First ask yourself who will be reading your flyer or poster. Is this going to hang in a shop, a café window, or handed to people walking on the street? Will it be crowded into a community bulletin board? What will make it stand out among all of the others?
Make your words count because you don't want to make the page so crammed that no one wants to read it. A flyer or poster? It needs to be very easy to read!
Your flyer or poster must tell the public about the following information:
All of this information has to fit on the page. Remember not to make more than a few headline phrases.
Photographs and graphics catch people's attention, but they don't photocopy well. If you can print them directly from your computer's printer, photographs and graphics can look great, and help your poster get the attention you seek. Are you going to be printing a large volume from your computer's printer, or using a copy machine? If a copy machine, choose simple 'line art' and avoid photographs and complicated graphics. They don't copy clearly.
If your group is going to mail your poster or flyer to a local contact list, consider including one or more Factsheets with your mailing.
Don't forget to add your local contact information along with November Coalition’s website and contact information -- and other collaborating groups. A local phone number, and email address is important. People need to know that a national effort has local interest, and local contact people.
If you can convert a poster/flyer into a pdf or other online format, November Coalition will post it on the events calendar. Remember, strangers will download and hang notices of public events in other neighborhoods your volunteers won't cover.
Distributing your Flyers and Posters
Event and public meeting announcements are welcome in many businesses, and public buildings.
Some suggested places include grocery stores -- which often have community bulletin boards, as do laundromats -- apartment complexes, senior centers and public libraries,. Cafés, book stores, medical offices, beauty salons, barber shops, student unions, and employment and social service agency offices will often allow event announcements to be taped to walls, and windows.
Ask permission before you post a flyer. If there is no one to ask, that is another matter. Check the laws before you attach a poster to telephone poles, at bus stop, train-station areas, etc. You can be cited, and fined in some areas, for applying posters illegally. Call city hall, or visit property owners -- you are likely to get permission.
Remember to carry your own special 'removable' tape. If it is for outdoor posting, you will want to use durable tape, but it shouldn't remove paint, and do not use nails or tacks. Don't damage another's property. Your poster lists your local contact information. Remember that, and remind your volunteers to abide by the laws.
If you prepare a small flyer for street distribution to passersby, those people handing out the flyers should be prepared to answer questions about the event.
