Chapter 4
Leafleting
What is it?
Leafleting means distributing information leaflets in a public space. You might do a leafleting action in the streets, in a park, in a shopping mall. You can also post leaflets through people’s letterboxes.
How do you do it?
You will need:
- A short but concise text explaining the main issue you are campaigning on. Your should include:
- A short description of the problem you face
- A short description of your demands
- The name of your collective and of your campaign
- A hashtag, slogan or tagline
- Your social media contacts or a QR code leading to your social media or website.
- Decent design skills to create a visually appealing and easily readable leaflet
- A print budget
- Volunteers to help distribute the flyers.
Before you start leafleting your city or town at random, ask yourself some planning questions:
- Where do you want to distribute your leaflets?
- Is there an event linked to your issue that you can capitalise on?
- What audience are you targeting?
- Where are they?
Why and when should you use it?
Leafleting can be useful to raise awareness about your issue and spread information about your campaign.
It is especially useful for issues that do not receive much media attention and that are not well known by the public. It is also a quick and easy way to make your collective or campaign more visible.
However, leafleting is not very sustainable and can also result in a lot of littering. Consider these factors when deciding to go for this technique.