Flyer Designs that WORK — Best Practices for Effective Flyers

Flyers are a versatile and cost-effective tool for promoting your parish events, programs, fundraisers, and more. Designing an effective flyer is crucial to ensure it grabs your audience's attention and effectively delivers your intended message.

How are flyers versatile?

Once you design a flyer, you can use it for so much more than just a bulletin stuffer! Flyers can be repurposed as:

• Posters — simply print the flyer on larger paper to create posters that you can put around your property.
• Website announcements — use the flyer you designed on your parish website to announce an upcoming event! It could also be used as an image for an event’s online registration.
• Email newsletter attachments — does your parish have email newsletters that go out to parishioners? Attach the digital event flyers for the programs highlighted in the newsletter!
• Social media content — post your flyers digitally on your Facebook feed or your Instagram and Facebook stories.
• Mass announcement slides — If your parish has screens inside the sanctuary that you use to show images during Mass and announcements, use the flyer you designed to digitally accompany the Mass announcement for that event or program.

With all this in mind, it’s safe to say that you are going to want the best design possible for any flyer that you create. To help you achieve this goal, we’ve chosen two flyers from our Flyer Templates section inside of WeCreate, our library of Catholic content, to help explain the design elements that make a parish flyer truly effective.

To Design an Effective Flyer, Consider —

• An Eye-Catching Headline

Your headline should be attention-grabbing and reflect the core message of the flyer. Use a large, bold font that stands out. The headline should capture the reader's interest and entice them to learn more.

• Engaging Imagery

Choose high-quality images or graphics that are relevant to your message. Visuals can speak louder than words and draw the reader's attention. Make sure the images complement the overall design and message of your flyer. Use a source like WeCreate to access thousands of professionally designed, royalty free graphics to make this process easy! For example, the flyers featured in this article were chosen from our extensive library of flyer templates that parishes can make their own through WeCreate.

• Color Palette

Use a limited and cohesive color palette that aligns with your parish’s brand or the event's theme. Don’t forget to ensure good contrast between text and background to make sure that your content is legible. Too many colors can cause people to naturally want to look away from your flyer, so keep it simple.

• Consistent Typography

Select fonts that are easy to read and maintain consistency throughout the flyer. Use different fonts for headlines and body text to create a hierarchy and emphasize important information. Don’t be tempted to use more than 2 or 3 fonts!

• Negative Space

Give your content room to breathe by using negative space effectively. In design, negative space is the empty space around and between the subjects of an image. Flyers crowded with too many images and words are overwhelming and can deter or even confuse readers. Adequate negative space makes the content more digestible and the design more aesthetically pleasing.

• Call to Action (CTA)

Effective flyers often include a clear and compelling call to action (CTA). Whether it's "Register Today," “Learn More,” "Call for More Information," or something else, the CTA should be prominent and guide readers on what to do next. Consider including a QR code if your flyer is suggesting people visit a website link.

• Contact Information

Include essential contact information such as your parish’s phone number, email, website, physical address, or all four! Ensure that it's easy for potential customers or attendees to get in touch and find your location.

• Proofread and Edit

Don't let typos or grammatical errors undermine your flyer's professionalism. Carefully proofread the content and, if possible, have others review it as well.

By following these best practices, you can create flyer designs that effectively capture attention, convey your message, and drive the desired action from your audience. So, when you're ready to create your next parish flyer, keep these principles in mind to ensure your flyer works to its full potential.