Rabby, took the words right out of my mouth mate!!
I can add another couple from my thoughts and experiences..
Try not to scrunch the leaflet up when it goes through. I'm currently nursing skinless knuckles from making this extra effort though.. must try to think of a way to avoid this
I think that leaving your leaflet trapped in the letterbox might give you an edge. I've been using DL sized flyers and leaving them inserted into the letterbox the exact right way round for the customer to pick them up from the other side of the door and read them. Even if they do just want to chuck them away, at least theyll be holding it the right way around and reading it on the way to the bin. You never know, you might just do enough with your presentation to stop a few of them binning it immediately.
Try to go round after the postman has been, otherwise your leaflet will get pushed through with the mail and end up in the pile on the floor with all the other junk. It'll be siphoned off into the "B" pile as the householder is sorting through it all.
If they have to make a separate physical effort to remove your leaflet from the door, surely it's got a bit better chance than just being mixed in with all the rest?
I have figured that this emphasis on presenting the leaflet to the customer by leaving it trapped in the door is more likely to work when:
1) they have a horizontal letterbox in the middle of the door
2) you have been after the postman and no other things are getting pushed through the letterbox before the person arrives home.
I wonder what percentage of houses I've leafleted meet those two criteria?!
Maybe I've got too much time on my hands to think whilst I've been walking round doing this lol