In order for any leaflet distribution campaign to be successful in terms of generating a decent response rate, five components have to come together at the same time.  This article summaries these five components in order to help you to get the most out of your leaflet distribution campaigns.

1) There has to be a demand for the product or service you are selling.  In other words, there is probably not much point in trying to sell typewriters in today’s electronic world (unless you are an antiques dealer)!

2) The leaflet design must appropriate for the audience you are targeting and should stand out from the ‘crowd’.  In any leaflet distribution campaign your first priority it to get the attention of the recipient.  For further information on leaflet design, see our help and resources.

3) The timing has to be right.  There is, for example, little point in marketing sun cream in the middle of winter!

4) Assuming that the first three are correct then you need to persuade people to respond there and then.  If people like what you are selling and decide to keep your leaflet (rather than bin it) then you have probably not succeeded because the chances are that they will either lose it or bin it at a later date.  You need to entice them to respond there and then.  There are many ways to achieve this, the most effective of which is a good time limited offer, for example:

“This offer is only available until …. so call 0800 123 456 FREE  NOW to avoid disappointment”

or

“The first X people will receive an additional 10% discount…”

5) Last but by no means least, the leaflet distribution has to be done properly by a reputable and reliable company.  For example, response rates will fall if your leaflet is delivered along with others leaflets (see our article on sharing leaflet distribution).  It will be even lower if half of them never get delivered (get dumped in a bin, for example).  For further information, read our article which discusses some of the tricks less reputable companies play when distributing your leaflets.