The Importance of Letterheads in Business Letters
In the world of business, letter writing is highly considered to be a formal method of communication between two persons or parties as it is used to provide one another with valuable information that is related to business. With the increasing growth of commerce and industry, writing a good business letter has also gradually increased in terms of usefulness and importance. Oftentimes, a business letter is used to sell or promote new products, make inquiry and advice about customers or products and/or services, and build good business relationships and goodwill. Moreover, a business letter serves as a reference material for any future transactions between different organizations.
And since business letters are always formal, it is important to show to the reader your sense of professionalism. That is why most companies use letterhead sample to personalize their interaction with the clients and customers. However, it is important to remember that a customized letterhead should not only be limited to large-scale companies; small companies can also benefit from using letterheads, too.
About Letterheads and Its Importance in Business
A letterhead is the heading that it is often located at the top area of the paper or stationery. Typically, the letterhead often includes the name of the business, its address and contact information, as well as the company logo or corporate design. A letterhead should always be considered a vital factor because it helps to represent the company and build a good impression on the company’s professionalism to the people who are reading the letter.
Just imagine writing a business letter on bare paper. Without a professional letterhead, the reader might think you are less competent. Instead of making it look like a personal letter, using a letterhead helps to effectively establish a sense of urgency and seriousness to whatever the content of the letter may be.
In this section, we have provided a few rundown on how a letterhead can aid in boosting your business:
- It does not only show the level of your professionalism, but it shows your business brand and what it represents. The logo can be used to improve your branding strategy by associating your brand with your business.
- It silently yet effectively advertises your brand to would-be customers and clients.
- It provides prospective clients and customers with correct contact information so that they can easily get in touch with you if they wish to make any transactions with your company.
- It can be a powerful tool that you can use in your marketing strategy to attract prospective customers and boost sales by turning them into loyal and paying customers.
- It can effectively convey the important details about your company, increase a sense of reliability, and provides an overview of the vision of your company.
Key Elements to Include in Your Letterhead
As an entrepreneur, it is important to understand that letterheads are not only limited in papers or stationery. You can also incorporate it in your business cards, flyers, and brochures. In order to provide a great visual representation of the company, most entrepreneurs seek the services of a professional designer and use of high-quality printers to maximize the effectiveness of your business presentation to your clients and customers.
But before you start choosing the design, here are the four important elements that make a good letterhead:
-
Key Contents
Just like an ID card, an effective letterhead should include the following key components:
- Name of the company
- Logo
- Company address
- Contact details (telephone and fax numbers)
- Email address
Since the name of the company is considered to be the vital element of the letterhead, the other four components should be placed center just beneath the company name.
-
Layout
The layout of the letterhead should effectively draw the reader’s eye to the name of the company that is why it is extremely crucial to make the company name of the appear in the largest type. The font size of the other elements should be between 10 to 12 points so that the heading will not appear to be crowded. Moreover, you should keep in mind to never use two different typefaces and capital letters. When choosing the right typeface for your letterhead, make sure that it effectively matches the personality of your business. Take for example that the Times New Roman is often considered a formal font, while the Arial font is typically viewed as something that exudes casualness.
-
Paper and Color
The paper on which you will print your letterhead should be of the standard business size. Use a clean sheet of paper with a shade of cream or white to make the logo grab the attention of the reader. Additionally, it is vital to choose the colors cautiously. Incorporating inappropriate colors can only distract your readers from your message. Business experts recommend using four-color letterhead when writing formal business letters, such as replying to other business parties or extending employment offers to successful applicants. To help you save money, it is recommended to use black and white for everyday business purposes, such as responding to inquiries from customers.
-
Paper Weight and Quality
The weight and quality are also important elements that you need to pay careful consideration because it helps build a good physical experience. These factors are crucial in contributing to the feel of the sheet and how the print can effective be used against the tone and texture of the paper. The higher the quality of the paper, the more expensive it feels.
Smart Letterhead Design Tips
Just because you have incorporated all the four key elements of a letterhead does not necessarily mean that you have a good letterhead. How you put together all these elements and come up with a great design is another essential factor that requires your full attention. Your priority should be to get the design details right and come up with something that is attractive to the eye of the readers. However, if you have to break the traditions in a good letterhead design, then do it, but make sure that no too much dramatic designs that are going on with your letterhead.
-
Keeping It Simple
One of the essential things to keep in mind is to keep the design of the letterhead as simple as possible. A lot of times, a complexly designed letterhead is can rival and can draw the attention of the reader away from your purpose of writing a business letter. Your letter should effectively deliver your message to your reader and that the purpose of your design should be only limited for your marketing and branding purposes.
-
Proper Hierarchy of Information
Following a proper hierarchy can help you to effectively communicate essential information to your audience or readers. That is why you should be able to properly identify the design and the information you want to share. To maximize effective design and hierarchy, make sure to position all the key information obviously and accessible to the readers, while the other less significant elements should be written in smaller font size and positioned in a place that cannot distract the reader from the key information.
-
Choosing the Right Typography
The typography that you choose plays a vital role for the overall look of your letterhead. All you have to do is to carefully select the right typography that suits your brand when choosing the design. While the process of selecting the typography that is appropriate for your brand can be a bit overwhelming, a smart method you can use is to seek the advice of a graphic designer or browse for professionally designed business letterheads on the Internet.
-
Positioning and Alignment
Correct positioning and alignment allow you to place all the important information properly when creating a design of your letterhead. These two important elements can give your layout a beautiful finishing touch and can make the whole document exude professionalism.
Sample Letterheads that You Can Download and Use
Real Estate Letterhead Template
Real Estate Agency Letterhead Template
Advertising Company Letterhead
IT Company Letterhead Template
Theater Company Letterhead Template
Trucking Company Letterhead Template
Non Profit Letterhead Template
Healthcare Letterhead Template
Free Logistics Services Letterhead Template
Corporate letterhead in MS Word Format
Company Letterhead Template
Rehab Center Word 2010 Format Template
Letterhead With Invoice Template in Word Format
Example Format Corporate Legal Letterhead
Business Letterhead Template
Marketing Letterhead Template
HR Letterhead Template
Download Now
Corporate Letterhead Template for Government
Professional Letterhead Template
Company Corporate Letterheads Vector EPS AI Illustrator Download
Final Thoughts
Keeping these in mind does not only help your boost your marketing and branding campaigns but also allows you to effectively choose the right letterhead design that readers will surely love. You should also remember that having sufficient white space is crucial in letterhead designs. Incorporating enough white spaces helps you to properly hold all the contents of the letter without any distractions. Therefore, a good and efficient letterhead should be always simple, minimal, and clutter-free.
If you are looking for free letterhead templates to download, then you are in the right place because we provide our readers with a vast library of templates that are extremely useful for any forms of businesses.