Ordering a flyer proceeds in this order: clarifying the goal, choosing the distribution area, design, printing, and distribution. Four things determine the cost: size, quantity, how elaborate the design is, and whether distribution is included. Entrusting everything from planning to distribution to one company gives you a single point of contact and cuts down on back-and-forth along the way.
Ordering a flyer follows seven steps
A flyer isn't finished the moment the printed sheets are handed over. The result depends on whose hands it ends up in. Here is the process when you order from a production company.
- Consultation and clarifying the goal
- Deciding the distribution area and method
- Reviewing the quote and placing the order
- Organizing the content and writing the copy
- Reviewing and revising the design proposal
- Printing
- Distribution (leaflet drops, newspaper inserts, etc.)
Following this order helps you avoid the mistake of only realizing after the design is finished that you have “no one to distribute it” or that “the area doesn't fit.” Step 2 in particular should be settled before design begins, because once you know who will receive the flyer, the words and photos to use are decided as well.
Steps 1 and 2 decide who you reach and what you deliver
The first thing to decide is what you want the reader to do. Visit your store, call, view your website, attend an event — narrow it down to one action. Listing several actions makes it less likely that any of them will be chosen.
Next, define exactly who you want to reach. Write down their age, family situation, type of housing, and usual means of transport. These conditions determine the distribution area.
There are three main distribution methods.
| Distribution method | Best suited for |
|---|---|
| Leaflet drops (posting) | When you want to target a specific area and deliver directly to homes and offices |
| Newspaper inserts | When you want broad reach among households that subscribe to a newspaper |
| Handouts at your store or a facility | When you want to hand them to visitors or users of a related facility |
With leaflet drops, you can select the distribution area down to a neighborhood or an individual apartment building. The response differs depending on whether you distribute in an area of detached houses or one dominated by apartment buildings. If you order from a production company, check whether they can advise on how to choose the distribution area to match your goal and target.
Costs are determined by four factors
The cost of producing a flyer comes down to a combination of these four factors.
- Size and quantity (A4 or B5, single- or double-sided, how many copies)
- How elaborate the design is (using existing materials, or starting from a photo shoot and interviews)
- Print specifications (paper type, number of colors, finishing options)
- Whether distribution is included and its scope (number of copies dropped, size of the area)
Even with identical content, the printing cost per sheet falls as the quantity rises. With distribution, the total rises as the quantity increases. If your budget is fixed, start by telling us your maximum total, and we can discuss how to balance quantity and area within it.
Because our prices vary with size, quantity, and whether distribution is included, we prepare a quote after hearing the details. If the flyer uses the same content and contact details as your website, it can be handled together with your website production.
Information to provide when requesting a quote
The accuracy of a quote depends on the information you provide. Noting down these eight points before you get in touch will shorten the exchange.
- The purpose of the flyer (store visits, bookings, inquiries, etc.)
- Who you want to reach
- Preferred size, and single- or double-sided
- Quantity
- If distributing, the area and timing
- Content you want to include (products, prices, a map, photos, etc.)
- Available materials (logo, photos, past flyers)
- Preferred distribution or delivery date
If you don't have materials, also check whether photography and copywriting can be included. When the photos aren't settled, design meetings multiply and the schedule stretches out.
Allow 2–3 weeks for design and 1 week to 10 days for printing
For an A4 double-sided flyer, we typically need about two to three weeks for design and one week to 10 days for printing. Figure on roughly a month in total and work backwards from your intended distribution date.
Printers and distribution slots get busy at times like these.
- Around the start of a new school or business year
- Before the Obon holiday and the year-end/New Year period
- Just before major events or sales
For an event with a fixed date, starting six weeks before the distribution date leaves comfortable time for revisions.
Common mistakes when ordering a flyer
Cramming in too much information
If you include everything you'd like to say, it becomes unclear what the flyer is actually about. Recipients only glance at a flyer for a few seconds. Give prominence to a single message, and point readers to your website URL or a QR code for the details.
Contact details and map are too small
Most flyers that fail to get a response make the phone number or map hard to find. Put the entry point for the action you most want readers to take in a clearly visible spot on the page.
