Direct Mail

Flyer Sizes and Dimensions

By 7 January 2023January 9th, 2023No Comments
marketing flyers

What Is The Ideal Flyer Size To Ensure The Best Results For Your Campaigns?

We often fall for the statement “the bigger, the better” in most real-life situations. Let it be ordering a large scoop of ice cream or picking the massive screen for your home entertainment system. But is it always the case? More particularly, is it the case with the flyer size for your marketing campaign?

marketing flyers

Indeed, you don’t want to send gigantic flyers to your prospects. It is in no way practical, whether you look at it from a budget point of view or for logistics. In other words, bigger is not always better. But does that mean the opposite is true for flyer dimensions for your marketing campaign? Is the smaller, the better?

Well, imagine getting a flyer the size of a folded dollar bill. That’s probably not the best flyer size for your campaign, either. So the question is, what is the ideal size for your flyers? How can you ensure you get the best flyer campaign results or provide the highest ROI?

Below we discuss the answer to all of these questions and more.

What Is A Flyer?

In Layman’s terms, a flyer is nothing but a piece of paper which contains an advertisement. A marketing flyer typically consists of printed texts and images promoting a product, service, or event. It is one of the oldest forms of advertising that we still use today.

The concept of flyers was around even back in ancient times. It survived two world wars and was all the hype back in the 90s. Of course, its popularity has come down since then because of digital media. Most digital marketers are not familiar with printed flyers or understand what is the best size for a flyer.

On the other hand, a small number of digital marketers utilize flyers for running successful campaigns. It makes you wonder whether the marketing flyers or flyer dimension is still relevant, especially for digital-first businesses.

Why Does The Flyer Size Matter For Your Flyer Marketing Campaign?

Above, we discussed a few reasons why flyer dimensions could affect your business marketing campaign. However, those are not the only reasons you should concern yourself with the size of your flyers. Here are some reasons or situations where the paper size of your flyers matters.

Logistics

It is easy to get lost in the marketing aspect of your business flyers that you forget all about its logistics. So make sure that your flyer size does not pose a logistic challenge. But if you are looking for an easy way out, you can always outsource your flyer marketing to a print and mail service like PostGrid. 

Message And Purpose Of The Mailer

When deciding on the flyer dimension for your campaign, you must first consider the message and the purpose of the mailer. Using unique paper sizes to make your flyers stand out may be tempting. But it may be counterproductive if you do not consider the flyer’s message and purpose.

Convenience

Imagine you are at an expo, and someone hands over a flyer with ridiculous flyer dimensions to you. Would you carry it around with you for the rest of the evening or ditch it the first chance you get? We bet that you would go for the second option.

Flyers should be convenient to carry around and store away. Using an extra big marketing flyer may seem like a good idea, but it may not have the desired impact. However, there are always exceptions. The key is identifying these exceptions and employing the correct flyer sizes each time.

Postal System 

Another aspect people tend to forget when dealing with flyer marketing is the postal system they use. We understand that some of you may not need to consider this because you like distributing flyers the old-fashioned way – in person. In that case, no, you don’t have to worry about the flyer size for your campaign.

However, most businesses send their marketing flyers via mail and for good reasons. Sending flyers via direct mail enables you to target your audience better, ultimately leading to better results. Hence, you must ensure that you use a flyer size that postal systems, such as Canada Post, can process quickly.

You must understand that postal service providers like Canada Post use advanced machinery to sort their mail. So, using standard flyer dimensions for your direct mail campaigns is always best. An even better idea would be to use print and mail solutions like PostGrid. Using software solutions like PostGrid ensures that you always use standard sizes for all your mailers.

Non-Standard Alternatives And Square Flyers,

Of course, you don’t always have to use standard flyer sizes for your marketing campaigns. You always have the option to pick a non-standard option as an acceptable alternative for your campaign. Take square postcards, for example. 

They are perfect if you want your mailer to stand out from the rest. However, we suggest using flyer dimensions of approximately 148mm x 148mm for the square flyers because this size does not reach far away from the standard flyer size.

Automated Print And Mail Tools

Printing marketing materials in bulk and mailing them is no cakewalk. It takes significant time and effort to send a few dozen flyers or direct mail. The process can get so overwhelming that the flyer size might be the last thing on your mind. Hence., most organizations find it more practical to use an automated print and mail solution like PostGrid.

PostGrid’s print and mail API integrates seamlessly with your website and CRM solution. It lets you conveniently print personalized direct mail, including flyers, postcards, brochures, and more. And the best part is that you can pick a standard flyer size directly. So, the next time you want to send a direct marketing mail, you don’t have to read an article like this one.

And the truth is that not having to worry about flyer sizes constantly is just one of the simpler things you get with PostGrid. You can access numerous other advanced features and capabilities using PostGrid. It helps you streamline your entire direct mail marketing and business communication via mail. Here are some features you can access with PostGrid’s print and mail solution. 

  • Mailing History
  • Standard Mail Tracking
  • Meta Data Tagging
  • Template Editor
  • Bulk Mailing using CSV file.

What Are The Most Common Flyer Sizes You Can Use?

We know that neglecting the feeling of using a unique flyer size for your marketing campaigns is challenging. While you can occasionally try mixing things up with the size of the flyer, you can hardly make it a habit. 

