Event flyers are one of the most traditional ways to attract people to your event. They’re also one of the most effective — but only when done right.
Although there’s less buzz about flyers thanks to the dominance of digital channels, they still play a vital role in many organizers’ event promotion strategy. And in fact, flyers don’t always have to live on paper; digital flyers can be just as effective. Whether you’re printing your flyers or not, you’ll need to create beautiful, impactful flyers to actually drive ticket sales.
Here are tips for designing an event flyer that helps you spread the word and sell more tickets:
1. Ensure your text is legible, and keep key text as visible as possible. In other words, don’t overlay light text over a busy photograph, making it difficult to read.
2. Include key information that will help your event-goers decide if they can (and want to) attend your event or learn more about it. This information includes: your event name, the time and date, your venue/location, ticket price(s), and call to action (such as “buy tickets now” or “visit this site to save your spot.”) Other important information to include is your website, tagline, and any hashtags or handles associated with your event.
3. Think about visual hierarchy. Make the most important information (event name, time and date, price, and call to action) more prominent than everything else. Displaying this information bigger or in higher contrast helps it stand out to readers.
4. Don’t forget a call to action. What do you want the reader to do next? Should they scan a QR code, visit your Eventbrite page, or tweet to share with their friends? Try to stick with just one clear call to action to increase your chances of getting people to act on it.
5. Make sure it’s on brand. Your flyer is part of your larger marketing communication strategy, and should support the event brand you’ve worked hard to build.
6. Proofread it. Have at least two other people unfamiliar with your event proofread everything to ensure there are no typos. This is especially important if you are printing your flyers, as mistakes can be expensive — and sometimes irreversible.
Now that you know what you need to convey and you have a rough idea of the overall look, it’s time to get your flyer designed. Here are some helpful tools for designing event flyers:
1. Do It Yourself (Beginner)
There are lots of great online DIY design tools out there. One of our favorites is Canva.
The free version lets you pick from a variety of pre-sized templates or choose to create a custom size. Then using its drag-and-drop functionality, you can mock up a professional looking piece of promotional content in minutes.Their photos are just $1 each, or you can upload your own images to use for free.
2. Do it Yourself (Pro)
If you’re a bit of design whiz and want to add a more professional veneer, then the Adobe Design Suite is still a trusted market leader. And at $49.99 per month, it’s not too expensive considering the added power and functionality you get with it.
Even if you’re unfamiliar with Adobe, there are lots of great online tutorials and courses you can take (many of them free) to give you enough understanding to take your design to the next level.
3. Crowdsource it
If you feel uninspired — or don’t trust your design skills — then a very cost-effective design option is using a crowdsource platform like 99 Designs.
The process is simple. You create a short design brief, choose how much you want to pay, and push your request live. Once it’s live, you’ll receive dozens of different designs back from the community. You can then provide feedback on the designs you like, and once you’re happy with one, pick it as a winner.
4. Find freelancers
Services like UpWork are a fantastic source of talent. You simply set up your project parameters, define the type of person you want to hire (based on experience, specific design skills, location, language, and more), and then let the applications come to you.
Before you hire someone, you can review their portfolio of work, interview them, and even ask them to complete a basic assignment to see their skills in action.
Keep an eye out for the second installment of our event flyer series which will help you get your beautifully designed flyers into the right hands.
In the meantime, check out this handy tip sheet, The 10 Best Ways to Promote Your Event Online, to learn about other ways to market your event online — for little to no cost.
