How to Make Free Business Cards & Flyers

Make your own business cards and fliers for free using your computer's word processing program.

Whether you're promoting your new cupcake delivery business, recruiting kids for piano lessons or letting the neighborhood know about your availability for dog walking, one of the easiest and most portable ways to advertise is through handouts--fliers and business cards. Fliers are simple one-page advertisements you can tack up on bulletin boards or hand out at events; business cards may be slipped into a wallet and pulled out when someone needs your business. Instead of paying high design fees, make your own at home for free using your computer's word processing program. Within a few minutes, you'll have designed your own handouts with zero expenses.

Things You'll Need

• Word processing program
• Digital images (optional)
• Digital logo (optional)

Instructions

Making Fliers

1. Open a word processing program; a standard 8.5 inch by 11 inch page defaults onto the screen. Type the headline for the flyer, such as "Big Band Music Tonight" or "Piano Lessons." Highlight the text and use the text toolbar at the top of the screen to change the font and color and increase the size to catch viewers' eyes.

2. Add more information to the flyer, such as your contact information, details of the upcoming advertised event or a description of your business or something for sale.

3. (Optional) Add a photo to the flyer by pulling down the "Insert" menu, clicking "Picture" and selecting "From File." Browse to the photo on your computer and double-click the file name; it appears on the flyer workspace.

4. (Optional) Add stock art to the flyer by pulling down the "Insert" menu, clicking "Picture" and selecting "Clip Art." Pull down the "Results should be" menu and check the "Clip Art" box for cartoonish graphics, "Photographs" for realistic graphics or both. Type a word or phrase, such as "guitar," "pool party" or "golf lessons" into the "Search for" box and click "Go." Scroll through the results and double-click a graphic for it to appear on the flyer. Repeat to add as many graphics as you prefer.

5. Give your flyer a border by pulling down the "Format" menu and selecting "Borders and Shading." Click the "Page Border" tab, click the "Box" button and select a line or graphic border design.

Making Business Cards

1. Open a word processing program, pull down the "File" menu and click "New." When the "New Document" panel opens, type the words "business cards" into the "Search online for" box and click "Go."

2. Scroll through the results and click on a template link to see a preview of the design. If you like it, click the "Download" button and within a few moments, a page of business cards will appear on your screen.

3. Click your cursor into the top-left business card box and type your contact details. Highlight the text and use the text toolbar to change the font, size and color.

4. (Optional) Pull down the "Insert" menu, click "Picture" and select "From File." Browse to a digital logo for your company on your computer and double-click the file name; it appears on the business card.

5. Highlight all of the card, including the text and optional logo, with your cursor and press the "Ctrl" and "C" keys on your keyboard to copy it. Click into the next business card on the page and press the "Ctrl" and "V" keys to paste in the selection. Repeat to paste each blank card on the page.

Tips & Warnings

• Word processing programs are available with every computer installation (such as Microsoft Word with the Microsoft Office Suite and WordPerfect). If you're using a very old computer or bought one that was used and had all of its software deleted, you can still make free business cards and fliers by downloading a free trial of the Microsoft Office Suite. If you have the Office Suite, your version may contain Microsoft Publisher, which is a desktop publishing and layout program that includes predesigned templates for both business cards and fliers. Another desktop publishing option is Adobe InDesign, which is part of the Adobe Creative Suite, a for-sale product that also offers a free downloadable trial.

References

• Baycon Group: Microsoft Word Tutorial

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish