How to make a leaflet with zero budget

You don’t need to be creative to make a good leaflet!

Do you need to make a leaflet for your small charity, community organisation or public service, but not sure where to start?

I would always recommend working with a professional creative team if you have that option at all. But in my experience working in smaller services and community organisations we rarely have that luxury. We're just doing the best we can with what we’ve got. So if what you’ve got is a budget of zero pounds and zero pence and no graphic design or content writing experience, this is the guide for you!

1. Figure out what people need to know before you start.

When you think about giving this leaflet to people, what need will it meet? What is it that people will need to know?

The important thing to remember here is that it’s not about what you want to tell people, or what the service needs people to know.

Two key things to consider:

a) At what point in their journey are people going to read this?

The home covid test leaflets didn’t need to explain covid or the latest rules, they just needed to show people how to use this test they’ve just got. If they included any other info, did you read it?

Think about when people will read this leaflet. Will they know a bit about your service already, or are you introducing yourself for the first time?
Knowing this will help you prioritise and make sure the information you’re giving is relevant and useful in that moment. You can leave out the finer details they won’t need to think about until later on.

b) What do you want them to do after reading it?

This is the “and then what?” question - Why are you making a leaflet? There’s always something we’ll want people to do - maybe to contact you, fill in a form, or make a decision about how they want you to help them. Sometimes leaflets are just about giving a physical copy of important information because it’s hard to take it all in during an appointment, or remember everything to discuss it with family when they get home.

Whatever the goal is, focus your leaflet around the information they’ll need in order to do that.

Tip: Ask admin or reception colleagues about the enquiries they get. Usually there are some really common questions people will be asking that you can answer in the leaflet like, “is it free?” and “how do I register?”

2. Think about who needs to know this and what’s the best way to tell them

This may seem like an obvious one, but don’t be that project team that puts “make a leaflet” in the action plan just because it's the default option.

Leaflets can be a helpful way to promote your service and reach new people, especially folks who aren’t online and might be socially isolated. But leaflets also have a habit of floating around long after the information in them has gone out of date, and they’re not easy to make accessible.

A selection of photocopied leaflets found in my local library. This is how leaflets reproduce in the wild. Extra tip: Photocopy your draft leaflet to check it holds up to photocopying. And put a note on the back for how professionals can re-order the originals!

So just give some thought to whether it’s the best way to share this information with the people who need it.

A few alternatives to consider:

• A poster: If your aim is to catch people’s eye in the local community, your info will be more visible on a noticeboard than tucked away in a leaflet rack. Lots of GP surgeries, pharmacies and other community venues have digital displays instead of noticeboards too, to make this even easier.

• A “factsheet”: If you’re seeing people in person and giving important information to read and make a decision or prepare for their next step, a simpler factsheet can be easier to keep up to date, stand up better to the tragically inevitable photocopying. It can also be easier produce alternative formats if you make a Word Doc version available for your colleagues to adapt to people’s individual accessibility needs.

• A page on your website: If you communicate with people via email or text, linking to a page on your website can be more convenient for them, easier for you to keep up to date and make accessible. If you keep the page simple, you’ll be able to print it out for people who need a paper copy.

3. Weird Design tip: If you don’t have Canva, try PowerPoint?

If you have Canva, you’ll know it’s a godsend to small organisations with no creative team. You can do quite a lot with a free basic account, and if you’re a registered non-profit organisation you can get a Canva pro account for free.

But if you’d prefer to stick with something more familiar, and you usually use Microsoft Word then maybe consider giving PowerPoint a go.

No really - If you usually use Word, you’ll know it can be tricky getting images and textboxes to line up when you’re doing something creative - but in PowerPoint you have all the text boxes and shapes you’re used to in Word, but they’ll stay where you put them. Plus, there are some handy tools for editing your images.

When you start set the slide size to A4, and when you’re finished save as PDF for easier printing.

Whatever you’re using to design your leaflet, take a look at our 10 Beginner Tips for Leaflet Accessibility along the way.

4. Get some good quality photos (for free!)

Sure, all of them make you crave donuts, but a real photo makes it easier for you to imagine eating the donut. The right photos can help people imagine using your service and achieving the goal they’re looking for your help with.

Good photos can add a lot to a leaflet - friendly faces show people you’re approachable, and photos of the service reassure people about what to expect.

But if you don’t have your own photos, here are a few places to look:

• Unsplash.com is a whole site full of high-quality photos, and most you can download for free.

• The Centre for Ageing Better’s age-friendly image library is full of high-quality positive and realistic photos of over 50’s

• Sport England’s image library offers a wide selection of sport and physical activity images to download for free

• And Better Allies lists lots more sites that feature photos and illustrations featuring people from underrepresented groups

Don’t be tempted to take photos off Google - it’s illegal to use images in your promotional materials without permission.

5. Run a few options by people, and see what works best

Once you’ve got a first draft, run a few copies off the office printer and take it out and about.

The thing is, we'll know our own service too well to judge whether the leaflet will make sense to someone who's new to it, so we need other people’s input.

Different people’s feedback will be valuable in different ways, so aim for a mix:

Community events can be a quick and easy way to take your draft leaflet out and see what people think

• Subject matter experts: Colleagues who know the details and can check you’re not giving inaccurate information.
  Tip: Ask them to check if anything is incorrect - not to check that it’s correct. It’s a subtle difference but helps avoid ‘corrections’ asking you to add more detail or use jargon.

• Experts by experience: People who know what it’s like to use the service and can check your leaflet gives the information people need.
  Tip: Ask colleagues to take a draft leaflet to their appointments to see if anyone minds giving feedback.

• The public: People who know nothing about your service who can check the leaflet makes sense and gives a good first impression.
  Tip: Take a draft out with you to community events, and ask people what they think when they stop by your stand.