In other words, you must know the standard flyer sizes you can use for your campaigns. Furthermore, there is also a good chance that printing and mailing unique-size flyers cost you more than traditional flyers. 

Typically, the standard flyer dimensions are the same size as regular computer paper. However, the A4 size papers are also relatively normal. Then there are also other smaller sizes for flyers that you can use. Here are some of the most common paper sizes you can use for flyer marketing campaigns. 

Flyer Type Flyer Dimensions (Inches)
Standard or Letter Size (Most Common) 8.5” x 11”
A4 8.3” x 11.7”
A5 8.3” x 5.8”
A6 5.8” x 4.1”
One-Third Of A4 or DL (Dimension Lengthwise)  8.3” x 3.9”
Rack Cards 4” x 9”
Half Sheet 5.5” x 8.5”

Neighbourhood Mail

A business organization intending to use a flyer marketing campaign must familiarize itself with Canada Post Neighbourhood Mail. Neighbourhood Mail or Unaddressed Mail is a postal service from Canada Post that lets you send marketing mailers at a low cost. Hence, knowing the standard flyer size for Neighbourhood Mail is crucial.

As you can imagine, this postal service is one of the most cost-effective ways to send your marketing flyers. Furthermore, Canada Post lets you use both sides of the paper for promoting your product and even has an oversize option. Hence, it is perfect for sending your marketing flyers. Below are the flyer sizes you can use for standard and oversize Neighbourhood Mail.

Neighbourhood Mail Type Dimensions (Inches)
Standard Neighbourhood Mail 6” x 12”
Oversize Neighbourhood Mail 9” x 12”

Personalized Mail

Personalized Mail or Addressed Mail is the mail you send with an address. These are not as affordable as Neighborhood Mail. However, on the flip side, it allows you to target your marketing efforts better. You can even choose to personalize your mailers to impact the audience better. Hence, it is worth knowing the standard flyer size for Personalized Mail.

Similar to the Neighbourhood Mail, this one also has an oversize option. So, you can use the oversize option to convey more information to the audience. However, the standard flyer sizes are more than enough to run a successful direct mail campaign. The following table shows the dimensional requirements of the standard and oversize Personalized Mail.

Neighbourhood Mail Type Dimensions (Inches)
Standard Personalized Mail 6.1” x 9.6”
Oversize Personalized Mail 14.9” x 14.9”

Smaller Direct Mail

Another flyer dimension you can try out for your direct mail campaign is the smaller direct mail. It is ideal for creating an invitation-like direct mail for your campaign. The smaller size also makes it perfect for handing out to people attending an event or trade show. The standard size for a small direct mail is 4″ x 6″.

What Is The Best Size For A Flyer?

Now that you know the standard or most common flyer dimensions let’s discuss the best size for a flyer. The rule of thumb for selecting the perfect size for your marketing flyer is to consider the content and how you intend to distribute it. For instance, a marketing flyer you place on a notification board or wall is usually in the extra-large format.

Such a flyer can house more information and easily catch the attention of people passing by. Hence, in this case, the old ‘the bigger, the better the” argument is valid for your flyer dimension or size. But if you want to send the flyers personally to your audience at their home or office address, you need smaller flyers.

Besides that, you also need to consider your budget for printing and mailing the flyers. We advise you to pick a flyer size and base your design around that size. It is much better than doing it the other way around, as you may often encounter roadblocks. You also need to consider the postage for your flyers and ensure it matches your budget.

Consider using an automated print and mail solution like PostGrid to optimize your expenses and ensure a high ROI. It allows you to bypass several time-consuming processes, including choosing a standard flyer size for your campaign.

Why Does Your Business Need Flyers?

Before explaining the different flyer sizes, you can use, let us explain why you need to use flyers for marketing. The first thing to know about marketing flyers is that they quickly grab the reader’s attention. There isn’t a better way to convey small information to your target audience than flyers.

Using the right flyer size lets you capture the reader’s attention and convey your message in a single glance. People always throw away flyers, but that’s only because of poor execution and targeting.

Think about it. You always glance at the flyer once it reaches your hand. It’s almost like a reflex. Therefore, it’s about presenting a relevant message or offer with the proper flyer size to the target audience. Here are some everyday situations where you can use marketing flyers for your business.

  • Promote a sale happening in your brick-and-mortar or online store
  • It lets your target audience know that your brand is open for business
  • Start a dialogue with your target audience with a product/service fact sheet
  • Advertise your brand and what it does for the target audience
  • Give away in-hand or redeemable coupons to customers
  • Advertise an upcoming event you are planning or taking part in
  • Grand opening of your business outlet in that locality

Conclusion

There is no question that flyer marketing is one of the most effective ways to grab your audience’s attention today. Most people are tired of seeing the same old marketing methods on digital platforms. You can get the edge over your competition with the right flyer marketing campaign. 

It is significantly easier to catch customer attention using a printed flyer with the right flyer size for your campaign. However, direct mail itself is a challenging marketing tactic to implement. It is a waste of your time to fret over paper sizes. 

It is better to use a print and mail automation solution like PostGrid to take care of your flyer marketing campaigns. A system like PostGrid ensures that you can easily choose a standard flyer size for your campaign. But that’s just the beginning.

Advanced tools like PostGrid offer a holistic direct mail solution that takes care of all your direct mail marketing and communication needs. You can send everything from personalized marketing materials to invoices and other crucial documents via PostGrid.