letterhead Archives - The Marsid M&M Group Blog

Envelope Size Chart Quick Guide

It’s easy to get confused when selecting the correct envelope sizes for invitations, business letters or Direct Mail pieces… A2, A4, A7, #10, #9, #10 Window…

So we decided to build this common envelope size chart with the goal of providing a sort of cheat-sheet or quick reference for envelopes for our customers and anyone who can use it.

If you find it useful or know someone who could use it, please share it!

Need Envelopes Printed? Get A Quote Now!

You can also download a High Resolution Print Ready Version of the Envelope Size Chart Quick Guide [PDF].

or view the large version on your browser [JPG]

This envelope size chart is provided as a quick reference when selecting the proper envelope size for your projects. If you have questions or are in need of an envelope size not listed in the envelope size chart, please feel free to leave a comment below or contact us right away!

Saving Money on Direct Mail with QR Codes

Although QR codes are quickly being adopted by major companies and industries, adoption is moving slowly throughout the small business sector.

In an effort to promote Direct Mail and create awareness of the benefits of using QR codes in Direct Mail, the United States Postal Service is offering a special postage discount during the months of July and August 2011:

Direct Mail marketers and mail houses can save 3% on their First Class Presort Mail and Standard Presort Mail postage simply by including a QR Code that must be easily visible on the outside of the mail piece. Simple as that.

Although the savings can be substantial, it is important to keep in mind that if your Direct Mail campaign is not thought out thoroughly and optimized for success, then all of your efforts and cost of printing and postage will go to waste.
On the bright side, you can always learn from your mistakes.

Direct Mail is about trial and error and consistency; improvement and repetition. I don’t think any one Direct Mail campaign can be the one or the best one for that matter.

If you are thinking of taking advantage of the 3% postage discount and this would be your first QR Code Direct Mail campaign, the following paragraphs will help you begin with an advantage.

QR Code Malpractice

Creating and Reading QR Codes is easy and FREE! But the biggest issue lies with what happens after the QR Code is scanned.

Obviously (or maybe not obvious enough), a QR Code is scanned with a smart phone which typically has a screen size between 2 to 4 inches. This being the case, wouldn’t you expect to be taken to a mobile-friendly website that is compatible with your smart phone’s screen size?
Well, believe it or not, this is a very common mistake made by marketers that makes the whole Direct Mail/QR Code campaign a complete failure.

Let’s say your Direct Mail piece is a postcard that promotes a new product that you are selling and the customer scans your QR code. The customer lands on a mobile friendly page that contains a great description of the product but does not have a Buy Now! button anywhere on the page. The purpose of your Direct Mail piece is to offer a product that you sell, yet a way to purchase the product is not easily made available. This Direct Mail campaign can pretty much be considered a lost sale opportunity.

QR Code Best Practices

A complete Direct Mail campaign using QR codes must include a mobile landing page where a call to action is the main focus of the page. Whatever the purpose of your Direct Mail campaign is, it should reflect in your mobile landing page.
If your QR Code directs the user to a video preview, make sure the video is formatted for mobile screens and should start playing right away. The purpose of a smartphone is accessibility and convenience – No downloads!

The following are a few key rules to follow to create a successful Direct Mail QR Code campaign:

Use a vector QR Code in your artwork to make sure that it prints clear and works 100% even on low megapixel cameras. I find BeQRious lets you generate vector QR Codes you can download in PDF format easily
Test your QR Code on at least 4-5 different QR Code scanning apps and different smart phones before printing the whole run
Include information on how to scan the QR Code
Your QR Code should direct the user’s mobile phone directly to the landing page
Your Landing Page must load quickly, keep images to a minimum
Include Call-to-action buttons or links such as “Buy Now!”, “Sign up here!”, or “Call us now!”
Keep the focus of the page on the purpose of the campaign and the Call-to-action buttons/links
Make your QR Code link using a link shortening service such as goo.gl or bit.ly (free versions) so that you can track the number of scans and other analytics

How have you used QR Codes in your latest

Direct Mail or Marketing Campaign?

