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.......Article > How to Design A Good Leaflet


 

 

Article kindly provided by Mark I'Anson

www.markianson.com


What makes a leaflet 'good'? What's going to make people stop and read your flyer when it comes through the door instead of throwing it in the bin along with all the others that come with it? It may not be something they're actively looking for at that time but if it grabs their attention they will at least read it, and, if it then provokes interest or looks like a solution to a problem they will pick up the 'phone and call you. It may not be immediately, I've had people call me 6-9 months after they received the leaflet!


The Headline

This is THE most important part of any marketing information. Get it wrong and you've lost the prospective customer immediately. The best headlines appeal to the readers self-interest, what's in it for them? A lot of inexperienced marketers make the mistake of using their business name as the headline; ie;

'John Smith & Co' , which, unless you are a well known household brand name like 'Nike' or 'Tesco' is a complete waste of time as it doesn't mean anything to anyone!

The headline is critically important; it must grab your customers ATTENTION. Make it BOLD and LARGE so that it stands out. A good tip is to ask a question ie; ‘Do You Want To Sell Your Property Quickly?’ as people are naturally curious and will want to read on to find out the answer or how you can help to solve their problem.

Want to know more about 'The essential skills of a Property Trader'?


Dominate Your Ground The Essential Skills of a Property Trader
An excellent grounding in getting leads, converting deals, trading deals and guerilla marketing tactics.

 

What Size Leaflet Should You Use?

The size or the thickness of the leaflet isn’t as important as what it says. A5 always works well (approx 15cm x 21cm) as there is enough room to get all the necessary information on, they're cheap to get printed and don't weigh as much as A4 so they're quicker and easier to deliver too.


How Much Content Should You Add?

Remember KISS! Keep It Simple Stupid! No one wants to be bombarded with endless lines of text, no matter how relevant it may be. It looks and sounds boring. If you must include a lot of text, break it up into small paragraphs that are easy to read.

Write text as if you are personally speaking to a person and read it back to yourself aloud to see if it 'sounds' right, or ask someone else their opinion.

Benefits Sell - State the main benefits that the reader will get if he/she calls your company. Put yourself in their shoes and think about what they want to hear if they're looking to sell their property quickly due to mounting debts.

People have a tendency to 'scan' a page looking for the bits of information that are relevant to them (I bet you're doing that now!) so the best way to present your case is with the relevant bits shown in bold bullet points ie;

* House Been On the Market For Too Long?

* Worried About Repossession?

* Need To Sell To Release Equity?

* Emigrating Or Relocating?

* Debt Problems?

'FREE' is a great word to use! People always want something for nothing, so offer to give something away

* Free, No Obligation Consultation with Property Expert

* Free Confidential Advice

* Free Property Valuation

* Your Legal Fees Paid In Full

Use Images

Images tell a story far better than words ever can, people focus on images before text. Pictures provoke thought so use them to your advantage :-)

Psychology plays a big part in marketing, so use pictures that make people relate to an emotion, like a house with a 'Sold' sign and a 'happy couple' (happy because they just sold their property) people will imagine their own house being sold.

You can even use pictures that promote bad feelings, like a photo of rows of properties with Estate Agent boards outside, drawing attention to the thousands of people trying to sell their property right now and how difficult it is. If the person reading it has their property on the market they will be forced to think about how long their own property may take to sell with an Estate Agent.


Testimonials

Testimonials are vital because they promote trust in you and your company. Testimonials with photographs of ‘happy looking' people work even better because again it's a visual image that people will relate to. Ensure that the people in the photograph are looking directly into the camera as it's been researched that this type of photograph seems to be more genuine, and again, promotes trust.


Call To Action

Your leaflet MUST contain clear and concise 'Call to Action' information. It's no good saying 'if interested call 088000'. That sounds very feeble, like a lot of people won't be interested!

Make your call to action BOLD and easy to find. It's best to put it at the bottom and to the right of your leaflet as it's been shown that that's where people expect it to be, and use a female contact name if possible as it's been researched that people prefer to speak with a female. Having a picture of a smiling woman with the contact information can help.

If you can use a photo of yourself (or your partner) then this works well as the person the seller is contacting is seen to be more 'real'. People are naturally suspicious of anything that's unfamiliar to them so this makes you look more 'real' and promotes trust :)


0800 or Landline?

A lot of advertisers still use 0800 numbers as it can be advantageous to state 'FREE from land line' on your advert, but nowadays almost everyone has a mobile phone and therefore prefer to call

another mobile or a local number, as it's costly to dial an 0800 number from a mobile. State on your leaflet that you're a 'Local Company', callers prefer it if you're in the same area, again it promotes security and trust, it will be familiar to them and they'll feel you can be easily contacted.

