The following information is published with ROUNDALAB's permission from the ROUNDALAB Reference Manual compiled by Richard & Jo Ann Lawson, 1987.

Flyer/Advertising Preparation

Betty & Dave Quinton (Colorado)

Our ventures into round dance teaching have followed twenty-five years of experience in the advertising sales fields; Dave selling pharmaceuticals to doctors and Betty in commercial art. Hopefully, sharing some of our thoughts about advertising will be of help to Roundalab members.

The entire economy of this country is largely dependent upon the selling job done by a variety of forms of advertising, and dance is no exception. It goes without saying, that you must know your business, teach well and cue properly... that is, have a good product to sell. But if no one knows about you, you could be the best of the best and have no following.

We all know that "word-of-mouth" cannot be surpassed as a selling tool. A friend tells a friend who tells another friend, etc., etc., etc. However, this must be supplemented in order to widen the scope of your dancers. But which of the many advertising forms should you select? Unless you own a few oil wells, TV is way out of sight financially. Newspapers, even small ads, are also quite expensive. This is because lineage rates are based on total circulation. Notices in square/round dance state/council bulletins approach realistic costs. The area covered is usually fairly large and is fine for open dances, advanced seminars, etc. For classes at the beginning level, such coverage is still not cost-effective as new dancers tend to want to start "close to home".

Most of us, I believe, have found that, generally, flyers distributed at dances, meetings, etc., produce the most results for each dollar spent. For that reason, these remarks are about the preparation of flyers, although much can be applied to other media. Whichever way you advertise, make your plans as far in advance of the day you need distribution as possible. Six weeks lead time is optimal, two for preparation... four for distribution. "Hurry-ups" can become slap-dash and usually look it.

Foremost, and of paramount importance, is to present the most professional look you can achieve. Remember: this flyer will go to people who may not know you. Sloppy printing, jumbled design, Heaven forbid... a misspelled work, or lack of adequate information, subjectively tells the prospective customer (never forget, the dancers are your customers) that YOU are sloppy, jumbled, goof a lot, and really don't know what you are doing. It is easily worth a few extra dollars to get professional help. In most cities, of even 15,000 or more, the local print shops should be large enough to provide design help... for a small fee. You might be fortunate enough to have a friend or a club dancer who knows the advertising business, but you need more than someone who "draws" pretty well. If neither of these directions is feasible, consider the local high school art teacher. He/she would probably be thrilled to get a little outside work. (You might even get a dance recruit in the bargain.) Sometimes, even very small communities will have a newspaper with a staff that includes a person who would be interested in a free-lance job or two.

The size of, and method of production, will determine much about your flyer. Paper stock, for most printing methods, comes 8½ x 11 inches. Any deviation from that size usually requires special cutting, so money can be saved by conforming. "Quick Print" shops take a photo of the prepared flyer, make some form of "plate" and print from that. Most of these printers do pretty good work, give good service, and are fine for small advertising jobs. Be cautious in the use of light-sensitive duplicating machines of the Xerox type.

Some make gorgeous copies... other miserable ones. Good machines copy the blacks, black... not shades of grey, and the unused areas stay clean. Sophisticated duplicators will even print on colored paper and extra fancy ones in color. Rarely will this type of machine do a good job with photographs. Unless your needs are very small. If you have to pay for each copy (even at 4¢ per) the cost is often greater than a print job. Some business firms will allow use of their duplicators if you pay for the materials and paper, but others have strict rules against such practices. It's better to ask first than to lose a good job. It has happened!

Now that you have found someone to do the actual printing and/or art work, know the size of and how your flyer is to be reproduced, the next step is to decide what information to put on it. Make a list of EVERYTHING that could possibly pertain to the activity you are selling; the what, when, where, who, cost, etc., etc., etc. Read it over several times. Next, eliminate whatever you can, IN ADVERTISING, THE LESS SAID IS USUALLY THE MOST REMEMBERED as long as the essentials are covered. When your list is RIGHT, decide on the one most important item. As a sentence needs a subject, every ad needs a lead. Perhaps it is a dance title, a special caller's name, a date, whatever. This is your big feature... the words that you want to jump off the table from a surface covered with scads of different flyers.

Back to the list again. Select the one or two items that are second in their importance. For the "sub-head", as the seconds in importance are called, it is not too dangerous to select two, but no more! The balance of the information should be grouped together so that, at first glance, the overall design has only three or four elements.

After the information, think about adding a simple drawing. Very often a drawing tends to be notice before words and this is to your advantage... provided it does not confuse the design. Your flyer must stand up and yell "Look at me" in much less than a second or the observer's eye had gone on to something else. Regardless of the method of selling, you have only a moment to capture the customer's attention.

Assembly of the various elements is the next step. Be guided by your professional, but be able to competently judge what is done. Actually cut out, or at least imagine, the words as grey strips of paper... some large, some small. The idea is to make a pleasing design out of these strips. Design-wise, the space you do NOT use is every bit as important as what is used. Plan the blank areas as part of the design. Then, by replacing the grey pieces of paper with words, you have retained the pleasing design. Probably the lead line will be largest, sub-heads next size smaller, etc. Diagonals and/or curves help to add interest, but too many diagonals and/or curves create total confusion.

Your professional will do the actual work; hand-lettering, machine-set type, pressure sensitive letters, or even typewritten if the machine used is of top calibre. Strive for legibility! Simple, easily read type, either vertical or italic, is far preferable to tricky shaped letters. Most customers would rather ignore than struggle over words. If you are on your own, be sure that whatever is submitted for any form of printing is in black ink (or type) on white paper... NO PENCIL! Reproduction processes are less expensive if your original is the actual size of the finished product. Most printers can reduce or enlarge material, but there is often a charge and quality is lost beyond a ⅓ change in size either way.

Before submitting your flyer for reproduction, double and triple check it for accuracy... of spelling and information. Then have your partner or an associate do the same. It's too late for corrections after the printing is done, and it is frightening how little goofs slip by all of us.

The selection of paper is another item for your decision. Twenty pound stock is cheaper and more easily handled that heavier papers. White is the least expensive but not terrible interesting. Consider blank ink on colored paper. Usually the additional charge over white stock is nominal. Let the color you select work for you. Extra pale pastels are pretty in baby clothes, but for flyers, they usually look like dirty white. Too dark of a color, such as red or deep blue, will not provide enough contract for black ink to be easily legible. Warm colors, like corals and yellows, are "advancing" colors and attract attention. Cool colors, such as blues and greens, have a receding quality, but can express dignity or cool temperatures if, for instance, one of your big selling points is an air conditioned hall.

Quantity is your last decision, but definitely not the least important. Cost-wise, the charge for the preparation of the "plate" comes first and will be the same for one copy or 10,000. It is for this reason that the dollars do not increase at the same rate as numbers of copies. Even though paper products are sky-high on today's market, that portion of a print job is still the least expensive. When you place your order, do not skimp. If you run out of copies, a second printing will usually require the printer to make a new "plate", so it will cost you the same as a brand new flyer. It's much cheaper to order extras in the beginning.

We hope all of this will make your next batch of flyers less worrisome to prepare and more effective for you!

HAPPY ROUNDING!

Roundalab Journal, Summer, 1982