How to Mail an Envelope: A Step by Step Guide
How to mail an envelope could seem like an easy task, but there are steps you need to follow. Although we’re in the digital age, where you could just send an email with a click, who wouldn’t love a surprise letter from their crush popping up at their doorstep?
In different scenarios, people have written heartfelt letters to their friends and family.
These letters could be a way to express how they truly felt about a moment or an action that happened.
If you really want to know how to mail an envelope properly without any errors, then you should keep reading.
How to Mail an Envelope
There are several steps involved when you want to mail an envelope. These steps include:
1. Pick an Envelope
Finding the right envelope for your letter is really necessary. For instance, if you choose an envelope with a very thin wall, any heavy contents can cause the envelope to tear while it is being transported.
You need to consider the envelope’s weight. It needs to carry the weight of the paper and any other contents you will be mailing.
Also, the size of the envelope should match the size of the contents inside. Most people use 812 by 11-inch paper for letters and fold it into business-size envelopes.
Use a strong envelope if you’re sending a letter overseas because there is a higher chance it will be damaged during transit.
2. Write an Address on the Envelope
In the front of the envelope, right in the center, just write the recipient’s address. Include the name, zip code, and postal code of the receiver.
If you know the nine- or eleven-digit zip code, you can write it. You are free to use the state’s two-letter postal code. Don’t forget to provide the recipient’s title and the company’s name if it’s a professional letter.
Make sure you write the name of the country in capital letters at the end of the address if you are writing to someone who lives abroad.
Instead of a street address, some people prefer to have their mail delivered to a post office box. If this is the case, write the city, state, and country after the right post office box number.
3. Get a Stamp
Put one first-class stamp in the top-right corner of any letter of standard size that weighs less than an ounce and is addressed to a U.S. address.
You can get your stamp from any post office and number of retail outlets.
Stamps are available in both common and unique designs. Visit a post office and ask for their range of decorative stamps if you want to buy one.
However, the cost of stamps increases as time progresses. If you have old postage stamps, be sure they still fully cover the cost of first-class postage.
4. Calculate the Postage
Oversized, heavy, or mailed international letters need additional postage to reach their destination.
You can weigh and measure your letter to know how much postage you’ll need to buy. Then, you can look up the prices on the USPS official website.
Meanwhile, if you have a postage scale at home, take measurements, then look up prices on USPS.
Another option is taking your mail to a post office to get it weighed if you don’t have a scale. The clerk will be able to know the amount of postage you will need.
5. Send Your Letter
If you live in American cities and suburbs, you’ll find blue USPS mailboxes. Once your letter is in the slot, close the box by opening it towards the top.
At the time indicated on the box, a postal worker will pick up your letter and begin the sorting and delivery procedure.
You can also post your letter in a mailbox that is close to your house. Move the red flag out of the mailbox to let the mailman know it is there.
Meanwhile, a post office employee will mail your letter to you if you need to purchase postage. You can still take your letter to the post office to be mailed even if you don’t need to purchase postage.
How to Mail an Envelope with the Right Address
An address is an important detail you must include when sending an envelope if you want your postal mail to be delivered.
This will reduce needless delays in getting your message to the receiver. In fact, the quality of the address determines how well your business or campaign performs when using postal mail.
Fortunately, there are ways to make sure that the addresses in your database are authenticated and validated.
People now have access to sophisticated address verification tools that use the official address database of the USPS to confirm that a given address is legitimate.
USPS has a certification program called Coding Accuracy Support System, which verifies if a software can access the USPS’s official address database for address verification.
However, you must include more information than simply the addressee’s name and street address in order for the address on the envelope to be deemed complete.
The information you must provide in the address you write on an envelope is:
- The person or company’s name
- Street Address
- Name of the City
- State
- Country (if you’re sending an international mail)
How Do You Send Envelopes of Different Sizes?
There are different types of envelopes, and they come in different sizes. They include:
1. Conformer Envelope
These envelopes are more durable than conventional envelopes since they are used to send heavy, bulky, and important mail.
This is because many of them may fit inside of them without any trouble, and you can avoid paying the additional shipping fees that would have been charged had you used a box for mailing.
When using a conformer envelope, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First, make sure the envelope is properly sealed, especially if you are mailing a hefty object.
Since the conformer envelopes have a glossy finish, a Sharpie works best for writing the address because it is both clear and permanent. So, it is best to get the postage cost directly from the post office.
2. Large Envelope
People who want to send something other than a folded-up letter through the mail but don’t necessarily need a box are quite fond of large-format envelopes.
They are also known as flats. These are the envelopes you can get from delivery services other than USPS, including UPS, FedEx, and DHL.
Large envelopes are ideal for big documents, marketing materials, printed materials, and other little goods that won’t get damaged.
They usually measure around 6 inches tall by 11 inches long and 14 inches in length.
3. Remittance Envelope
Remittance envelopes are used to transfer or collect money that is given during charity contributions.
They include an additional flap that can be used by the sender to record important information. This flap is folded up and secured when the envelope is closed.
The remittance envelope’s flap can be used to seal in your personal information after the fields for that information have been filled out.
If your remittance envelope does not already contain postage pre-paid, stamp it in the top corner with one standard letter size stamp.
4. Clasp Envelope
Clasp envelopes are unique in that they are hand-canceled.
This implies that you will be required to pay a non-machinable surcharge for these envelopes, even if the clasp envelope weighs less than 1 oz.
Meanwhile, here’s how you can go about it if you are forced to use a clasp envelope and you also want to avoid having to pay the non-machinable cost.
To avoid paying the fee, just enclose the clasp envelope in a standard or non-clasp envelope. You must still use the standard addressing format.
Tips for Avoiding Mistakes When Mailing an Envelope
To guarantee that your postal mail reaches its destination as soon as possible, there are some errors that you must avoid making while putting the address on an envelope.
They include:
1. Don’t Write the Address in Pencil
One of the most frequent errors while addressing an envelope is writing the address on it with a pencil.
Businesses should make every effort to avoid making such errors because using a pencil is not only inappropriate but also quite unprofessional.
2. Write in Capital Letters
Although using capital or uppercase letters when addressing an envelope is not absolutely required, it is preferable because it can reduce confusion.
This is true if you manually write the address on the envelope.
3. Avoid Using Punctuation
When addressing an envelope, try to avoid using punctuation as well.
This will improve the readability of your letter
4. Don’t Use Nicknames
Using a name other than the addressee’s complete legal name when addressing an envelope is another error you must avoid making.
By using it to cross-reference the address with the USPS’s address databases, this helps to confirm the address’ accuracy.
5. Write the Correct Street Abbreviations
You should be careful to use the correct and precise abbreviations for the streets, flats, states, etc.
The normal format for USPS mail is the shortened form, which facilitates processing more quickly.
Now, you know the steps involved in mailing an envelope so it can reach its destination on time.
It’s up to you to send that long-awaited letter to your crush, family member, or colleague at work.
