Your marketing materials should sell your business and products for you. Letterhead and envelopes are part of those marketing materials. Here are some tips on how to go about designing your letterhead and business envelopes.
Match your letterhead and envelope printing styles to your business card and other brand materials.
When you write a letter to a client, you'll have a cohesive look if your envelope, letterhead, business card, brochures, etc. all have the same look and feel. From seeing many of your marketing materials at once, your prospect is more likely to remember your business if everything has the same look and feel about it. This will also make you look professional.
How much money do you have to spend?
If you have a big letterhead printing budget, you can go all out and get your letterhead and envelopes embossed, or use foil stamping to give your materials a shiny, impressive look. As long as you don't go overboard on these special effects, they can add a lot of class to your letterhead and envelopes. But, of course, these special printing methods come at a price. If you can't afford them, try some alternatives that will yield similar results, such as using a font that looks embossed or using a silver or gray color for your text and/or images.
Letterhead design
Be sure that whatever design you choose, it's clean and clear above all else. Your design should leave ample space in the middle of the page, but all the margins are fair game. You don't have to stick your design elements either at the top or bottom of the page. Don't be afraid to use the sides (but not if you are also using the top or bottom). You don't want your letterhead to look too cluttered.
The same goes for your envelopes. A nice design element along the bottom or sides can be nice, as long as it is simple. Keep in mind that the design can't get in the way of the post office's space in the upper right-hand corner of the envelope. Consider that space no man's land.
Pick the proper paper weight
Pick a thicker weight of paper, similar to resume paper. The most common weight for letterhead and stationery is 24 lbs.
One last thing that must be mentioned: don't forget to proofread your letterhead and envelopes. You don't want to have a spelling mistake or the wrong phone number on the stationery. Otherwise, people will have trouble getting a hold of you and that is precisely the opposite point of letterhead and envelopes!
