Elements of a Letterhead

A business letterhead is quick to develop but is important to being considered a serious business immediately. It is a designed header at the top of a company letter and usually includes a logo, name, address, and contact information such as phone or fax number, email address, and company website URL. It can be simple such as this:    1905 Bellaire Dr                                                                                                           9015 Bellaire Bay Dr                                                                                  info@nailcare-academy.com

Naples, FL 342120                                                                                       www.nailcare-academy.com

863-273-9134                                                                                                An Online Education Format

Logo – One of the first steps in becoming a legitimate business is designing a logo. A logo is a representative symbol of you and or your business. It should immediately evoke a feeling or a comprehension of your business – a mere glance should over time come to identify your brand. The design should be well thought out and then printed on everything you do, from emails to marketing brochures, etc. (“collateral” – anything that has your logo on it.) FYI, many media judge a PR that does not contain a Logo as “not a real business,” and do not take the time to check it out for legitimacy. Many people you deal with will believe this also. Get busy on it – use software or hire a professional logo company. It’s important.

 Location – Your letterhead should give a clear physical address, if you are a brick-and-mortar business. If you are not, the location where your mail is to be delivered should be listed. (Many businesses have PO boxes.) If your mailing address is different than your delivery address, it should be listed possibly on the bottom of the letterhead, or always mentioned, when needed, in the letter,

Contact – Your letterhead should also feature a simple preferred contact point; an email address, a phone number. (Fax numbers are many times not in the contacts on a letterhead but may be in the body, if needed, below the signature or on the bottom of the sheet with other nuance contacts.)

Email Address – The preferred one, of course, and is to the person who always reads them. Many companies have a central one that all the key people read, and many times it begins with “info,” such as info@companyname,com.  It is a “general business” email, but is important to have for inquiries, new business and other non-specific business. If the author of the letter needs to hear directly from the addressee, that email needs to be mentioned specifically in the body of the letter, or in the last sentence.

Company Website URL – If the company has more than one, the main one should be on the letterhead, with a preferred one mentioned by the author. BUT, not too plain either! We are in the beauty business and nails are a serous niche.

One more thing: Watch your size and design. Keep it tight and concise, with not a lot of design/pretty  stuff – you need enough room to write a good letter.

A letterhead can be developed by a printing company, digital or otherwise, or even with software. In the “old days,” we had to have them designed and then printed by a printing company every time we ran out, but in these days of laser printers, software and online designers, letterheads can be designed and then downloaded to maintain for in-house printing, or are printed very inexpensively (comparative to the “old days” when we were printer prisoners) by online printing companies. I recommend having control of all your collateral, including your letterhead.

Your letterhead is one of the first collaterals you should design, immediately after settling on your final logo. It is one of the things you will use most often in developing your company and later in marketing and is one of the most important elements of establishing yourself as a serious businessperson. It should be something that represents you and that you are proud of when letters go out.