How We Turned a Simple Flyer into Over 1,000 New Users at Brighton SEO

Today, I wanted to delve into something that happened a while back, something that was a bit of a game-changer for us at Keywords People Use.

So picture this: we’d just launched KeywordsPeopleUse.com, and we’re looking for ways to make a splash, to get our name out there in the big wide world of SEO. Now, for those not in the know, Brighton SEO is one of the UK’s (if not the world’s) largest search engine optimisation conferences. Twice a year, thousands of SEO enthusiasts, experts, and newbies alike descend upon Brighton to share ideas, learn new things, and generally geek out over all things search-related.

We didn’t have a massive budget – in fact, we were working with pretty tight purse strings. But we knew that getting in front of this audience could be huge for us. So we did a bit of digging and found out that for a somewhat modest fee, we could include a flyer in the conference’s swag bags. You know the ones – those tote bags you get when you walk in, filled with flyers, stress balls, pens that probably won’t work by the time you get home, that sort of thing.

Now, here’s the thing: most people rifle through those bags, glance at the flyers, and then chuck them aside without a second thought. We needed our flyer to stand out, to grab attention, to make people stop and actually engage with it. So we put our thinking caps on and came up with a plan.

We decided to tap into something called the “curiosity gap.” It’s that little itch in your brain when you know just enough to be intrigued but not enough to be satisfied. Clickbait headlines use it all the time (you won’t believe what happened next…). We wanted to create that same effect but in a way that would genuinely engage people.

So, our flyer. On the front, in big bold letters, it simply said, “Are you a winner? Turn over to find out.” Curiosity piqued? We hoped so. On the back, we had a scratch-off panel, just like a lottery ticket, with the words “Free Prize Draw – Have you won?” underneath. Everyone loves a bit of a gamble, right?

Now, here’s a cheeky bit: every single card was a winner. Yes, we might have bent the traditional rules of a prize draw, but the point was to get people involved. Prizes ranged from free tickets to the next Brighton SEO, to Keywords People Use hoodies (very stylish, if I say so myself), and loads of free subscriptions to our platform.

But – and here’s the kicker – we didn’t tell them what they’d won on the flyer. To find out, they had to scan a QR code which took them to a special landing page on our site. There, they’d need to create a free account to reveal their prize. We made the sign-up process as smooth as possible – none of this twenty fields to fill in nonsense. Just a quick sign-in with Google or create a username and password, and Bob’s your uncle.

I have to admit, on the day of the conference, I was nervous as anything. I mean, would people even bother? Had we just wasted our (limited) budget on flyers that would end up in the bin? I wandered around the venue, trying not to look like some sort of weirdo lurking around, and then I saw it.

A delegate sat down next to me, swag bag in hand. She started flicking through the flyers, barely giving most of them a second glance. Then she got to ours. She paused, read “Are you a winner?” and turned it over. My heart did a little flip. She scratched off the panel, saw that she’d won, and then – success! – she scanned the QR code and signed up on her phone right then and there.

I was buzzing. But I still thought, maybe she’s just one keen bean. After the first session, I legged it back to my hotel room to check how many people had signed up. I was hoping for maybe 40 or 50 if we were lucky. Turns out, we’d already had a few hundred sign-ups within the first couple of hours. By the end of the conference, over a thousand people had gone through the process.

I was gobsmacked. In the best way possible, of course.

What did this teach me? Well, a few things, actually.

Firstly, sometimes it’s not about shouting the loudest or having the biggest stand at an event. It’s about being clever, engaging people in a way that resonates with them. We didn’t have the budget for a flashy booth or big advertising, but we made the most of what we did have.

Secondly, the curiosity gap is powerful. Giving people just enough to intrigue them but not so much that they don’t need to take the next step can be a brilliant way to drive engagement.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, people love to feel like winners. Even if the prize is something small, that little dopamine hit from scratching off a panel and seeing “Winner” is magic.

So, if you’re ever in a position where you’re trying to get attention, whether it’s at a conference, in marketing materials, or even just trying to get someone to read your blog post, think about how you can tap into that curiosity. How can you engage them in a way that’s interactive, fun, and a bit different from the norm?

Looking back, that decision to put a flyer in the swag bag was one of the best we made. It helped us grow our user base significantly, got our name out there, and even led to some unexpected backlinks from people talking about the promotion. Not too shabby for a little piece of card and some scratch-off panels.

So there you have it. That’s the story of how we turned a simple flyer into over a thousand new users without even having to do the hard sell. Sometimes, thinking outside the box (or swag bag, in this case) can lead to brilliant results.