October 25, 2008

Blog Readers
Whatever Their Title
Everywhere
Planet Earth

Dear Blog Reader:

The purpose of this letter is to share business letter writing tips. Perhaps the most important point of all is to begin by stating your business clearly and concisely.

For the inside address, always use the person’s full name and precede it with Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. Always use a colon in the salutation: using a comma is like wearing blue jeans to a black tie dinner. The following tips apply to the body of a letter:

  • Use bullet points to break up text.
  • Avoid over use of bold text, italics, and multiple size fonts. You’re writing a letter, not a billboard.
  • Keep paragraphs short.
  • Write to the reading level of the recipient. If you use Google Docs, there’s a handy Tool in the Word Count option that tells you the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of your content. When in doubt, a 7th to 9th grade rating is pretty safe.
  • Outline your letter before you begin writing. First, list out every point you think might be pertinent. Then, arrange the points in a logical order. Then, eliminate the points that aren’t necessary.
  • For the closing, make sure to have a clear next step or call to action – place an order, pay a bill, agree to a meeting, accept an apology, etc. To keep your letter on track, write the close first and work backwards. If you use an outline, start with your call to action.

The specific content of a letter obviously depends on the subject matter. In general, provide enough background for the recipient to understand the issue at hand. For example, in a letter of apology, briefly recap the circumstances leading up to the error. Avoid jargon. Keep emotion out. State facts as specifically as possible. Except in rare circumstances, leave the door open for further communication. Write respectfully and with the attitude that you hope and expect to do business with the recipient for years to come.

The call to action for this letter is to ask you if there are specific types of business letters you’d like to talk about. If so, please leave a comment at the end of this post. I’ll post on your suggestions in the weeks ahead. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope it helps tune up your words and start connecting.

Sincerely,

Brad Shorr
President
Word Sell, Inc.

P.S. People always read the postscript, so it’s a good spot for key information, for example thanking Cath Lawson for inspiring this post.

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