Writing an Effective Business Letter
Writing an effective business letter is an important
skill. In this
brief overview we will examine the five main steps
in creating an effective business letter. With this
knowledge you can quickly amend and personalize business
- Identify your aims
- Establish the facts
- Know the recipient of the letter
- Create sample Copy
- Decide on Physical layout
Identify Your Aims
Clearly establish what you want to achieve from the
letter- whether it is to win back a dissatisfied customer
or to reprimand an employee. Whatever the aim, create
your letter from these goals.
Establish the Facts
Make sure you have the relevant accurate facts available.
For a late payer, this might include relevant invoices,
complaint forms, talks with your sales department
and any previous correspondence from the customer.
Know the Recipient of the Letter
Write in the language of your recipient. Try to put
yourself in the position of the recipient. Read it
from his point of view. Is the letter clear or open
If you know the recipient, use this knowledge to
phrase the letter to generate your desired response.
Create a Sample Copy
Having established your aims, amassed the relevant
facts with a conscious view of the recipient, write
down the main points of your letter.
Decide on Physical Layout of Letter
The physical appearance of a letter consists of the
paper and the envelope.
The first thing a recipient sees is the envelope.
It is essential that it is of suitable quality with
the name and address spelt correctly. Quality envelopes
and paper suggest a professional company.
It is wise to make sure the envelope matches the
size of the paper. While you will use 81/2 x 11 inches(A4
size) sized paper for the majority of letters - a
4 x 6 inches(A5) can be used for specific shorter
letters. But insist that correctly sized envelopes
are used for this A5 size paper, allowing you maintain
and convey an coordinated image.
Layout Of A Letter
The following elements will constitute the formal
- Letterhead: Name, Address, Date
- Subject matter
This will include your company's name, address, telephone
number, fax number and email address. Include your web
address if available. Other information may be required
depending on the legal status of your business formation.
Contact your legal adviser for exact details.
Name and address
Always include the recipient's name, address and
postal code. Add job title if appropriate. Double
check that you have the correct spelling of the recipient
's name .
Always date your letters. Never abbreviate January
to Jan. 31.
These are optional. They are a good idea if you have
a large volume of correspondence. These days modern
word processors made this an easy task to complete
The type of salutation depends
on your relationship with the recipient. Always
try to personalize the letter
thus avoiding the dear sir/madam situation.
Again this is optional, but its inclusion can help
the recipient in dealing successfully with the aims
of your letter. Normally the subject sentence is preceded
with the word Re: It should be placed one line below
This will contain a number of paragraphs, each paragraph
dealing with one point and one point only.
The signature should be clear and legible-showing
you are interested in the letter and consequently
the recipient. Your signature should also be followed
underneath by a typed version of your name and your
If you include other material in the letter, put
'Enclosure', 'Enc', or ' Encs ', as appropriate, two
lines below the last entry.
Previously we created the main points of our letter,
now we must transform this into a final version. To
do this, four main considerations are necessary.
• There are three
main formats: blocked, semi-blocked and indented.
former has all entries tight against the left -hand
margin. The semi-blocked format
sets the references
and the date to the right margin for filing and retrieval
the remaining entries placed against
the left margin.
• The indented format follows the same
layout as either of the above, but indents each
paragraph by five or six spaces.
Clarity of communication is the primary goal. Don't
use technical jargon if the recipient is unlikely
to understand it. Short sentences are less likely
to be misunderstood or misinterpreted. Be precise,
don't ramble. Check each sentence to see if it is
relevant. Does it add to the point ?
Always try to personalize your letters. Always try
to be civil and friendly even if the subject matter
is stern and sensitive. Give the impression to the
recipient that some effort and thought has gone into
Once the final version of the letter has been created,
polish it off with a final spelling and punctuation