I know social media seems to rule the marketing world right now but I think that when it comes to special events, an invitation that someone can physically hold is extremely effective. Especially for busy people, having a flyer or invite that they can stick on the fridge and see daily is more powerful than seeing a Facebook post for five seconds.

When I’m writing this article, it’s September so I’m going to make a Fall Fest flyer as an example but these steps are just as applicable for Christmas, Easter, VBS, or any other event you may have coming up.

Choose a Practical Background

You can use a picture or an actual graphic background but I’m going to use a simple texture. I highly recommend a textured background for banners or yard signs as well because it’s easy to add design elements and information on top without making it look like a cluttered mess.

I’m going to use this paper texture provided free for commercial use by simlik on flickr.com. In order to keep this article from being too long, I won’t go into too much detail about the design process itself. I will, however, link all the files and fonts that I’m using as well as leave some design notes for those familiar with Photoshop. If you’d like a detailed design tutorial just let me know!

Here’s where we’re at so far with our paper background and a few adjustments.

DESIGN NOTE: I added a white background layer beneath the texture and a gradient layer above it that faded from white to dark brown. I then lowered the texture opacity to 30%, changed the gradient opacity to 40% and changed the gradient layer blending mode to multiply.

I know, not too exciting, but we’re getting there!

Use Graphic Elements Wisely

This is one of the areas of design where people can go a little crazy. Creating something that’s eye catching is fantastic but you can absolutely have too much of a good thing. I’d suggest sticking with a single set of graphic elements to keep things cohesive and using them minimally. You want to enhance the design and create a theme, but you don’t want it to look unprofessional or overwhelming. I used this graphic pack  by MyClipArtStore to add a fall theme.

Here’s our progress so far with the addition of graphic elements.

DESIGN NOTE: I used Photoshop blending modes (linear burn for the acorn and color burn for the leaves) to blend it onto the paper background.

Embrace Clean and Easy to Read Fonts

If your flyer is frustrating to read, people probably won’t read it. It’s just the truth. I like to stick with more whimsical fonts for headers and titles and utilize plain san-serif fonts for the important information. For this flyer I decided to go with Monica Script for my header and Bebas Neue for my main text.

Here’s the basic setup for now.

DESIGN NOTE: Bebas Neue is free for commercial use and you can find Monica Script on various sites for free but it is for PERSONAL USE ONLY. I would highly suggest purchasing Monica Script if you’re planning to use the font in any type of marketing.

Include Key Information

I touched on this next point in my article titled 6 Announcement Slide Mistakes and How to Fix Them, but it’s extremely important to get across the four key points to any event; What, When, Where, and Why. I’d also like to add that since this is a hand-out instead of an in church announcement slide, you’ll want to add contact information as well. We’re going to include the following information to satisfy these questions:

1. Event Title
2. Date and Time
3. Church/Event Location
4. What will be fun about the event
5. Church logo, contact, and social media info

Here’s where we’re at now.

DESIGN NOTE: I put the date and time text behind the leave to create that overlay effect. Some of the text in the middle portion isn’t as easy to read but we’ll fix that in the last step.

Incorporate Branding, Social Media, and Contact Info

This is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle! Adding your logo, contact info, and social media is incredibly important. Especially if these flyers will be going to your neighbors that don’t currently attend your church, you’ll want them to have access to information to contact someone or take a look at your church community online. I used a social media pack that no longer seems to be available but here’s another good option. They don’t have an updated Instagram icon but it’s a good start and it’s free!

Here’s where we’re at at this stage.

Add Finishing Touches

Now is the perfect time to look over your flyer and see of any adjustments need to be made. I think I’m going to adjust some of the font colors and sizes, logo size, and the location of the acorn.

Here’s our finished flyer!

Another great option to market your event is to use invite cards. Just set your document to business card size (3.5×2 in), put the title, date, time, address, and info on the front and your church logo, contact info, and social media info on the back. They fit perfectly in your wallet and it’s easy for your congregation to hand them out to their neighbors and friends.

Was this article helpful? What awesome events does your church have coming up? I’d love to hear from you!