[All photos in this post where taken at Momed in Atwater Village]

When I first started writing about restaurants and photographing food, my primary concern was website management and taking great photos. Anything outside of that was something I would have to focus on later. As time passed and I was visiting more restaurants and holding more giveaways, I quickly realized there was an element I didn’t have available: printed branded material. I spent so much time on building my website, but I didn’t give much attention to creating my printed communication. Those things being letterhead, envelops, business cards, and a few other essential pieces. It was an oversight that I would end up rushing to make and end up spending too much money to expedite printing that I wish I had done early on.

To help you avoid going through the same last minute struggle that I endured, I’ve put together a list of all the branded stationery that I’ve created for my website. In no particular order, here are all the branded materials which have made my outreach and communication while reviewing restaurants so much easier!

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[1] Business Cards

When you start to visit restaurants and blog seriously, people will ask where they can find your work. Having the information that can direct people to everything that pertains to you and your blog readily available would be great, right? That’s where business cards come in handy! To have business cards made, take into consideration the most important items that should be included. The basics that you should have are:

• Your blog name
• Your name
• Your title
• Phone number
• Email address
• Website (if applicable)
• Social media pages

From there, decide the shape, size, and feel of your cards. Your cards can be the standard rectangle or you could switch it up and make yours a circle or square. Thinking about touch, your cards could be matte or textured. Then you can even play around with the density and make yours thicker than average. You could also make use of all aspects of the card and even include color along the edges. But to do all this, they have to be designed first. I was lucky to have a previous coworker design a simple and straight to the point logo for me in Photoshop, thanks Brian! If you have any friends with design skills who don’t mind doing you a favor, ask them to create yours. If you don’t have a homie who can do it for you, then hit up sites like Fiverr to find a freelancer who can do the job for you.

[2] Letterhead

Letterhead is a sheet of paper that has your logo and often your name and address. It’s really a piece of stationery that you don’t think about it until you already need it. I first came across needing letterhead when I was looking to send out prizes to giveaway winners. I wanted to communicate information about the prize to the winners and look professional at the same time and a letterhead was the best way to do that. Thankfully, letterhead can easily be made in Microsoft Word.

Creating my letterhead was a ten minute job. I simply:

• Opened a new document in Microsoft Word,
• Dropped my PNG logo into the header,
• Typed my contact information into the footer,
• Placed my social media icons underneath my contact information,
• Saved the document as a Microsoft Word file (to make future changes) and a PDF file (for printing), and
• Made multiple prints of the PDF letterhead in color.

I chose to make multiple prints to have on hand because I simply preferred to load my printer with the letterhead. You can always type the content of whatever you’re correspondence is onto the letterhead if you find that easier for you!

[3] Envelopes

To go alongside your letterhead are your envelopes. My friend Alexis of Tiny Bee Cards created mine because I didn’t know how to set the dimensions of the envelope in Photoshop. With this I simply asked her to place my logo, name, and mailing address in the top left corner of the envelope. However, it’s important to know that if you put your mailing address on an envelope people will know where you live. A better option may be to get a P.O. Box and use that address or to use the address of your job, with your boss’ permission. My envelopes have my job’s address and I was fine with doing that because all the office mail would go through me. I also wasn’t worried about people finding me at my job because crazy people would always come to my job—and what’s one more?

Seeing as I was laid off and am no longer working there, it looks like it’s time for me to change that. P.O. Box, here I come!

[4] Stickers

Stickers are a great way to give your followers or someone you’re communicating with, an item that allows them to feel as if they’re part of your brand. They can slap it on their laptop or car and they feel more connected to what you’re creating. In return to you, they help promote your business. Depending on what you want your sticker to be, you can design it to your hearts content. My sticker was designed with the Apple sticker in mind and is simply my logo. I place it inside a folded letter within an envelope and off it goes! It simply serves as an easy way for my brand to interact with others and it’s a fun little surprise for the recipient!

[5] Thank-You Cards

Having thank you cards are honestly my favorite item out of all the branded material that I have!

I didn’t come up with the idea of the thank-you card, but I did change the way I use them. Whenever you have a comped dinner, detail on that term and others here, the waiter usually doesn’t bring you the black book with the receipt. That’s fine, but if you don’t have the book then you can only leave your tip on the table. Personally, I don’t like to leave cash open and in plain view because I’m a paranoid dweeb. Instead, I asked Alexis to create a branded thank-you card and envelope. We’ve had other designs, but went with an envelope that has my favorite hashtag: #OMGut (Oh My Gut) with relevant tags surrounding it and a matching blank card that reads: Thank You. On the blank side of the thank-you card, I can write a note to the person who helped me most during the evening. I’ll usually tell them how I felt the food was, how they helped me throughout the meal, and where they can see the post. Once the note is written I’ll slide it into the envelope along with their tip and either leave it on the table, in the tip jar, or give it directly to the waiter. Keep in mind, most restaurants pool tips so if their cash gets combined with others, they still have their note.

There are still some things I may incorporate on the next design of the card, but for now this one makes me very happy. I highly encourage you to get your own thank-you cards made because I’ve been told later by waiters and managers that the card is very sweet and supportive. Plus it stands out!

Take a look into my Follow My Gut drawer at home and you’ll see everything I mentioned in this post. Business cards, letterhead, envelopes, stickers, and thank-you cards are always in stock because they are essential for me to have available in my daily communication when blogging about restaurants and networking. While I use some more often than others, it feels so good to have them made and ready at a moment’s notice. If you need anything made and would love help, I can’t recommend Alexis enough! She is incredibly patient, has a great design eye, and somehow knows how to take your thoughts and turn them into great final products. Once you have yours made, I’m positive you’ll be so happy with them each time you use them!