FlyersWith the advent of social-networking, blogging, and straight email marketing, the value of physical flyering as a form of advertising has certainly come into question. Is the labor, cost, and time of distributing flyers still worthwhile? Is the age-old method still effective? If you’re a club owner or a promotional manager, you should know that the answer is yes.

Many clubs have embraced technology as the new way to get the masses to their venues. Facebook events have become a staple for effective promotions. Potential customers can get online, RSVP, discuss, and even add photos related to your club’s events. Today, if you impress an influential blogger with your lavish venue, you can reach thousands of people. Just take a look at Down By The Hipster, an NYC nightlife blog run by Scott Solish. Hundreds of daily readers visit the site for info on New York’s hottest clubs and a good chunk of the content is provided by reader tips. You can’t ignore the effectiveness of the net as a promotional tool - but is it the be all and end all of advertising?

The fact is that online communications will never replace the direct method of passing out and posting flyers. Let’s get one thing straight: dedicated clubbers don’t spend their nights on Facebook, chatting (does IRC even still exist? Google thinks so), or scouring Flickr for pictures of digital flyers. They’re walking the walk amongst the nightlife crowd. This fact alone puts value in flyering. You’re target market will definitely be walking past (or hopefully right into) your club tonight.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here are some tips for managing your flyer distribution:

  • You can use a generic template for flyers if you want to save money and get flyers out on a regular basis. It’s good advertising for slower nights and it gets the name of your club right out on the street.
  • For large scale events you should put some money into a good graphic artist. You can’t argue that an attractive flyer won’t attract eyeballs.
  • If you manage your own promotions, get your staff to distribute close to the club. It doesn’t take long and can easily be implemented as a regular task for bar opening.
  • To extend your flyering radius, hire trustworthy high school or college students. Payment can be a low fee or free tickets to a club event if they’re of age.
  • Track flyers. It’s easy to find out if that “trustworthy” kid lives up to his or her description by quickly passing by a random spot you had on their target list.
  • Use tracking codes to find out who worked hard at passing out handbills and offer them incentives for keeping it up.
  • Stay on good (or great) terms with your neighbors - offer them a free drink at your club. You can’t beat the effectiveness of a big flyer in a nearby storefront’s window.

While the cost of flyering can be a larger marketing expense than free online methods, you should never underestimate how beneficial a well-placed flyer can be.