Think Like Your Reader
Before writing, jot down everything your reader might want to know:
- If you were meeting in person, what questions would she ask?
- If you're writing a marketing letter to potential clients, what questions will they have
about your product and your company?
- If you're writing a memo to your boss requesting a raise, what will he need to know
about your performance and responsibilities?
- By putting a face on your readers, you can organize your thoughts and choose your words
with their most important questions in mind. Writing becomes easier.
- By answering your reader's questions, you've handled contentwhat to include.
Now your task is to organize your ideas and present them clearly and concisely. Easier
said than done? Not really. Keep these basic principles of successful business writing in
mind and you'll write documents that are targeted and persuasive.
What's Your Bottom Line?
Use the BLUF principle when organizing your documents: get the Bottom
Line Up Front. Place your main message in the first paragraph of a sales report,
the lead of a letter, the subject line of a memo or e-mail. This is prime real estate.
Don't squander it with a weak lead or long greeting. "We can show you how to
increase your profits by 20 percent" is more powerful than "We have a new
service we'd like you to know about."
The job of the opening sentence of your sales letter, memo, or proposal is to hook your
readers. Many writers wait until the endthe last paragraph of their documentto give
their big pitch. But without a reason to read on, your potential customers may never get
to the end. Use your lead to tell them that you can increase profits, then use the rest of
the document to tell them how.
Express, Don't Impress
Your product is cutting edge, the technology complex. But your writing should be
simple. Don't try to impress your reader with jargon. Keep your sentences
clear and direct. Your purpose isn't to overwhelm your readers with what you know, but
rather to show what you can do for them.
Make Your Writing Reader-Friendly
Your clients are busy people. Their desks are piled high with letters and reports,
their e-mail boxes are crammed with messages. Is your document easy on the eye? Have
you used white space, bullets, and short paragraphs to chunk information and make your
communication easy to read and navigate? If you are sending a long proposal, memo
or report, have you used headings to break the text into meaningful segments?
Make sure your communication is enticing. Do your letterhead and logo present a
professional and pleasing image? Can you use other visualsphotos, illustrations,
sketches, chartsto carry part of your message or story?
How You Say It Is As Important As What You Say
The tone of your writingyour attitude toward your subject and your readersis as
important as the content of your communication. Don't confuse bureaucratic with
businesslike. Make your writing professional and personal by using pronouns such as I, we,
you. Use the active voice to maintain a direct, personal tone (I will
call you to set up an appointment.) rather than the passive voice (You will be
contacted.).
Spell It Write
Spelling and grammar errors give potential customers reason to question your
competence. Does your inattention to spelling reflect your company's inattention to its
customers?
A spell-checker is the first line of defense. But it won't flag correctly spelled words
used incorrectly (right, write). Find a friend, colleague or employee who's a spelling and
grammar champ, and ask him to read important documents. Or make a list of your own
spelling demons and check the list before sending anything. Most important, make
sure you spell the name of your recipient correctly. Nothing's more insulting
than a "personal" letter from someone who didn't bother to get your name right!
Tips For Writing Sales Letters
Use "you." Addressing your reader personally sets the right tone for the
letter.
Make your letter visually pleasing and professional. Break information into chunks and
label the chunks with headings.
Close your letter by reemphasizing your main point. Avoid over-used closings such as
"If you have questions, feel free to call."
Make it easy for your readers to respond to the letter. Be sure to include information
about how to contact you, or when you'll contact them (and make sure you do!).
Consider adding a P.S.
The P.S. is the most-read part of a sales letter. Try a handwritten P.S. to personalize
you letters in this computer-generated era.
Tips For Writing E-Mail
Write an informative subject line. Readers use the subject line to perform e-mail
triage. The subject line should tell your reader what you're writing (request,
announcement, etc.) and what you have to say about it (to purchase new desk chairs, of
vacancy in the Finance Department).
Narrowcast, don't broadcast. Resist the temptation to send copies to everyone. Restrict
your e-mail to those who need to know.
Format for easy reading. Make paragraphs short; use vertical lists to condense
information. If the e-mail is long, begin with a brief overview describing what will
follow.
Proof before you click. ALL CAPS is hard to read, as is all lower case. Use
conventional spelling and punctuation so your reader doesn't have to guess what you mean.
About E-WRITE
(c) E-WRITE, 2004 Marilynne Rudick and Leslie O'Flahavan are partners in E-WRITE, a
training and consulting company that specializes in writing for online readers. Rudick and
O'Flahavan are authors of Clear, Correct, Concise E-Mail: A Writing Workbook for Customer
Service Agents |
