Your Surprisingly Popular Sales Tool – Folded Leaflets

In our fast-paced, switched-on, ultra-connected online world where brands are engaging with people, having a dialogue with prospective customers and encouraging sales 24/7, you might be surprised to discover what is actually one of the most enduring and proven sales tools.



It’s the humble folded leaflet. Surely not? What with so many innovative, fun and popular online platforms and apps around that brands can use to communicate with people and build relationships.
 

In fact, the simple folded leaflet has been around for many, many years and it’s still going strong. Through constantly changing trends in print and marketing, folded leaflets have remained hugely popular promotional items. Even in today’s online world, 
they are more popular than ever with marketers and businesses of all sizes. But why?


Choose from a range of sizes
One of the biggest advantages of folded leaflets is that they can be printed digitally for small to medium-sized print runs. This means that they can be printed very quickly to a high quality similar to litho print, with the option of personalisation if you want it. All at a very competitive price.


What’s more, with digital print, there’s no minimum quantity, so you don’t have to have more leaflets printed than you need. That reduces waste, which not only saves you money but helps the environment.


There is a whole range of sizes, finishes and papers for printing, which we can discuss at the brief stage. One of the most popular size is DL which is A4 folded to 1/3 A4. This fits neatly into standard envelopes and pockets - making it perfect for any number of uses.


Enjoy unbeatable flexibility

The range of sizes available for your folded leaflets means they can be used anywhere and in a huge variety of ways including:

• Direct mail campaigns - choose a size like DL which fits easily into envelopes and letter boxes

• Hand-outs - A5 and DL size leaflets are ideal for handing to prospective customers as they fit easily into pockets and bags

• On tables and counter - you often see folded leaflets in shops, bars, restaurants and in business premises showing offers, products, services and events

• Inserts in other publications - folded leaflets can be nested into magazines, brochures, newspapers and catalogues

In short, you can use folded leaflets to advertise your products and services, promote special offers or events, or simply to boost awareness of your business, shop or store. You can include coupons with offers or add QR codes to drive online traffic to your website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest page.


Don’t forget, with digital print your leaflets can be personally addressed to each one of your customers too – a proven way to build and strengthen relationships, and boost response.


Choose from a range of formats

You can have your leaflet folded in a whole range of ways with these four being the most popular and economical:

• Half fold leaflets are folded in half along the centre like a greetings card
, see this months case study - great leaflet for Bedford Insurance
• Roll fold leaflets are divided into three sections, with the outer two sections folding over one another

• Z fold leaflets have panels that do not overlap. They fold like an accordion or Z-shape, so that you can see three panels of artwork on each side, which are viewed in sequence

• Gatefold leaflets have their outer flaps folded in to meet in the middle

Choose from a selection of papers and finishes
Silk coated paper has a smooth feel with a discreet surface sheen. It offers excellent ink to paper contrast, and the printed colours look sharp and clear. Recycled options are usually available too.


Gloss coated paper has a shiny surface and very smooth finish. The colour is distinct and stands out well. The ink dries quickly and there is less need for lamination.


Uncoated paper is absorbent and easy to write on, making it a great choice for leaflets that need to be written on. The print appears flatter due to this absorbent quality and the paper has a soft finish which is pleasant to the touch. Recycled uncoated paper is also available if you’re looking for an environmentally friendly option.


Once you’ve chosen your paper you can add the finishing touch. Matt lamination gives a soft, modern, high quality effect, while gloss lamination gives a higher quality shine finish than gloss card. Lamination is great to enhance the vibrancy of solid colours or images, or where you want to protect your printed documents. Recently, soft touch laminate has become very popular as it gives a lovely soft, smooth feel to the leaflet.


All in all, folded leaflets have a more tactile, physical quality than emails or social media posts, and they don’t disappear after a few hours. They can be kept on a mantelpiece, stuck to the fridge or in a drawer and referred to later on, and they can be used to drive business to a shop or store in an endless variety of ways – the only limit is your imagination.


Unlike social media too, they can be targeted extremely accurately – to a town or city, an area, a few streets, one road or even one house! So, are you making the most of folded leaflets?


Throughout September we are offering over £100 off the design and production of a leaflet. Want to find out more? Go to our offer page or for ideas have a look at our leaflet portfolio.





My Useful Guide: Informative Infographics

In their simplest form infographics (or information graphics) are visual representations of data or knowledge, designed to be easily understood at a glance. Basic infographics can be seen everyday in the form of traffic signs and weather charts for example, but from a marketing perspective the graphics featuring colourful illustrations, statistics, graphs and charts are the style most utilised by businesses and organisations around the world. Sometimes with a twist of humour these visual gems are perfect for sharing on social media and online.

Although we think of infographics as modern day design elements, their history actually dates back much, much further. In this blog article we look at the origins of infographics, their advantages and give you a handful of top tips.

A brief history

Believe it or not infographics arguably date back to prehistoric times, some 40,000 years ago! Cave paintings documented animals, geography and events through imagery as a result of the absence of letters and words with Egyptian hieroglyphics offering the same.

Another case bringing us into modern history, would be Florence Nightingale in 1857 using visual data in the form of stacked bar and pie charts. This early form of infographic was presented to Queen Victoria in a bid to improve conditions in military hospitals.   

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Harry Beck designed a more familiar infographic in 1933, when he created the first London Tube map. Using bold colourful lines to highlight routes and stops proved a simple but effective representation of the London underground. Instigating an important step towards the infographic design that led to the iconic tube map used by thousands everyday.

These early examples are a far cry from the typical style of infographic we see today. Rising to fame in the online world, infographics are a great way to attract attention and communicate with a wide audience.

Why are infographics so effective?

It’s thought that 90% of the information the brain receives is visual, meaning that we can process imagery 60,000 times faster than written words! We respond better to visual content and are more likely to engage with graphics than text, making infographics an effective way to get a point across. Helping us to absorb more and learn faster consequently improving our understanding of the subject in hand. Infographics can have a longer lasting effect, have great impact and persuade people to take action.

This style of graphic information can be used to communicate a wide range of topics and can help to raise awareness of issues, make comparisons, state interesting facts, emphasize points, explain how something works and primarily communicate (sometimes complicated) information. Have a look at the example below, its on oldie but a goodie outlining the stats.

Having something as visually attractive as an infographic that’s easy to share on social media is a great marketing ploy. When scrolling through long social media feeds it’s the imagery that catches your attention and holds it. Using information graphics as a marketing strategy can prove rewarding through shares and likes on social media, quickly gathering momentum among like-minded audiences.

Some top tips

1.When implementing infographics as part of your marketing scheme keep them simple. Too much information can become overwhelming.

2. Strategic white space can help keep things legible and give it structure.

3. Stick to the main points and lay it out concisely and don’t misrepresent information with overzealous graphics.

4. Pick a catchy title if you need one but stay away from too much text, let the imagery and graphic elements do the work.