Local marketing
How to A/B test two leaflet offers without guessing
Split areas, split QR links, compare scans and calls. A practical way to learn which headline wins before you reprint thousands.
- Author
- flyerfly team
- Published
- Reading time
- 2 min read
"We tried leaflets once" usually means one design, one message, mixed results, no learning. A/B testing print sounds fancy. For local businesses it is simple: two offers, two areas, two tracked links, compare response.
No guesswork required if you split geography cleanly and change only the headline between versions.
Design the test
Version A: headline focused on price (e.g. "Fixed-price boiler check €89").
Version B: headline focused on speed or area (e.g. "Same-week slots in [area]").
Keep layout, size, logo, and distribution date identical except the headline and QR destination slug. Change one variable at a time.
Split areas, do not mix
Deliver version A to estate north of the river, version B to estate south. Mixing both creatives in the same street ruins the readout. Aim for similar household counts (200 to 400 each).
If areas differ too much demographically, note it when you interpret results.
Track each version separately
Give each QR code its own tracked URL. Use matching offer codes on the phone if you take calls manually. Run both drops the same week so weather and season match.
After 14 days, compare scans, calls, and booked jobs per thousand homes.
Pick a winner, iterate
Winner becomes control for the next test: maybe A5 vs A6, or photo vs illustration. Loser gets retired, not reprinted at scale. Small tests prevent expensive mistakes.
Run the test when business is normal, not during a holiday shutdown or extreme weather week, or you will blame the creative for bad timing.
Photograph both versions on a kitchen counter before print. If version B is hard to read at arm's length, fix type size before you split areas.
Label boxes A and B clearly at the printer. Mixed batches ruin the test and waste paper you could spend on the winning headline.
Document the result in one sentence: "Area X, offer B won on scans and calls." Future you will thank present you.
flyerfly lets you compare scan counts per link without building tracking yourself.
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