Regular letterhead can be boring. These days, you have to stand out from the crowd to get noticed. With so much competition in the marketplace, if your letterhead doesn’t grab their attention, they are probably going to move on without ever reading the contents of your letter – which means that you will miss out on a nice chunk of potential business.
Read on for some suggestions to help you create an eye-catching letterhead template.
Traditional Letterhead vs. Modern Letterheads
If you go back 100 years or so, most letterheads were traditional in design – white letterhead with very simple writing and little decoration. These days, the look is much more colourful and modern. Letterhead is considered a marketing tool and, as such, it’s one that you should take seriously when designing. You can add some colour and design elements to your letterhead to make it stand out from the crowd.
Keep Letterhead Examples Simple
There are so many colours and design elements available today that it might be tempting to try to use them all. However, if you do this, your letterhead design can quickly become overwhelming and it might have the opposite effect that you are going for. Instead of grabbing their attention, a busy letterhead might annoy people and cause them to skip over it. Keep it simple and only use a few design elements that blend well together.
Make Use of White Space
The average business letterhead template is perhaps 8-inches tall by 11-inches wide, with some white space surrounding the text area. Don’t be tempted to cram everything in so there is no room for white space – this will make your letterhead look cluttered. Use the white space to your advantage, and make sure that it is used in a way that is pleasing to the eye.
Include Your Logo
Your logo is one of the most important elements of your letterhead. It should be placed prominently at the top of the page and should be large enough so that it is easy to see. If your logo is simple, you may want to colour it in – but this doesn’t mean that you should use bright or clashing colours; stick with soft tones.
Choose Colors Carefully
If you want to add some colour to your letterhead, make sure that the colours you choose work well together. Usually, this will mean choosing two or three colours as a dominant theme and using those for all of the design elements on the page. It’s okay to use other colours as accent pieces, but don’t overdo it – otherwise, you’ll just end up with a confusing and chaotic letterhead.
Include a Slogan
A slogan is a great way to catch people’s attention and to make your company letterhead template stand out. If you have a good slogan, use it on your letterhead! Just make sure that it is short and easy to remember. Also, keep in mind that using a slogan on your letterhead is an excellent way to gain recognition from people who receive your letters, but this doesn’t mean you need to use the same slogan on all of your correspondence. It’s often a good idea to use different slogans for different types of letters and correspondence – add a new one now and then to keep things fresh.
Make Letter Designs Carefully
Graphics can be a great way to add some interest to your letterhead, but only if they are used sparingly. Too many graphics can quickly clutter up the page and make it difficult to read. If you do choose to use graphics, make sure that they are relevant to your business and that they support the overall theme of your letterhead.
Check out Venngage to see letterhead examples with effective graphics.
Include Your Contact Information
Make sure that your contact information, including your name, address, phone number, and email address, is easy to find on your letterhead. You may also want to include a web address if you have one.
Include a Calendar
If you send out a lot of letters that include dates (such as appointment reminders or invoices), it can be a good idea to include a small calendar on your letterhead. This way, people who receive your letter will know exactly when the event or due date is taking place and they won’t have any trouble finding the right information.
Include Keywords
Depending on what type of business you run, there might be certain keywords that are important for your letterhead. For example, if you run an online business, you might use keywords like “online”, “web”, or “click here” on your letterhead. Just make sure that the words you select are relevant to what people will be looking for – don’t just include words for the sake of including them because it will only serve to confuse people.
Conclusion
What is a letterhead template for, and what can it do for you? Making your letterhead stand out doesn’t have to be difficult. With just a little bit of planning, you can create a letterhead that will make your correspondence look professional and neat.
