Tag: business envelopes

How to Add a Return Envelope When Creating a Job

Look, not every mail-related question is a high-stakes compliance issue. Sometimes it’s just: “Hey… how do I add a return envelope to this thing?”

And, we get it. If you haven’t done it before, this stuff can feel weirdly tricky. But here’s the good news: it’s incredibly easy—and we made a video to walk you through it, just in case clicking buttons under pressure isn’t your thing.

Watch below to see a walk-through of how to add a return envelope or keep reading to get the quick breakdown:

So, if you’re sending out statements, invoices, ballots, or anything else where you actually want a response (like, in the mail, with a stamp and everything), you’ll want to include a return envelope.

Let’s break it down.

What’s a Return Envelope and Why Does It Matter?

A return envelope is exactly what it sounds like: a second envelope, tucked inside your mailing, that your recipient can use to mail something back to you.

  • They open your letter
  • They see the return envelope
  • They use it
  • Everyone wins

This is especially common for:

  • Payments (yep, checks are still a thing)
  • Forms and ballots
  • Surveys and reply cards

If you don’t include one, your return rate drops. People are busy, and no one wants to hunt down an envelope like it’s 1997, you know? In fact, you can’t find just one and no one wants to buy a whole pack of envelopes either. So, best case scenario is to include one yourself for your customers.

How to Add a Return Envelope to Your Mailing

Ready? It’s literally one step. (Told you it was easy.)

When setting up your job online, when you get to the inserts page, simply click on the blue “Add An Envelope” button and select with #9 you want to choose.

Boom. Done.

The return envelope will be inserted automatically along with your letter or statement. No extra work. No extra clicks. It’s already built into the workflow.

Still unsure? Don’t forget we made a YouTube video that shows you how to add a #9 return envelope.
Because sometimes it’s just easier to see it than read about it.

🎥 Watch: How to Add a Return Envelope: https://www.letterstream.com/redir?utm_source=video&utm_medium=emailvideo&utm_campaign=emailvideo&utm_id=email&link=https://www.youtube.com/@LetterStream

A Few Bonus Tips

  • Want it pre-addressed? No problem.
  • Need a windowed return envelope? That’s an option.
  • Need a #8 ballot or even a 6 3/4 return envelope? Both are options too.

We’ve thought through the logistics so you don’t have to.

Make It Easy for Them to Respond

If you want a reply, make replying easy. It’s that simple.

Adding a return envelope removes friction, increases response rates, and gives your mail that “oh wow, they actually thought this through” energy.

We’re not saying it’ll make your recipients love you more—but… actually, yeah, it might.

If you’re not already a customer, you can create a free account here and if you’ve used us before simply log in here to get your mailing our quickly and easily with or without a return envelope included.

LetterStream offers bulk printing and mailing services allowing companies to send physical mail online. Whether it’s online Certified Mail, First-Class Mail, FedEx 2Day, or postcards, we give both small businesses and large corporations that time and freedom back to work on tasks that better serve the company. If you’re interested in creating a free account, you can do so, here.

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What Size Envelope Should I Use For My Mailing?

Commercial Envelope Sizes
*Source: www.macenvelopes.com

Once you start looking into creating a mailing, you’ll discover there are countless different envelope types, sizes, colors, textures, etc. to choose from. So many so, it could get a little confusing.

However, you can simplify things just a bit by choosing a white #10 envelope. This is by far the most common size and color for business mailings and is sometimes called a “business”, “business-sized” or sometimes even “commercial-size” envelope. We recommend you call it a “number ten” (#10) envelope, as this provides a more exact description. A #10 envelope is 4-1/8” tall and 9-1/2” wide. This envelope can easily hold 1 – 10 pieces of 8.5” x 11” paper.

Once you choose your envelope size, there are a few more items to consider. Do you need security tint? This is the special shading or print inside an envelope which reduces the amount of snooping that can occur by someone trying to look through the envelope. We recommend security tint for financial transactions as well as bills, statements, invoices and medical information. (Actually, nearly every #10 window envelope we use has security tint.)

Another question is what sort of flap do you need? If you are going to seal them by hand, get creative and find something you like (and get a glue stick for quick sealing), or choose the peal off, moisture-free seal style. The latter costs a little more, but some people like this cleaner process. If, on the other hand, you are hoping to have someone else (like LetterStream) seal them on a machine, you’ll want to skip the peal-off style, and pass on fancy edges on the envelope flaps. When sealing envelopes on machines, you’ll want to find machinable envelopes. These envelopes have a rounded, v-shaped flap with no points, no square corners and no fuzzy edges that will hang on the machine.

And of course we can’t forget to ask whether you need windows in your envelopes. Most bills/statements/invoices are mailed in window envelopes.  This is far more efficient if you have additional information in the document that pertains to the person you are sending the mail to. It helps to have the person’s name on the actual bill, so it goes to the right person.

We recommend window envelopes for most mailings because we know people will think it’s a bill and open it. However, if you want a little more intrigue or simplicity, go with windowless envelopes.

If you really want to get creative, there are countless other options to choose from. You can even create your own custom size and shape envelope by contacting an envelope converter. Just remember that uniqueness adds to the cost.

Here at LetterStream, we primarily use one of the following types of envelopes: #10 window with security tint, #10 windowless plain white, 10 x 13 windowed white flat, or our proprietary USPS-approved Certified Mail envelope. And you can be sure that ALL our envelopes have machinable flaps so we can insert and seal tens of thousands per hour (yes, you read that right).

We have other envelopes too, including #9, #8, 5×8, 6×9, and 6 3/4, to name a few. But most of these are used as return or remittance envelopes that are included in a mailing.

I hope this little envelope training has been helpful, if not inspiring. 😉

If you still have questions, contact us and we’ll point you in the right direction!

Here’s a handy Envelope Size Chart from Mac Papers Envelope Converters:

Envelope Size Chart