Some people prefer to email so try to include a contact email address, and, if you have one, a website address as this gives you and company credibility.

Use Scarcity – How many times have you rushed to buy something when you think there is only a limited amount available? Ie; Tickets for your favourite band advertised as 'Buy Now, Few Remaining– First Come First Served' It can work well on your flyers too! You could say

*Call Now For Your FREE report – How To Sell Your House In 14 Days (limited availability) You could either write your own short report or find one online and edit it to make it your own (don't copy it outright or you could find yourself in trouble!)

 

Want to know more about 'The essential skills of a Property Trader'?


Dominate Your Ground The Essential Skills of a Property Trader
An excellent grounding in getting leads, converting deals, trading deals and guerilla marketing tactics.

 

Leaflet Distribution

How many leaflets should you deliver and what is the general response rate?

Generally people tend to start with either 5000 or 10,000 leaflets. Please bear in mind that as your distribution is not specifically 'targeted' at people who may need your services the response rate can be as low as 1 in 1,000.

So a distribution of 10,000 leaflets will bring you around 8 to 12 calls, it's a numbers game, you could get less, you could get more, this is just the average response for this type of leaflet. But remember, even if you only find one motivated seller, it will certainly make your campaign worthwhile! Of course this figure can vary according to certain factors like;

*The Time of Year: Don't expect a great response around 8 weeks during the summer holidays and a couple of weeks before Christmas for obvious reasons

*The Competition: There may be other investors in your area distributing at the same time – Is your leaflet better than theirs?


What Are The Best Areas To Cover?

You should be fairly familiar with the immediate and surrounding area you live in, so it stands to reason that you know what types of properties there are as well as what type of people live there. So this is a good place to start!

If you're not familiar with how much properties are worth in your own area it's a good idea to familiarise yourself by browsing on property sites regularly to get a 'feel' for how much properties are actually selling for. You need to know your area well so you can spot a 'bargain'! Use these sites: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/ http://www.nethouseprices.com/ http://www.zoopla.co.uk/


Identify Local Authority Areas

Properties in these areas are generally well sized, have bigger gardens, they rent well because people who were bought up in the area and are starting their own family like to stay near to family and friends. You can also get them at a very good price so the yield will be higher than on larger private properties (with the exception of multi-lets / HMO)

When delivering to private areas stick to the smaller properties (2 & 3 beds) in areas that you've identified with good rental potential. These smaller properties are more lucrative, and again, have better yields. You can still get good deals on larger, more expensive properties but you'll need larger discounts to make the deal 'stack' and to make a decent profit.

Investors are looking for a discount of at least 25% + (unless they're using a Lease Option) but if you're acting as a 'Property Finder' remember to factor in your own fee.


How to Find Reliable Distributors

You may want to try using regular mailing companies like 'Royal Mail' but in my own experience they work out a lot more expensive, and, are not always reliable. It's better to have your leaflets delivered on their own rather than inside a local paper or with 4 or 5 other leaflets as people are more inclined to throw these away.

It's cheaper and more reliable to recruit your own distributors, so write an advert saying something like:

Wanted In [This] Area
Self Employed Leaflet Distributors
Preferably Car Owner
Hours To Suit
Good Bonus Paid!
Please Call [Name] On [07777******]

Place the ad in local shop windows or on your local 'Gumtree' (if you have one in your area, it's free) www.gumtree.co.uk (or any relevant website) and you'll be surprised at how many replies you get!

How much you pay the distributor will depend on which area of the country you’re in, currently in the East Midlands I pay my distributors £40.00 per 1000 (2013) and a £500 bonus when we complete on a deal. There's no set rules, make it a 'win-win' situation for yourself and the distributor by building a good working relationship with them. Going the extra mile to ensure they're happy will ensure that they continue to trust and deliver for you.

Happy Leafletting!

Want to know more about 'The essential skills of a Property Trader'?


Dominate Your Ground The Essential Skills of a Property Trader
An excellent grounding in getting leads, converting deals, trading deals and guerilla marketing tactics.

 


Left to Right - Mark I'Anson, Rachel Clarke, Andy Phillips. Photo taken at the PIN Xmas Dinner


About the Author

Mark I'Anson Property offers an end-to-end solution for clients like you who want to build a portfolio of residential properties locally and internationally. Starting with a one-to-one investment appraisal, we identify your needs and objectives, your attitude to risk, career plans, commitments, hopes for retirement and so forth. We then use this knowledge to explore all the options available and make a considered recommendation on the best choice for you.

 

 

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