Making an Effective Flyer

What belongs on it

• MISSING in huge letters at the top. Red or black. Nothing clever.
• One clear face photo, recent, looking at the camera, no sunglasses or hat, no group shots, no filters. The biggest thing on the page after the headline.
• Name, age, height, weight, hair, eyes. Then anything a stranger could actually notice: glasses, tattoos, a limp, a distinctive jacket.
• Last seen: date, time, place, and what they were wearing.
• Vehicle make, color, and plate if there is one — plates get found.
• Who to call, large, at the bottom: the police department and case number, "or 911."

What to leave off

• Your home address. Never.
• Your personal cell, if you can avoid it. Flyers get scanned, posted, and resurface years later. Use the police number; if you want a family line, use a cheap second number or a Google Voice number you can turn off.
• Private medical or mental-health details unless they directly help a stranger recognize or help them ("has dementia and may be confused" helps; a diagnosis list does not).
• Theories, accusations, or names of people you suspect. It can hurt the case and expose you legally.
• A reward amount you can't pay. If you offer one, say how it is claimed (through police) so you aren't flooded.

Where to post it

• Where they were last seen and along every route out — gas stations, convenience stores, laundromats, bus and train stops, truck stops.
• Places people wait: pharmacies, grocery stores, post offices, libraries, community centers, churches, clinics, shelters.
• Places people look at walls: coffee shops, barbershops, gyms, bars, restaurants with a bulletin board.
• Ask to tape it inside the glass at eye level. It lasts longer and can't be torn down.
• Ask employees to put one by the register and in the break room — staff see hundreds of faces a day.

Online

• Use the square image from the Flyer Builder for social feeds — the letter-size flyer gets cropped.
• Post to the largest local groups: "[City] community," neighborhood pages, buy/sell groups (they have huge reach), Nextdoor, and your city's subreddit. Ask admins to pin it.
• Ask people to share, not just react. Turn on comments; tips often come as comments.
• Update the post when there is news, and take it down or mark it FOUND when it's over. Old flyers that keep circulating waste the next family's attention.
• Send the flyer to local TV and radio newsrooms and to the police department's social media team — many will share it.

Printing

• Letter size (8.5 × 11) is enough. Color if you can afford it; a black-and-white version with a high-contrast photo still works.
• Libraries, FedEx Office, Staples, UPS Store, and many churches will print. Ask — people want to help, and some will print for free when they see what it is.
• Carry a stack in your car with tape. Give small stacks to friends with their own routes.