and production.
Print – Materials and Format
The approach to format nowadays is similar to the general ideas around design. Simplicity over extra complication is the way to go.
You could go with the Z-fold, DL leaflet or gate-fold A4 sheets with glossy finish and other fancy options. These formats can be effective bust mostly for a very specific kind of business.
If you are luxury watch dealer in Knightsbridge and you are looking to target a specific part of your postcode with leaflet distribution at a strategic time of year to attract customers than it makes sense to indulge a fancy leaflet format.
Beyond this the standard A5 leaflet is absolutely the right approach in London. As the costs of printing A5 leaflets is a fraction of the exotic folded variety you can print more leaflets and deliver to a larger area or repeat your drops to the same to maximise response rates.
On top of the simple material costs, transportation and warehouse costs are higher. A single box of A5 leaflet could contain as much as 5 boxes of DL sized gate-fold leaflets. You can imagine that this makes a huge difference when we start printing, transporting and distributing hundreds of thousands of leaflets for larger campaigns.
The leaflet distribution itself is also affected by the format of the leaflet. Putting an a5 leaflet through a letterbox is straight forward and easy. Even if the spring in the letterbox is too firm or the size of the letterbox is too small there are ways to deliver your leaflet in a great shape. This does tend to happen in London quite a lot.
This is not the same when it comes to a gate-fold leaflet for example. Imagine what a gate-fold leaflet looks like after being pushed through a small letterbox with an over-tightened spring.
Even if the strictest distribution procedures are applied and greatest caution is excercised your leaflet might end up getting ripped up and contorted.
An important part of the production process of a leaflet is selecting the weight of the paper and the right finish. Paper weight is communicated in GSM and has an effect on price of production as well as the feel of your final leaflet.
When you are thinking about how to make a leaflet the material it is made of is of course an important variable.
We tend to recommend sticking to 200-300gsm paper as it is robust, feels great in the hand but is still cost-effective and can be stored and transported easily.
Anything below 200gsm can get easily damaged when making its way through the letterbox and anything above 300gsm feels very thick and when cut in large numbers can even develop sharp edges.
We at The Private Postman also prefer silk/matt finished over glossy ones for most of our leaflet distribution campaigns.
A good old 250gsm, A5 leaflet, silk finish is the safest bet for most businesses in London as the leaflets still look fantastic and are cost-effective.
We hope that this whole series about how to make a leaflet has been helpful. If you have any questions or if you'd like to book a leaflet distribution campaign in London please feel free to get in touch with us here.
