2. A message from the president. People respect a note from the head of the company. It lends authority to the message and makes the reader feel important.
3. Offer something free. Maybe it’s a free or discounted visit to your store or office. A doctor who lives down the street from me built his patient list by sending out several hundred postcards offering “10% off your first visit.” The prospect who is interested in your product or service will appreciate more information.
4. Ask a question. “Are your days hectic and frustrating?” This is good old-fashioned psychology. When you ask a question, the reader is enticed to answer it. It mentally involves the reader in your sales letter and offer. Some experts say to ask a series of questions, each likely being answered with “yes.” The final question has the reader saying “yes” to a sale.
5. Point out a problem that the prospect has. This is the adverting classic. Watch for it in marketing and commercials everywhere. Direct the reader’s attention to a problem, then make the problem seem worse. Once you’ve established the problem as a major impediment in the reader’s life, introduce your service or product as the solution.
6. Write a headline to grab attention!
Most sales letters begin with a headline that quickly presents the major points. It can be typed in all capitals like a newspaper headline:
THE NEW WIDGET 2000 WILL SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE–AND IT’S 40% OFF THIS MONTH ONLY!
You can also write the headline in paragraph fashion just above the salutation:
The new widget 2000 will simplify your life!
And it’s 40% off this month only!
Dear Computer Enthusiast,
And that brings us to another point. When you’re sending out lots of sales letters, a salutation to the general jobs or interests of your readers works just as well as typing in each reader’s name. Instead of “Dear Friend,” use “Dear Parent,” “Dear Basketball Fan,” “Dear Auto Owner.”
IV. Writing.
All things considered. It?s time to write now. Follow these four steps and you succeed.
1. Prewriting
1. Decide on a topic, a reason for writing
2. Be aware of the type of letter.
3. Gather all the facts and details needed.
4. Organise ideas and facts into a general outline.
2. Drafting
1. Write honestly and naturally, but keep the style somewhat formal
2. Follow the topic outline.
3. Write short paragraphs. This does not mean paragraphs should be one or two sentences.
3. Revising
1. Make sure the necessary facts and details have been included.
2. Make sure the letter has been written honestly and sincerely.
3. Make sure the letter is easy to read.
4. Make sure having followed the appropriate style of the business letter.
4. Editing
1. Check for punctuation, capitalisation, and usage. (Pay special attention to the capitalisation and punctuation of the heading, inside address, and salutation.)
2. Make sure the letter is neatly typed.
· Center the letter and keep the margins even.
· Use consistent and even spacing. (Check the number of lines skipped between the heading and inside address.)
Conclusion
A good business letter is clear, interesting, and informative. It sparkles with crisp writing, good grammar, and correct spelling. It has an appealing layout, simple format, and professional look to it. Because of all these things, a good business letter gets a positive response from the reader. That response sets the stage for you to get an order, close a sale, rectify an error, or accomplish some other worthy goal.
Unfortunately, most business letters don?t accomplish what they should. While it?s true perfection isn?t a realistic goal, many business letter writers seemingly aim for the other end of the scale. The typical business letter lacks content, focus, and clarity?which means it has little of the impact its writer desires. I have shown you how to avoid such a situation.
Suggestions seem to be too many for you ? To meke sure that you have perceived the way to write an effective business letter, check the following list.
1. Business letter evaluation form
Required parts:
Heading:
Inside address:
Salutation:
Body:
Closing:
Signature:
Form:
lines spaced
margins
size/style
Content:
formal
Appropriate
Organised
Clear and concise
Mechanics:
Envelope/folds:
2. Checklist for creating sales letters that sell.
· Can the reader get the main point quickly?
· Are the sentences and paragraphs short? Is the text easy to understand?
· Have you included all the information a prospect needs to respond favorably?
· Is your copy full of prospect benefits?
· Did you reduce the risk for the prospect to try you out?
· Is it easy for the prospect to respond?
· Is there a liberal use of the word ?you??
· Have you made a clear offer?
· Did you ask for action and tell them exactly how?
· Did you include a reason to act now?
· Did you give them several ways to reach you (phone, fax number, mailing address,)?
Remember, the most important ingredient in a successful letter is to write it like you?re writing to a friend. There?s no magic to letter writing. Practice, practice and more practice will make you a copy writer.
3. Practice.
Just learning the theories is not adequare. To succeed in writing business letter, you should practise regularly. Here are what you should follow:
1. Read. Reading can improve your writing. The more you read the more you understand what good writing is.
2. Practice. Get in the habit of writing letters.
3. Find a mentor or ?fellow student? that does not mind editing your writing.
4. Work on your weaknesses. Make certain that the meaning you are intending is the meaning expressed.
5. Try to write something well even if it is short. This will reinforce the positive nature of your writing. Some business people get so frustrated by the negatives they give up trying to write.
6. Use writing as a tool to help you learn and understand new things. If you write about something new you can ?own? it. Writing also helps you organize your thoughts. For this reason writing is being used in various therapies.
7. Examine your competitor?s writings. The first thing I do on a ?spy? mission is gather printed material. They not only contain data and information but strategy as well. Printed materials are a good indication of a business? sophistication.
8. Avoid interruptions. Cut off the phone and shut the door when you write. Good writing requires focus and concentration.
Look in the mirror when you come up with excuses for poor writing. Excuses such as lack of formal education do not matter in the marketplace. Some with little or no education have great writing skills while many university graduates cannot write a simple sentence correctly.
Now, all have come into your mind. I hope you will succeed in writing, which help you so much in doing business.
My assignment finishes here. I hope it is good food for your thought, or becomes a basis for further study.
The assignment may have deficiencies due to the limitation of knowledge, experience and time. Thus, I would be happy if having feedback from you all to make it better in the next time, and make myself know better about writing business letters.
I?d like to give my faithful thank to Mr. Hoang Tat Truong, who guided and gave me great help to complete the assignment.