Your only chance of getting your message across in a letter rests at one precise moment: that time when your addressee opens your letter and makes an impression out of your letterhead. It is the time when the reader makes the unconscious choice to read your letter right away, or put it back in the pile of letters to read. Of course you would not want to pass on that opportunity, especially if the letter contains something of great importance to you. With this simple instance we learn that the medium makes the message. The look makes the content more effective.

If you are a professional graphic designer, then you should be confident enough in making it work to your advantage. But a great many of us are not accustomed to doing graphic design, and rely on templates from programs for making letters. But do not despair. You might want to consider these very simple tips on how to make a good letterhead.

First, try to dig up your files and observe the templates of the other letters. Organize your observations and ask yourself, which templates appeal to me most? Why do they appeal to me? Are they simpler, less loud than the others? Are they colorful? Are they stylish, hip, and upbeat? And when you have determined the criteria of their ‘attractiveness’, try to juxtapose them with your organization. If your organization represents a niche that is upbeat, then go for the stylish ones. If your organization, on the other hand, is more formal in nature, then you might want to tone down on using too many colors.

Second, find a software program that you are most comfortable in using. That means, build a letterhead from a software that you are most familiar with using the options. Some would automatically build the template from the program. Others would prefer to lay-out the letterhead as a jpeg image then place it in the document for the letter. Whatever it is, being comfortable with the program would allow you to be more effective in making the template.

Lastly, when making the letterhead as is, you have to remember to apply the criteria you have earlier identified into the one you are making. Be sure to complete your contact details in making the template, as well as the logo and motto of your organization. But more than that, you have to decide the visual identity of your work – does it speak for the organization? Is it going to make the reader appreciate your organization by the mere immediate glance of your letterhead? When drafting the template, pause once in a while and look at it more carefully. Ask yourself, does this suit my creative instincts? Will people read this document because it looks good to begin with? You may even ask the opinion of somebody you would listen to. It does not matter how many times you revise your template. As long as you get your desired look in the end, the number of attempts could be written off the slate.