Take a look at this flyer…

Hard to miss with that vibrant blue background, brightly coloured shooting stars and enticing headline.

So hats off to the Sue Ryder charity.

First, for coming up with a new income stream.

Second, for taking an idea that is already proven to work (the Lottery).

Third, for investing in some marketing to spread the word among its supporters, loyal and casual.

It certainly worked on me.

I enjoy browsing charity shops for books which may not be in the local library or I’ve seen in book stores but wasn’t quite in the mood to buy at the time.

One such charity shop is the Sue Ryder in a town about 15 minutes’ drive from my home.

I only went in to browse their bookshelves.

I found a book (“Superfreakonomics”) and only intended to buy the book. Do my little bit for charity.

I went up to the till.

That’s when my attention was taken by this flyer, or leaflet. Stuck to the side of the till.

My eyes took in the colour. My eyes took in the word ‘Lottery’. My eyes took in the word ‘Win’. My eyes saw the numbers… £1,000… £100… £50… and so on.

I saw the call to action and the price. Just a pound to have a go.

I was sold. I entered the prize draw.

This flyer did a pretty good job. And let’s just think about this flyer for a moment.

I did not hear about the lottery or weekly prize draw for Sue Ryder on Facebook.

I did not hear about it on Twitter. Or LinkedIn. Or on Instagram. Or on SnapChat. Or on WhatsApp.

Or on ANY of the social media channels.

There may well be ‘chat’ about it on the Internet but I’ve not yet seen it. And it would be a good move by Sue Ryder to get it ‘out there’ so people can spread the message on their behalf.

But the charity has shown a lot of commonsense with its marketing here.

This is ‘old school’ marketing. This is traditional marketing. This is marketing which (when done well) is proven to work, time and time again.

The good old fashioned flyer.

And this one is a pretty good example.

I love the simple design. It’s clean, relatively uncluttered and shiny bright.

The bold colours catch the eye. The simple word ‘Lottery’ grabs your attention and tells you instantly what it’s about (we all know what a lottery is).

The word ‘Win’ is mentioned THREE times in four lines. It’s a powerful word.

And there’s a subtle psychological at work here, too.

The prize money is quite small. The top prize is only £1,000. Why bother when the national lottery or Euromillions give you the opportunity to become a millionaire or multi-millionaire?

Well, here’s the thing.

The odds of winning the national lottery jackpot are something like 14 million to one.

People obviously buy in the hope they may get lucky. But deep down they know it’s unlikely.

The difference with this charity’s lottery is it’s on a smaller scale. Not only are the odds of winning higher, the chances seem more realistic to the ticket holder.

It therefore makes it a more attractive purchase (and half the price of the national one). As well as the top prize there is a prize for £100 and one for £50. Hardly ‘life-changing’ but nice enough. (And you can bet if someone wins once, they’re going to be encouraged to have another go).

Plus (as the flyer says) there are more opportunities to win.

Ten chances to win a tenner. Fifty chances to win a fiver.

The flyer also informs you this is a WEEKLY draw. (Which places in your mind the idea that you can make this a regular – weekly – activity).

Plus, of course, the clear call to action in four words (and the line also includes the price of entry).

A simple flyer. Old school.

It’s a great choice for a charity with a physical shop.

Their audience is most likely to be adults of mature or elderly age. People who are more likely to pop into their local charity shop than visit the charity’s website or social media pages. Not exclusively, of course. But more likely. And even those who do use social media are likely to be minded to visit their local shop in the High Street (it’s certainly how I would drive things – and also give people the chance to enter online via the website).

The flyer can be used as a mini-poster in the shop window or in-store.

The flyer can be handed to customers and visitors to the shop – whether they buy a ticket or not.

The flyer can be passed on by the visitor to a friend, colleague or family member. “Here, Agnes, have you seen this new lottery thing Sue Ryder is doing?”. So, it aids word of mouth.

As with any idea, the thing to do is research it, make it, run it and test it. I’m sure the charity has looked into the numbers and calculated this is a good way for them to boost their income.

A customer buys a book in the shop. At the till, the assistant can ask: “Would you like to buy a lottery ticket as well today? You could win a thousand pounds. It’s only a pound a ticket?”

The same if the customer buys some clothing, household items, trinkets, or other donated gift.

If you are a bricks and mortar business, a flyer can be a useful marketing tactic for you. A way to entice people in. A way for you to increase footfall. A way for you to get people browsing. A way for customers, old and new, to get buying.

Try it. Test for yourself. Let me know how you get on. I love capturing success stories.