Please share any lessons you have learned when using QR Codes in Direct Mail campaigns below…

The Ultimate Marketing Piece – Eye Popping Media Kits

What Your Marketing Mix Is Missing

When promoting a new product, service, music album, a band, a company, a brand, creating a media kit is essential to a successful marketing and/or branding campaign.

A media kit is an informative resource like no other since it can include so many different types of media, all packaged into one convenient place we like to call Presentation Folders.

Pockets and Slits, Media Kits!

Presentation folders are incredibly versatile because of the fact that they can hold so many types of media with simple pockets and slits made into the paper. Presentation folders can hold marketing materials such as:

Business cards
Brochures
CDs
DVDs
Labels
Letterhead
Magnet cards
Mousepads
Notepads
Postcards
Sell sheets
Stickers

If it is not too bulky and it will help promote your service or product it should go in your media kit presentation folder.

A Customized Presentation

Presentation folders come in many varieties to fit the purpose and can be completely customizable. Here are a few samples of standard “extras” that can help you create the perfect media kit:

Standard Business Card Slits

Horizontal Bus. Card Slits

Vertical or Horizontal

Optional Business Card Slits

Optional Horizontal Slits

Vertical or Horizontal

Horizontal with Four Slits

CD/DVD Slits

Presentation Folder with CD/DVD Slit

Expanded Box Pockets

Presentation Folder with Expanded Box Pockets

Expanded Spine

Presentation Folder with Expanded Spine

Tri-Panel Folders

Tri-Panel Presentation Folder

These are only a few of the most common features found in Presentation folders for Media kits. Customize them with your own ideas to fit that marketing materials and their purposes. Feel free to contact Marsid M&M if you have questions or to request a quote.

For your Design Inspiration, here are some of the best Presentation Folders and Media Kits made by awesome designers:

[Disclaimer: The folders in this post were not printed by mmprint.com, they are used for demonstration and inspirational purposes only]

(click on the image to view the original source)

What kind of Funky Items have you put into your

Folders and Media kits?

Please leave your comments below.

Design a Winning Business Letterhead

Business letterheads not only reflect what your company does or what it is, but it reflects the type of customers you serve. Make your customers feel at home each time they open correspondence from you. Help them remember who you are and what your purpose in their lives is. A good letterhead carries more than just your company’s information; it carries character and the type of familiarity that makes your clients feel at ease when doing business with you.

Print your business letterheads in full color to reinforce your brand and marketing message. You can add different features, such as a simulated custom watermark, a design for the back side, or anything you can think of.
Invoices, receipts, or any formal correspondence should always be printed on company letterheads. Your customers will notice and appreciate the difference and convenience this brings them when archiving, sorting, or preparing business reports.

Make sure your logo dresses up your stationery with vivid, bright colors.

Here is some information to keep handy while constructing your business letterhead design:

Your logo and basic contact information should always be part of your letterhead. Keep the background subtle and sober, you do not want to distract the reader from the information provided in the body of the letter.

Divide and Conquer

You may divide the information in two parts; header (at the top) and footer (at the bottom), this allows more space in the body of the document for the content of your letter. The header should consist of your logo, company colors, and basic contact information. The footer usually contains more formal copyright, business entity, and disclaimers. Include company colors in the footer as well. A hairline bar, separating the footer from the body content, for instance, can tie the brand together across the page.

Size it Up…or Down

Make sure your font does not go below 8, or it would be incredibly difficult to read, on the other hand, make sure it is not so big that it makes the content look cluttered and unrefined. Look at your page as a whole, and determine whether the relationship of the sizes (logo, font, lines) is smooth and appealing.

Backdrop or Watermark

It is interesting to have something in the background of your letterhead, it could be your logo in a 10% tint or an image representing your product or service. However, all with moderation. The background should not be the most visible part of your letterhead, and should definitely not upstage the content of your letter, or even worse, make it unreadable.

Background

Beautiful business letterheads are printed on uncoated paper for ink-jet printing and ballpoint pen writing ease; the industry standard. There are many premium stocks available that include textured finishes to give your letterhead that extra oomph of professionalism.

For inspiration, below are a few letterhead designs that stand out above the rest:

Are there any business letterhead designs that you would like to share?

Please share your comments with us below………