Self Mailer Message

Important Note:
Please be sure to save the template to your hard drive; then open the file from within Word before making your own changes.

Electronic mail (E-mail) is a new class of communication. In everyday use, it is a cross between conventional letter writing and spoken communications--a type of transcribed conversation. It's ironic that the age of the telephone, which demanded we improve our speaking skills, is in many cases, being replaced by an electronic age that requires a new found skill in, of all things, writing!

There is a place in this new age for "non-electronic" E-mail--an informal written form of communication that has the impact of conventional mail yet is almost as easy to create as its electronic counterpart. Don't doubt its power. More than ever, as less and less regular mail is sent and received, the argument can be made that a simple letter carries more weight than it did even a decade ago.

The key to using this Self-Mailer Message is to choose the appropriate situation. The most obvious circumstance is to send E-mail-like messages to people who don't use E-mail. Yes, there are still some out there. In fact, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that there are far more people who do not use E-mail than there are those who do. Including them in your mailings will not only broaden the reach of your message, it may encourage them to discover the advantage of being online.

Some other obvious uses for the Self-Mailer Message are to send a check to a vendor, to pass on an article you tore out of a magazine, to a share a photograph, or to deliver a business card to a new contact. The mailer is perfect for producing and printing a quick, informal message and sending an attachment.

The example shows how it's done. You'll print both sides of an 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet in "landscape" orientation. Side one, the inside, includes space for the "TO" name, the "FROM" name, the "DATE" of the message, the message body, your company name, and street and E-mail addresses. The background includes a handsome, repeat pattern of the word "MESSAGE."

Side two, the outside, includes space for your return address, the name and address of the recipient, and provides light folding guides (shown above in red). Print the first file (Ok036mem1), the outside, on one side of the sheet then flip it and run it back through the printer to print file two (Ok036mem2), the inside.

The panels are labeled to show you the folding sequence. Once you have folded it once or twice you can remove the labels by simply selecting and deleting the text. The folded message can be sealed using a wafer seal or tape.

To add visual interest, consider printing the sheet on bright colored stock.

All templates are compatible with the C5000 Series, C7000 Series and C9000 Series digital color printers from OKI^® Printing Solutions.

Template design by: Chuck Green, Logic Arts (804-266-7996, www.ideabook.com);
Headline font: Arial, Agfa Monotype Corp., (888-988-2432, www.agfamonotype.com).