When it comes to the world of advertising and marketing, first impressions matter. How you will reach out and connect with your customers will affect how they perceive your company and ultimately allow them to decide whether or not to purchase what you are selling. Thus, having presentable, unique, and eye-catching marketing materials matter. And yes, this includes what packaging they come in.
Most businesses send out their marketing materials using envelopes, whether it’s introducing their company to potential customers, announcing upcoming promotional events, or sending out updates regarding new products or services offered by the company. Choosing the right envelope is a process that you need to be careful with due to the many factors that can affect the type of envelope that will be right for your business.
Types of Envelopes
The first component that you need to think about is what kind of envelope would best suit your business needs. Here are some of the envelope types that you can choose from:
Business Envelope
The business envelope is the most common type of envelope that businesses use. It usually comes in size #10, although there are other sizes that you can find. It’s simple, economical, and easy to use. It is thin and flat, and it is usually made from paper.
Catalog Envelope
If you are sending out catalogs or brochures for your business, you can use catalog envelopes. They are generally larger and wider compared to business envelopes, although they are still thin, flat, and lightweight. You generally use this type of envelope if you do not want the content to bend or become crumpled inside the envelope.
Clasp Envelope
This type of envelope is similar in appearance to catalog envelopes, but they come with a metal clasp on the bottom flap of the envelope and a small slit on the top flap. The metal clasp adds an additional layer of security so that the envelope will not accidentally open up during transit, especially if the gumming material used by the envelope is not strong.
Bubble Mailer/Cushioned Envelope
Bubble mailers or cushioned envelopes have a soft lining inside the envelope which is either a layer of bubble wrap or padding. If you are sending out fragile content such as CDs or flash drives, this envelope will protect the contents during transit and helps prevent the contents from being damaged.
Expanding Kraft Envelopes
If you are sending out bulky or large documents, this type of envelope has a folded crease on the side that allows the envelope to expand and accommodate the bigger contents. Expanding Kraft envelopes are a good choice because they are still light and compact compared to shipping boxes, so you will still save money by using this type of envelope.
Seals
           Since the main goal of sending out direct mail to your customers is to ensure that they receive the contents, you need to ensure that you are using strong and reliable seals on your envelopes. The most common type of seal that you can find are traditional gummed ones, which are seals that you need to manually moisten in order to activate the adhesive property. However, this type of seal is not economical to use if you are sending out a large number of envelopes on a regular basis. They are also not reliable if the envelope is thick or the contents are bulky.
You can opt to use self-seal envelopes if you need seals that are strong, reliable, and quick to use. This type of seal uses two separate adhesive strips – one on the top flap and the other on the bottom flap – which when pressed together forms a strong bond. Peel-and-seal strips are a special type of self-sealing envelope which uses a protective layer on top of the adhesive strips, which extends the shelf life of the seals.
Customizing your Envelopes
There are two aspects that you should consider when you are choosing your business envelopes: size and color. If you use plain blank envelopes for letters to your customers, chances are that they will just assume that it’s junk mail and toss it out without a second thought. You want to be able to capture their attention, and changing your envelope’s size and color are great ways to do that!
There are a wide range of different envelope sizes that you can choose from. You just need to ensure that the envelope is the right size for your intended contents. If the envelope is too small, it will look overstuffed. If it is too large, it looks sloppy.
Color is another way to make your envelope stand out as well. Any customer is going to be drawn to a colorful envelope among a group of plain white envelopes.
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