A flyer gets a glance: often under ten seconds at a door, a noticeboard or a school gate. It has one job, which is to get one action from one audience. Everything that doesn't serve that job comes off.
Best for: doorsteps, events, noticeboards, letterboxes. Length: under 100 words on the front. Pairs with: Template: social media posts (same message, same image).
The structure
The layout follows AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action), a sales formula attributed to E. St. Elmo Lewis around 1898 and still the standard for short persuasive print.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [HEADLINE: your core message, ≤ 8 words] │ ← Attention
│ │
│ [ONE IMAGE: a real person, place or thing │
│ your audience recognises] │
│ │
│ [SUBHEAD: the problem or promise in one │ ← Interest
│ concrete sentence, with a number] │
│ │
│ • [POINT 1: fact + source in brackets] │ ← Desire
│ • [POINT 2: fact + source] │
│ • [POINT 3: a real, named endorser] │
│ │
│ [ACTION: one verb, one date, one place] │ ← Action
│ [HOW: web address, phone, meeting place] │
│ │
│ [WHO WE ARE / PAID FOR BY: name, address] │ ← Credibility
└───────────────────────────────────────────┘
Fill-in notes
| Slot | Write | Technique it uses | Keep it fair |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline | Your core message from Messaging. Concrete, contrastive, ≤ 8 words. | Messaging, Framing | No virtue word without something checkable behind it (Glittering generalities). |
| Image | A real local scene or a real supporter, photographed with permission. | Narrative: one person beats a crowd | No stock photo presented as a local resident; no AI-made "resident" (Synthetic media). |
| Subhead | The problem or promise, with one number and its comparison. | Emotional appeal: hope or worry, honestly sized | The number needs its denominator (Card stacking). |
| Points | Three facts, each with a short source. | Evidence and credibility | Only real, named endorsers (Testimonial). |
| Action | One verb: vote, sign, come, call. Date, time and place. | Efficacy: fear or hope needs a way to act | One action only. |
| Who we are | Name, contact, and "paid for by" if applicable. | Credibility | Check the imprint rules where you publish. |
Filled example: for
Invented case: Riverton's Measure 12, a half-cent sales tax for buses every ten minutes.
BUSES EVERY TEN MINUTES. YES ON 12.
[Photo: a parent and child at the Route 4 stop on Elm Street, used with permission.]
Right now the Route 4 bus comes every 40 minutes. Measure 12 makes it every 10.
• Six routes, every ten minutes, from next September (Measure 12 text, section 3) • About $X a year for a typical household (Riverton fiscal note, p. 4) • Backed by the Riverton Parent-Teacher Association
Vote YES on 12, Tuesday 3 November. Polling places: riverton.example/vote
Paid for by Riverton Families for Transit, 12 Elm St. Not authorised by any candidate.
Filled example: against
KEEP MAIN STREET FAIR. NO ON 12.
[Photo: the owner of Harlow Hardware in her shop, used with permission.]
Measure 12 would make Riverton's sales tax half a point higher than the next county's, two miles away.
• Three Main Street shops closed last year (Riverton business licence register) • The county transport grant could fund two of the six routes with no new tax (county grant schedule, 2026) • Backed by the Riverton Chamber of Commerce
Vote NO on 12, Tuesday 3 November. Council meeting on alternatives: Thursday 14th, 7pm, Town Hall.
Paid for by Main Street First, 40 Main St. Not authorised by any candidate.
Both are invented, including every figure, name and address. In a real flyer, replace each placeholder with a sourced fact or cut it.
A real one to study
The 1978–79 UK Conservative poster "Labour Isn't Working" (Saatchi & Saatchi) is a well-known one-glance piece: a three-word headline with a double meaning, one image of a queue, and a line of copy. The queue was staged with Conservative volunteers, which today's fair-play check would ask you to disclose. Compare the archive's US wartime government posters, such as Loose Lips Might Sink Ships and We Can Do It!, which use the same one-image, one-line structure.