Picking the right leaflet distribution plan in London comes down to matching the method to the goal. Solus, shared, and selected street drops each work for different budgets, timelines, and target areas. This guide breaks down how each one performs so you can pick the plan that pulls real responses without wasted spend.
Key Takeaways
- Solus distribution sends your leaflet out on its own, which costs more per thousand but pulls the strongest response, making it the safer pick for one-off offers, new shop openings, or services that need quick calls.
- Shared distribution drops costs by roughly half and groups your leaflet with one or two non-competing items, which suits tight budgets and awareness campaigns where reach matters more than urgency.
- Selected street lets you choose specific streets, postcodes, or house numbers, keeping a solus-level response while narrowing the geography for local services like estate agents, tutors, and dog walkers.
- GPS tracker reports add accountability to any plan by showing exactly where distributors walked, so you know the leaflets reached real letterboxes rather than guessing.
Picking the wrong distribution plan wastes money fast. You spend weeks designing the leaflet, paying the printer, then wait for a response that arrives slower than expected. The leaflet was fine. The targeting was off. Or the plan you chose just did not match what the campaign needed. There are three main ways to get leaflets through London letterboxes. Each one has its place. The trick is matching the plan to the goal you want. Leaflet distribution sets the pace from there.
Solus distribution Solus means your leaflet goes out on its own. Nothing else goes with it. The distributor walks the route carrying only your material. So when someone pulls the post out of the letterbox, your leaflet is the first thing they see. That kind of attention costs more. It also pulls in the strongest response. If you are running a one-off offer, opening a new shop, or pushing a service that needs quick calls, Solus leaflet distribution in London tends to be the safer pick.
You pay more per thousand. You also get fewer rivals fighting for the reader’s eye.
Shared distribution
Shared distribution puts your leaflet alongside one or two other items. Nothing is competing with what you do. So a Thai takeaway will not share a round with another Thai takeaway. A plumber will not share with another plumber.
Costs drop sharply. Roughly half of what Solus runs.
The response can be a touch softer. People sometimes flick past a stack of leaflets faster than they would a single one. For businesses with a tight budget, or for awareness campaigns where reach matters more than quick calls, shared often makes sense.
A lot of small London businesses start here. Build a presence first. Move to Solus once the cash flow allows.
Selected street
This one is for the picky. You decide which streets, which postcodes, sometimes which house numbers. London Circular’s team will walk only those. No spillover, no guesswork.
Estate agents lean on this often. So do tutors, dog walkers, and anyone running a service that only works within a small radius. If you sell within a one-mile catchment, dropping leaflets six miles away is wasted spend.
Selected street keeps the solus-level response. It just narrows the geography.
So which one fits?
Honestly, it depends. A few quick prompts to think through before booking:
- How tight is the budget?
- How urgent is the campaign?
- Is the customer base local, or spread across boroughs?
- Have you tested distribution before, or is this the first time?
If you are unsure, Solus and Selected Street give you the strongest results for a serious push. Shared works well for slow-build awareness. Some businesses combine plans across different months. A solus drop in March. A shared one in April. Then a selected street round in May for a postcode that performed well.
GPS tracker reports are worth adding to any plan. They show where the distributors actually walked, street by street. No guessing whether the leaflets reached real letterboxes.
A free chat with London Circular Distribution usually answers the question. The team has spent over a decade walking these streets. They know which postcodes pull responses and which ones do not. Three generations of family experience also help. Granddads, fathers, and the current team have all walked the same routes.
Get in touch with London Circular Distribution for a free quote, or call the team to find out which plan fits the business best.
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