In business or personal life, you need to know how to write a letter the right way. Letter writing is somewhat of an art, whether you’re writing a business letter or a personal letter, although you can use the same basic format for both.
Many letters tend to waffle on somewhat & never seem to get to the point, taking the reader on a circular journey to nowhere. Grandma just loves receiving these letters, but in the business world, it’s not how to write a letter, rather it’s ‘give me the facts & only the facts’
Other letters just do not make any sense at all. In fact, many secretaries and typesetters simply do not read what they’ve just typed. They’ll leave it entirely up to the person who wrote the letter to proof read it. And if there’s a typo they’ll simply do that specific task and hand it back for checking.
Doing you own proof checking is dangerous because after you’ve read your own letter a number of times, you become blind to any errors. The most important issue is that the letter clearly conveys the message that you wish to send.
The Format…
Letter writing follows a fairly basic format although there are variances. Most letters contain -
- The letter date
- Name and address of the writer
- The name & address of the person receiving the letter
- Some sort of greeting
- The letter body
- The salutation
- The author’s signature
Learning how to write a letter for business is slightly different. Business letters may contain a wide variety of additional information and address many different issues but, generally speaking, they too are written in somewhat of a standard format.
A personal letter doesn’t really require any of the technical stuff that a business letter would normally include, so they can be totally casual if you want them to be.
Things You Need To Be Aware Of When Learning How To Write a Letter…
The receiver is unaware of the context in which the letter is written and cannot ’see’ your body language, so how & what you write may be taken literally. There is no option for follow-up questions, so be precise in your choice of words
Misspelling can make you look stupid, so be sure to use a spellchecker if you’re looking to make a good impression. Also, make sure that context & grammar is correct, unless the letter is to a close friend or relative
After You Write The Letter…
Read it over to make sure that it actually says what you really want it to say. If you are conveying any details, check to make sure they are accurate – particularly if the letter announces a date, time, and place.
Take the time and learn how to write a letter correctly, it will pay off for the rest of your life.
Author & small business owner Peter Kirkham has written a terrific collection of small business ideas & low budget marketing methods that show fellow small business owners how to increase profits & create a steady flow of new customers into their businesses… FOREVER. They are all available in his FREE Customer Attraction Kit.