1. What platform? PC, Mac, or something else

First you must decide what platform your Email Stationery is going to be used on. This is important because different systems work in different ways. Mobile email devices like the Blackberry and Smart Phones all work differently. It is important to define where your Email Stationery is likely to be used and for what purpose. Email templates are installed into the email clients; a professional company offering this service should be able to offer a full installation process.

2. Have your Business Identity in place

Email Stationery is really an extension to traditional business stationery design, although a traditional print designer will not be able to advise on anything other than a proposed look and feel. The key thing about email stationery is that it is developed in html and it must be backward compatible. For this, you must turn to the people who are used to building robust html for email. The one thing you will need to make sure is that your logo, business identity, branding or corporate identity are all in place before inviting a company to look at this for you.

3. Choose a Layout Style for your Email Letterhead

There are 11 basic layout styles as defined by Digital Stationery, starting from a basic header and footer design all the way through to a series of variations with side bars. These basic design styles are the design patterns that we when assessing how to layout your stationery. This is a custom process and we are able to do some smart things, however we do follow a tried and tested rule book.

4. Do you need to disclose? Legal Disclosure

Disclosure comes from the Business Names Act and is applicable to UK based business, requiring all business correspondence to include a short sentence disclosing “who” the legal trading entity is. Registered Companies are required to include their company registration details whereas Sole Traders and Partnerships are required to include either the proprietors name or the partners names for compliance. This is just a short summary but the liability remains with either the company directors or the business owner.

5. Combining a Letterhead with your Business Card

Email stationery combines the personal contact details that are usually found on your business card with the business contact information that is on a letterhead. The most professional way to sign-off an email regardless of whether you are a sole trader or a large company is to ensure that the main contact details for the business are kept slightly separate to your personal contact details. This is good practice and it supports scalability with your stationery.

6. Think before you print!

Including an environmental statement like “Think before you Print” is considered good practice. Every click, every computer and every printed page uses energy, so this little statement is a way of asking people to ‘think about the environment’. This point should also be considered in an environmental policy for companies with departments.

7. Website Links, Social Networking and Business Profiles

Social Networks, Professional Bodies, Membership and Trade Associations are mechanisms for you to increase the profile and visibility of your business. The logos and membership details can be included within your email communications and we are continually updating, adding and adjusting these as our customers develop their business profiles. You may choose to include links to your website and/or third party websites when your profile exists. The important aspect of any design is to ensure the format is not too heavy to detract from the body of the message.

8. Professional Coding versus DIY approach

Email stationery is produced in html. This is the same scripting language used to create webpages, although emails are coded using a flavour of html that is tried and tested against spam traps and spam filters. The knowledge of how to do this is developed over time by building, processing and testing job after job. The final output is relatively simple, but it follows a best practice. This knowledge is something that has been largely forgotten as email browsers have stayed the same and website browsers have advanced. Most modern day templates and html authoring packages create html that is not desirable for robust email.

9. Legal Disclaimer…hmm!!

There is a whole subset of information about this topic, but generally speaking it is unproven that you can limit your liability by adding a disclaimer to an email. Many companies use a disclaimer to limit their liability from the individuals who are sending the email. Following on from this many small businesses follow the same style. There is real benefit in giving careful consideration as to the content of such a statement and whether it is applicable to you in for your business practices.

10. The SPAM trap

This is really important. Nobody wants their emails to be considered as spam. Spam filters are set-up differently across different networks, countries, regions, industries and organiSations. If you wish to avoid your emails being caught in everyday spam filters, it may be advisable to allow a third party company to design and build your job and ask these questions during the ordering process.