When the weather gets warmer there’s no better time to get paid for being out and about delivering.

There are all kinds of leaflets and forms that need to be delivered to homes in your area. It’s an easy way to get your hands on some extra cash. Often you don’t have to spend anything, and even better, it doesn’t even need to take up much of your time.

• How to get started
• How much can I make?
• Check out our delivering top tips

Delivering leaflets is a temporary job, and will probably only be for a short period. A paper round or similar is more permanent, and involves you giving up a bit more of your time. You don’t really need any qualifications, though sometimes having a car is a plus.

• For deliveries in your area you should check the job pages of your local papers as well as websites like Gumtree and Craigslist and your job centre to find out what’s available.
• Pick up some free local newspapers and contact them directly. They might be able to put you in touch with the distribution agent.
• Try asking local takeaways and taxi firms if they need any help.
• Hunt out demand from smaller businesses in your local area; you’ll be surprised how many use leaflets to advertise.
• For a paper round, get in touch with your local newsagent directly, or with the paper itself. Large, reputable publishers include Newsquest, Archant and Northcliffe. Get in touch with them about opportunities in your area.
• Check out some national companies who produce leaflets, chances are they’ll need people to distribute them in your local area. For London and the Home Counties, try Letterbox Distribution. Have a look on Mailbox Nationwide for jobs all over the country and for nationwide leafleting and promotional opportunities check out Powergirls.
• For deliveries of nationwide publications such as the Yellow Pages, have a look on the Deya website. They list the dates and areas in which work is available on the site, and they’re a big company so can provide you with a wide variety of opportunities.
• Check out The Network for jobs distributing things like free papers, such as the Metro (which is distributed nationwide).

You need to be realistic about this; you’re not going to make a fortune by any stretch. You can be paid by how many items you deliver, or how many rounds you undertake.

• Delivering bigger catalogues will make you more money, but you have to have a car in order to deliver them.
• Some companies will pay you for your time rather than how many you deliver, so you can expect to be on, or just above the minimum wage (currently £6.08 per hour if you’re over 21) in these instances.
• Distributing free papers (not the same as a round) can earn you a tidy sum. For distributing The Metro you can expect up to £10 per hour.
• Paper rounds will probably earn you less for your time; you can expect about £15 a week for approximately three or four hours of work. Be aware though that this does vary depending on who you deliver for.

Things to look out for

• Try to avoid leafleting schemes where you are paid by commission only. This relies on the company making money from something you delivered and could leave you – heartbreakingly, having done hours of work – without recompense.
• Some leafleting schemes are scams, so be careful. Just make sure whoever you are working for is a reputable company. Be especially cautious if it’s an online company without proper contact details (for example only having a mobile number or no proper address). A quick Google search on the firm may confirm any suspicions about a dodgy company, with people posting warnings about them on forums. You can also use Google to check a business’s address – if they only use a PO box (not a good sign) then several businesses will be listed at the same address.

Top delivery tips

• Be sneaky and double your earnings! If you manage to get two rounds in the same area at once you can do all the delivering at the same time, but be paid twice from two separate companies.
• If you’re a new mum why not bring your baby along (you can also use the buggy to stash those heavy leaflets so you don’t have to carry them!)
• If your kids want to be all grown up and have a job of their own, why not suggest they do a round as well, that way they’ll earn themselves a bit of money and you can still keep an eye on them!
• If you choose a paper round, you can usually expect a bit more money if the paper also contains separate advertising leaflets, so try to find papers that you know use these (usually the freebies).

Useful Links

• Gumtree
• Craigslist
• Letterbox Distribution
• Mailbox Nationwide
• Deya website
• The Network

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