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Envelope Design Guidelines

You may not think much of an envelope, but it can play a big part of your sales letter success. Envelope design needs to be well thought out to be effective. Know what it takes to get your mail noticed and letters opened.

We have a few pointers when it comes to envelope design that motivates response:

Determine The Purpose

Designing envelopes for corporate identity or for a direct sales letter is different from designing envelopes for friends and family. Recipients who are not that familiar with the sender can easily toss out their mail without opening it.

When designing for corporate identity, your design should represent your brand. If you're designing for direct response, your envelope design must be targeted to the audience and offer. Before starting on your envelope design, make sure you understand the purpose of the communication within the envelope.

Keep It Simple

Your envelope design should be simple and easy to read. Envelopes do not benefit from cluttered space. For a corporate identity envelope, a simple logo in the return address area is sufficient. A logo on the back is another option. Styled elements such as shapes or flowing lines, or a background shade/gradient can be an added detail to the envelope.

When it comes to direct-response sales letters, your envelopes should speak directly to the target audience. Dramatic imagery, highlighted copy and an offer/call to action work well together on envelopes, as long as the space does not become cluttered.

Be Brighter

Bright, vivid colors grab attention better than dull hues. Keeping this in mind, your full-color envelope design should immediately stand out in the mailbox through the use of color. This isn't to say your design should be gaudy - only that it should be instantly noticed. The first objective is to get noticed; the second objective is to motivate customers to open the envelope.

Follow The Rules

The post office has specific standards and regulations for bulk and first-class mail. Whether you're mailing with metered postage or with an indicia, it is important that your envelope follows the proper format. Make sure your envelope follows printing guidelines such as folds and safe area as well. To save time and money, and achieve the best results, use a pre-formatted envelope template customized to your envelope size and mailing method.

Great envelope design is rewarded by return on investment. The right design can motivate more customers to open communications and follow through on your calls to action, increasing your profit margin significantly. Follow these envelope design tips to help you see success.