From CBIA News, April 2002

Get off to the ‘write’ start

How to make sure your business letters accomplish their mission

By Chris Amorosino

Free-lance writer in Unionville

Anyone can write a business letter, right? Wrong. It’s easy to make basic mistakes that practically guarantee no one will read your letter. And you will lose readers — or win their attention — in the first few lines. 

Who will read it?

First and foremost, think about the problems and concerns of the people you’re writing to, advises Michael Salius, APR, managing director at Percival Communications LLC in Avon. Then, build your message around demonstrating how your business can solve a major problem for that audience, he says.

If your purpose is to address a customer complaint or service problem, Salius says to start with empathy. “The biggest priority in that situation is to show you understand how the customer feels, that you’re as troubled as the customer is, and that your business is going to do everything it can to understand the customer’s position.”

“Do everything you can to appear reader-oriented, rather than self-oriented,” agrees Jim Decker, chairman and creative director at Glastonbury’s Decker Advertising. “Tell them something right off the bat that will appeal to their own self-interest.” For example, a letter Decker wrote begins, “This is your invitation to promote your business by advertising with the Cape Cod League Brewster White Caps this summer.”

Decker also believes in creating attention by not sending your letter out alone. If you can enclose something that has value or is visually interesting and relates well to your company and message, you’re more likely to get your letter read. 

What’s your letter’s purpose?

Many business writing experts recommend starting with the end in mind. Decide the specific purpose and main points you’ll make in the letter and make sure each point supports your main idea. This technique gives your letter a strong sense of purpose. Before you begin, think about such questions as:

• Who is my audience?

• What tone and which ideas will most influence them?

• What action do I want them to take?

• How can I make my message compelling? 

• What image do I want to project?

Put your most important message up front. People today have little patience. They tend to scan rather than read, so start strong. Your first paragraph should clearly state the letter’s purpose and your most important, persuasive point.

Create the right tone. Think about how you want your audience to react, and use language that will help generate the appropriate response. To introduce a new service and get people to call, try an exciting, newsy tone. Always put yourself in readers’ shoes and think about their needs, how they like to be addressed, and ways to create a message that will influence them in a positive way. 

Use visual appeal

Before people read a word, they’re already forming an opinion based on how your letter looks and feels. You can add visual appeal by surrounding the words with lots of white (empty) space, adding a picture or graphic, or using a subdued-color paper such as gray or light blue. Decker’s Cape Cod League letter contained color photos from a baseball game to catch attention and convey the experience of being at the ballpark. A letter written on heavier paper or on paper with a pronounced grain conveys more importance and substance. 

Writing effective openings for your business letters boils down to knowing why you are writing, understanding your reader’s concerns, creating interest, and clearly writing what needs to be said. Try writing a beginning that can be described by the “c” words: clear, concise, correct, courteous, conversational, convincing and creative. 

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Sidebar:

Business letter writing mini-course