Small to medium-sized businesses should present a professional image to their customers and competitors. To play with the big boys, smaller businesses must look like them. That includes correspondence. Printed labels and envelopes present an uncluttered, organized image of your company. The mail is the first thing seen by prospective customers and businesses. Printed envelopes have a slight edge over labels when it comes to appearance. Labels are much harder to print than envelopes and require knowledge of how the printer functions. Small to medium-sized businesses benefit in many ways from looking its best and putting the best foot forward.
Things You’ll Need:
- Microsoft Word
- Database of Addresses (or a wiliness to input them)
- Envelopes or Labels Sheets
- Printer
Step 1: Open up Microsoft Word to a new document. Click on “Tools.” Graze “Letters and Mailings” with your mouse. Click “Mail Merge.”
Step 2: Choose “Labels” or “Envelopes” from the options on the side panel. Click “Next.”
Step 3: Mark “Change Document Layout.” Click “Next.” Two other options are possible, but either way you will need to change the layout to fit envelope or label template.
Step 4: Choose the type of printer and label or envelope. Click “Next.” The numbers probably seem confusing, but the one you need is located on the box of the labels or envelopes. It’s the size.of the labels or envelopes.
Step 5: Select one of the three options. If you have a database of addresses in Access or Excel, choose “Use an existing list.” You can import from Outlook by selecting the third option. The final option, “type a new list,” is the most time consuming as you have to type in each address. You can use this option, if you only need a handful of envelopes or labels to print. Click “Next.”
Step 6: Find the list of addresses, type in the addresses, or use the list from Outlook. If you choose “Use an existing list,” follow the directions on the screen in the connection wizard to import the addresses. It will prompt you to find the file and upload.
Step 7: Continue to click “Next” for the next three steps until it lets you print. Arrange the sheets or envelopes in the printer before you press print.
Quick Tip: Publisher, another software in Microsoft Office suite, also creates envelopes and labels. The process is similar, but you have greater possibilities as this software has customizable layouts.
Database Tip: To create a database of addresses to use when you print labels, input each address into Access or Excel spreadsheet. Both software applications are simple to use and import the same way into Word. You can either put the addresses in all at once or one at a time over an extended period of time. Access is a search-enabled database software, which allows you to search for a particular file. Unless you delete the file, you will be able to use the database for most of your business’s existence.
Creating labels and envelopes are one way you can have your small business look like a big company without the financial cost of it. Once you get the hang of the process, creating both envelopes and labels is not a hardship or extensive time sink.
What other ways can small to medium-sized business look the part of bigger businesses without the resources or financial ability?
