How to Mail a Letter…… this question will be answered in the following article. Even in the fast-paced era of text messages and fast communication, there are still a lot of reasons to mail a traditional letter during a festive season.
The whole process is just so straightforward, which means everybody can do it. These will help you focus your attention on the contents of the letter rather than on its mailing process.
- Getting Letter Ready to Mail
- Finding Right Postage
- Mailing the Letter
Getting Letter Ready to Mail
Choose envelope
It’s necessary to get the right envelope for the letter. Do not choose an envelope with light stuff and built-up. The drawback of such an envelope is that heavy contents might fiddle out of the envelope while it is in transit.
Following factors must be considered while choosing an envelope for the mail:
The weight of the paper. The weight of the envelope should be in accordance with the weight of the paper and any other document you are mailing. If the letter is written on heavy card paper style sheet, or something else has been included like photos, then you must choose a sturdy envelope to handle the weight of the enclosed stuff.
The size of the envelope. The size of the envelope must be appropriate and match the size of the documents inside. Letters written on standard A-4 size paper are generally mailed in regular-sized envelopes. Letters are posted in smaller envelopes.
The intent of the letter. While mailing a cover letter, choose a professional-looking business-size envelope, whereas personal notes may be posted in a decorative and colourful envelope.
Address the envelope. Write the correct known address of the recipient in the middle of the front of the envelope including the recipient’s name, apartment or house number, street name, city, state or province, and zip or postal code.
The letter’s destination. While sending a letter overseas, must ensure using a sturdier envelope to avoid damage on the way.
Write your return address.In the top-left bottom corner of the envelope, must ensure to write the sender’s name and address for secure handling. It is better to write return address so that undelivered mail gets redirected to the sender.
Enclose the letter and seal the envelope. Put the letter inside the envelope, carefully checking for any tearing of corners of the envelope and lick the edge of the envelope to moisten the glue lightly, or you may add a bit of glue by yourself to stick better, then press it hard to the letter by placing it on the table.
Finding the Right Postage
Use a postage stamp. If you’re mailing a letter of standard size weighing and addressed to an inland address including an APO or FPO address, place the stamp on the top-right corner of the letter. Stamps are available for purchase at any post office and online in case of US at USPS.com.
Stamps special designs. You may purchase a commemorative or decorative stamp from a post office collection. Rate of postage stamps rises in price periodically. Ensure that the stamps you use cover the full cost of postage. You may ask the postal clerk or visit the postal site.
Buy extra postage. Heavy or oversized letters that are being posted overseas require additional postage. Get accurate postage weighing at home or at the postal office to determine the postage needed to be paid. Affix the postage necessary to the top-right corner of the letter.
Mailing the Letter
Place the letter in the collection box. Open the box near the top, place your letter in the slot, and close it or you may drop it in the mailbox of the post office. Every letterbox has a small clipboard indicating when the post will get picked up each day. The letter will be picked up the next business day if you have dropped it after the scheduled pick-up time.
Place the letter in your mailbox. In the US, you can place your letter in a mailbox on or near your home. Alert mail carrier by moving the red flag on the mailbox by rotating the flag up or down. If the flag is visible, then the mail carrier gets to know that there is a letter requiring attention.
Take the letter to any post office. In any case, you still have any doubts, you can take a letter to a postal clerk, and she/he will do the rest for you. You may only have to pay the price if need be.
Tips for How to Mail a Letter
- Check with the country’s postal service and postage rates. They vary from state to region. Visit the local post office or the website for appropriate information.
- Any explosives, batteries, oils, paints, products that are unsafe to mail with potential to leak in the changing pressures can not be posted. These packages in the mail is illegal. You may end up with jail time or excessive fines.
- You can wet a sponge to moisten the envelope glue if licking it seems offensive to you. You may put a little clear tape along the edge of the seal for a secure journey of the mail.
- Writing to a destination outside your country, ensure to include the destination country’s name in upper-case letters.
- If you don’t have a scale, take the letter to the postal to calculate precisely how much postage you’ll need.
Hopefully, the above article will sort out your problems of how to mail a letter and will make you more confident in the task.