Leaflet Distribution, also known as Leaflet delivery, Flyer Distribution, Flyer Delivery, Letterbox Marketing or Door Drop Marketing has become an effective marketing option in which to promote businesses and events.
Leaflet distribution is the process of delivering printed products and materials through the letterboxes of households in selected operating areas.
Leaflet distribution companies are used by businesses, government departments, councils, and agencies to oversee and manage their marketing campaign. A full-service leaflet distribution company will start by planning the campaign for their client, taking into consideration what exactly the aim of the marketing campaign is. For example, if a company was looking to gain more customers following the distribution, the leaflet delivery team would choose to target a demographic of whom was most likely to buy the products or use the services.
Leaflet distribution is the oldest form of marketing, beginning over hundreds of years ago where handwritten flyers would be handed out on streets to get a message out to the people. It has since developed into what we see today, where teams of leaflet deliverers will get out to areas and deliver the flyers, magazines, menus etc. through residents’ letterboxes in the aim to get a person to engage with the advertisement portrayed within the design of the flyer.
The people in charge of these teams of deliverers, would often be a leaflet distribution company. These companies are responsible for planning and scheduling the deliveries in the most efficient way possible. The more effective the planning, the more profit this will be for the distribution company and even they can also offer their services for cheaper.
The leaflet distribution industry is unfortunately plagued with individuals who choose to use unethical practises to gain clients and take their money. This can stem from the company being used to the deliverers out with the leaflets. Some companies are fully aware of the processes they operate with and never intend on delivering the leaflets provided to them by the client. Other companies may often simply be unaware of the staff they are employing to deliver the leaflets, and the staff are choosing not to deliver. This leads to a lack of trust within the leaflet distribution industry.
Every leaflet distribution company has an obligation to back check the delivery runs and provide evidence to the client, to prove that the distribution was conducted successfully and efficiently. This can come in many forms such as GPS tracking, missed property lists etc.
When you are dealing with an ethical leaflet distribution company, it can show just how effective delivering leaflets direct to potential consumers can be. Door drop marketing has one of the highest response rates among all marketing techniques, especially for what you pay.
When getting quoted a price by a leaflet distribution company, it will usually come as a rate per thousand leaflets. This meaning the price you will pay for every thousand leaflets that are delivered. This can vary anywhere from £40 per thousand up to £150 per thousand.
The pricing of your distribution run will take into consideration many factors including:
- The area you wish to deliver to – Some areas are street after street of terraced houses with no front garden. This can result in a few thousand leaflets being delivered by one team member in a day. This will obviously result in a lower rate for the client. Other areas have detached houses with long winding driveways up the letterbox. In areas such as this, it could be a case of only 100 leaflets being delivered per staff member. This will the result in a rate per thousand being much higher.
- The size and weight of the leaflet – If you are asking a leaflet distribution company to deliver a leaflet that is just A5 and thin paper, then this can be easy for staff members to carry and work with. This makes the teams time more effective and can result in a lower rate quoted per thousand. If on the other hand you are asking for an A4 60-page magazine to be delivered, then you will surely get quoted a large rate per thousand. Not only are these heavy for the staff and will slow them down, but they can also only carry a small amount at a time, and they will need to call back and forth to the van to stock up regularly.
- The timescale of the campaign – If you are stuck for time and maybe arranging this later than planned then the distribution company may need to charge a higher rate, so that they can pull all their staff of the current delivery runs and focus them on completing your distribution campaign by the specified date.
- Shared or solus – a solus campaign refers to when your leaflet is the only one being delivered to that area by the team. This can often result in more engagement with the flyer and have higher response rates. The price for this will increase as you are paying a full team to just focus on your distribution. When using a shared campaign, your flyer will be added to a run of up to 3 other adverts, essentially splitting the cost of the run between 4 different businesses. This way, you bring the rate per thousand down dramatically.
- The quantity of leaflets – Some distribution companies will bring down the cost per thousand flyers just because you are giving them a lot of work. By increasing your quantity, you will be able to bring down the cost per thousand and while you will pay more for the campaign due to the amount you are having, this can result in a large return on your investment.
When using leaflet distribution, the price per thousand should be fair. If you stop and think that it seems low for what you are receiving then, it is more than likely too good to be true, and you are being scammed.
As with all marketing campaigns you are putting your message out there and hoping for a response. Leaflet distribution is no exception and will never be able to guarantee a response from residents of the area. You could get 20,000 leaflets delivered and receive no call-backs, while the next time, just deliver 1,000 leaflets and receive 100 call-backs. Every marketing technique is a gamble, but if you wish to get the most from your marketing, make sure to plan it effectively and take every aspect into consideration.
We recommend that you read through a few of our helpful articles to know exactly what aspects of the campaign you can consider.
At The Leaflet Network, our main aim is to help businesses to use leaflet distribution the way it is intended and put you in touch with the most effective teams in your area.
