TIPS AND TRICKS FOR WRITING SUCCESS - PART 3 of 7
This Free mini-course is sponsored by:
http://www.WritingHelpTools.com
http://www.WritingHelp-Central.com
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Hello Affiliate,
This is the Part 3 installment of the mini writing help
tutorial that you recently subscribed for.
In the last session we looked at the many advantages of
"real-life templates" over generic fill-in-the-blanks models.
Now we'll look at how to write effective business letters.
Here's Part 3 of your mini-course...
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Writing Business Letters That Get The Job Done
Copyright © Shaun Fawcett
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Despite the widespread use of e-mail in commerce today,
traditional business letters are still the main way that
the majority of businesses officially communicate with their
customers and other businesses.
This is especially true when businesses want to formalize an
agreement or an understanding. So far, emails are great for
all of the preparatory work, but a formal business letter is
still most often needed to "seal the deal".
There are two basic categories of business letters: business
to business, and business to customer.
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS LETTERS
Most business to business letters are written to confirm
things that have already been discussed among officials in
meetings, on the telephone, or via e-mail.
Can you imagine the letters that would have to go back and
forth to cover all of the questions and possibilities that
can be covered in a one-hour meeting, a half-hour phone call,
or a few quick e-mails?
The main purpose of a typical business letter is to formalize
the details that were arrived at in those discussions, and to
provide any additional information that was agreed upon.
Over the years, certain general standards have evolved in the
business world that the vast majority of businesses use in
drafting their business-to-business correspondence.
BUSINESS-TO-CUSTOMER LETTERS
There are many different types of business-to-customer letters.
They include: sales and marketing letters, information letters,
order acknowledgement letters, order status letters, collection
letters, among others.
As with business-to-business letters, over the years certain
general standards have evolved in the business world that the
vast majority of businesses use in drafting letters to
existing and potential customers.
Of course, going in the other direction are customer to
business letters. These include: order letters, order status
inquiry letters, complaint letters, and others.
Since these are customer-generated letters, there is no
particular expectation that they follow any particular letter-
writing standard. Typically, they are handled just like any
other piece of personal correspondence.
BUSINESS LETTER WRITING TIPS
Here are a few tips I have picked up while writing literally
hundreds of business letters over the past 20+ years. This is
a slightly modified version of the tips included in my eBook,
"Instant Home Writing Kit".
LIMIT THEM TO ONE PAGE
By definition, business letters should be short and to the
point, preferably one page in length. Studies have found that
busy business people do not like to read beyond the first
page, and will actually delay reading longer letters.
RELEGATE TECHNICAL DETAILS TO ATTACHMENTS
Often, it is necessary to include detailed technical
information as part of a business letter package. In such
cases, use the main letter as a cover letter that lists and
briefly explains the attached (or enclosed) documents.
KEEP THEM FORMAL AND FACTUAL
Generally speaking, the tone and content of business letters
should be formal and factual. Feelings and emotions do not
have a place in business letters.
CAREFULLY PLAN YOUR LETTER
Before writing the letter, take a few minutes to list all of
the specific points you need to cover. Sometimes it may even
mean a call to the recipient or his/her company to confirm a
specific point. Remember, the purpose of the letter is to tie
up all of the details on the subject at hand, so that more
letters won't have to be written back and forth.
BE CUSTOMER FRIENDLY
When writing directly to customers, always focus on their
needs and their perspective. Put yourself in their position
and imagine what it would be like receiving your letter.
Everyone can do this, since we are all customers of some
other business in some part of our lives.
USE NON-DISCRIMINATORY LANGUAGE
Make sure that you avoid language that is specific to gender,
race, or religion in all business letters, either to other
businesses, or to customers. For example, use "workforce"
instead of "manpower", or "chairperson" rather than "chairman".
Most style guides contain detailed lists of the offensive
terms and some suggested substitutes.
TRY MY BUSINESS LETTER QUIZ...
When I was developing one of my eBook Web sites I put
together a brief business letter quiz to help people
determine how much they really know (or don't know)
about writing business letters.
It takes less than a minute. Click on this link to try it:
http://writinghelptools.com/cgi-bin/a/t.cgi?arbquiz
To see a fully-formatted "real-life template" of a business
letter, click on the following link:
http://www.writinghelp-central.com/business-letter.html
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Affiliate, that's it for Part 3 of your mini-course.
While you're here, don't forget to check out the "source" on
writing business letters...
"INSTANT BUSINESS LETTER KIT - How To Write Business Letters
That Get The Job Done"
http://instantbusinessletterkit.com
"Shaun, I am very impressed. I've always found writing
business letters a real chore, something I enjoyed doing
about as much as having teeth pulled. However, by using
the templates in your Instant Business Letter Kit even I
can produce a professional business letter easily and in
very little time...and time IS money. In fact, I saved
enough time during the first letter to cover the cost of the
kit. That's excellent value. Good work and thanks again!"
Rosalind Gardner, CEO, WebVista Inc.
This Kit contains more than 100 real-life business letter
templates that you can download straight into your word
processor (MS-Word) and work with immediately!
http://www.instantbusinessletterkit.com
All the best,
Shaun Fawcett, M.B.A.
P.S.
Here's what another owner of "Instant Business Letter Kit"
had to say about what it will do for her...
"Shaun, your Instant Business Letter Kit has already saved me
hours of endless detail work. Right away, I found 10 letters
that I need to use -- now. These are no ordinary templates;
the letters are written for very specific uses and fill all
my needs. The Kit is so easy to use, and worth ten times my
investment. I won't have to waste time writing business
letters from scratch for a long time to come."
--- Linda Alexander, Business Writer/Marketing Consultant
Write to the Point Communications
http://instantbusinessletterkit.com/
STILL TO COME:
Part 4: Recommendation Letters Demystified
Part 5: 10 Tips For Writing A Winning Resume
Part 6: How To Write Resume Cover Letters That Work
Part 7: 7 Secrets For Beating Writer's Block
Your next course instalment will arrive on Jul. 11, 2008.
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Copyright (c) 2005, Shaun R. Fawcett, All Rights Reserved.
mailto:shaun@writinghelp-central.com
http://www.WritingHelpTools.com
http://www.WritingHelp-Central.com
http://www.instantBusinessLetterkit.com
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