Spreading the distribution area too thin
Spreading a small print run thinly over a wide area never builds awareness in any one neighborhood. Narrowing your catchment area and delivering repeatedly to the same places makes you more memorable.
Colors look different on screen and in print
Colors on screen differ slightly from printed colors. For logo colors in particular, specify the color swatch number and confirm it. Always check the proof sheet issued before printing with your own eyes.
No way to measure the response after distribution
If you can't tell who came because of the flyer and who didn't, you can't improve next time. Including a dedicated phone number, a dedicated URL, or a discount coupon lets you count the response.
Using a single point of contact saves effort
If you order the design, printing, and distribution from separate companies, you have more contacts to manage and schedules are more likely to slip. Entrusting everything from planning to distribution to one company means fewer meetings and consistent instructions for the finished colors and paper.
Merci Ltd. handles everything end to end: planning, design, and printing of flyers and brochures, through to leaflet drops and distribution. We also take on design data alone. Working through the same point of contact as your website, we can create flyers with the same content and contact details.
A flyer is built from five elements
Deciding the priority of the elements on the page before you commission the design reduces the number of revisions.
- Headline (the first line the recipient reads; state a problem or the result they'll get)
- Photos or illustrations (products, the exterior of your store, the faces of your staff)
- Body copy (give the reasons behind the headline in just two or three places)
- Offer and deadline (a first-time discount, a visit bonus during the distribution period, and so on — only things you can genuinely deliver)
- Entry point for action (phone number, map, QR code, website URL)
If element 1 is weak, nobody reads elements 2 onward. Write the headline in the words in the reader's head, not with your company or service name. For a dental clinic, for example, instead of the name of the “dentist,” use wording the reader recognizes as their own situation, such as “For anyone who bleeds in just one spot when brushing every day.”
Check the response in the two weeks after distribution
A flyer doesn't end with distribution; you use the results to improve the next one. Here's how to check.
- Record the date you distributed and the area covered
- Ask visitors and callers whether they saw the flyer
- Count responses to the dedicated QR code or phone number every day
- Compare the response by distribution area
- Make the areas with the strongest response the focus of your next distribution
Most of the response comes within about two weeks. Keeping these figures lets you compare the difference when you change the headline on your next flyer.
Headlines and offers by industry
What a flyer should communicate varies by industry.
| Industry | Approach to the headline | Example offers |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant | Describe a dish that makes people hungry and an occasion that makes them want to visit | One free drink for anyone who brings the flyer |
| Hair salon | Put the reader's own hair worries into words | A discount for first-time visitors only |
| Construction and repairs | State the problem they're facing and whether quotes are free | Free quotes and inspections |
| Cram school | Mirror the child's situation and put the parents' worries into words | A free trial lesson |
| Real estate | Paint a picture of daily life and give the conditions in figures | An invitation to a viewing event |
Limit offers to what you can genuinely deliver. Deadlines or quantities with no reason behind them undermine the reader's trust. Set the distribution timing and the offer deadline to the same dates.
Items to check during proofreading
Before printing, read the following items aloud together.
- Whether every digit of the company name, address, and phone number is correct
- Whether prices and deadlines match those on your website
- Whether the QR code actually scans and opens
- Whether there are typos, conversion errors, or inconsistent spellings of proper nouns
- Whether permission has been obtained to use the photos
Changes after printing has started cost both money and time. Have at least two people check the proof.
FAQ
It varies with the size, quantity, how elaborate the design is, and whether distribution is included. We prepare a quote after hearing the details from you.
Yes. We also take on design data alone. If you are having another company handle printing or distribution, please discuss the data format with us in advance.
Decide based on where your target audience lives and how far they travel. We can advise on how to choose the distribution area to match your goal and target.
For an A4 double-sided flyer, design takes about two to three weeks and printing one week to 10 days.
Yes. Brochures can be entrusted to us in the same way, from planning through design to printing.
Start with your goal and the area you want to cover
We can prepare a quote for flyer production once three things are settled: the goal, the distribution area, and the budget. We'll work through anything that isn't settled yet together with you.
One point of contact handles everything from planning to printing, leaflet drops, and distribution.
