Avoid These 5 Common Flyer Mistakes

Is creating flyers part of your job? If so, there are five common mistakes you may be making. 

NOTE: Over the past three years, I’ve written numerous articles around these topics, so I’ve included links to them if you would like to dive deeper into each one.

1. Careless Layouts
A flyer provides you with a finite amount of space, so use it wisely. Guide the viewer through your flyer using visual hierarchy (organizing the content by importance) while allowing for moments of rest by incorporating negative space.

Keep the layout interesting by avoiding the urge to center everything, especially text - but don’t think forced justification is the answer (see Typography Basics). An easy way to layout your flyer is to imagine a grid, this provides you with internal edges that lead to a more pleasing design.

2. Distracting Colors
Color is important in design, it helps set the tone - convey emotion. Now that it’s Spring (as I write this) you may be tempted to use vibrant, in-your-face colors to attract attention, but be advised this may have an adverse effect on the viewer. If the colors are clashing it can make the flyer uncomfortable to look at or difficult (even impossible) to read, making the viewer scroll past the post or delete the email. On the opposite side, using all dark colors can also cause difficulty reading. Try using the color wheel to create a cohesive color scheme. You can find some examples in The Value of Color.

3. Low-Quality Images
This just screams unprofessional. If you’re adding images to your flyer, make sure they are high quality and not pixelated. If you hire a professional photographer to take product or lifestyle images, they will provide you with high-res photos (or maybe even RAW files). If you’re downloading photos from the internet, make sure you choose the highest quality available AND make sure you’re not infringing on any copyright laws.

4. No Contact Information
Your email went out, its open rates are looking good, but why aren’t you receiving any orders? Don’t rely on the recipient to put in extra effort to hunt down your phone number or correct email address (especially if your emails come from a generic address like “noreply”). Add your website, email address, phone number, and any social media platforms you may be on. Don’t forget to correctly link them!

5. Missing Call-To-Action
Want to get more eyes on your website or the digital catalog you spent months on? How about increasing your social media followers? Whatever it is you want to happen, guide your recipients to take action with an eye-catching CTA.

To quote one of my previous blogs, “every decision you make with the design of your flyer should support and enhance your message.” Not only will avoiding these mistakes help your flyers look more professional, but they can also help increase your sales.