April 2023 - Page 3 of 12

Instant Sales Letters – Fill in the Blanks Business Success

Being a business owner means that time is always of the essence for you. There is so much to do in your day and finding the fastest and most efficient way to get your tasks completed is essential. While for some jobs, there are no short cuts that will still get things done properly, instant sales letters can take the task of crafting a solid marketing letter and get it finished in minutes.

Instant sales letter programs are extremely effective for those with very little time to spend on writing their company’s sales letters. Basically, all you need to do is plug in the required information, and the software will generate a sales letter that is specific for your business. You can make changes or adjustments to further personalize your letters or simply use them as they are given to you; the choice is yours.

Another popular type of instant sales letter program allows you to choose a template that you can customize to suit your own needs. Choose a powerful opening that grabs attention and introduces your company, and then select body text from another section that will communicate the features and benefits of your product. Fill in the contact information for your company and you are ready to go.

Many people avoid using a generated sales letter because they believe that it will be obvious that it was not written individually for their business. While in some cases this can be a problem, there are many high quality programs available that will provide you with highly customized letters that are not obviously generated. You simply need to choose the program you use with care and carefully proof your letters to ensure that they will invoke the response you wish from your target audience.

Writing sales letters from scratch can prove to be time consuming and sometimes requires trial and error to get things exactly right. With instant sales letters, you can take advantage of some of the most effective sales letter tactics and tailor them to your specific industry, audience, or product, without the headaches that come with writing your letters from the ground up.

The Importance of An Application Letter

A well organize application letter will trigger for you to be hired in the job you are applying. The application letter most of the time is also called as cover letter, serving as the front page of your resume. This letter, since it is being passed to the HR (Human Resource Department) or Personnel Officer of a company it is also one of the types of business letter.

We write an application letter because we wanted to know that the person the company searching for the job is the best and perfect for the position. Therefore, it is inevitable to write an application letter in applying for a job. But what is really the importance of an application letter?

In writing an application letter, it should be done with an extra-ordinary attention because this letter is not an ordinary one. It looks like you are selling yourself to the company because they will be paying you amount if you will get hired. This is why you should take considerable time in formulating your application letter for you to be bought by the buyer. That your intellectual know how is almost or exactly fitted on the vacant or available position.

In selling a product, the presentation of advertisement and other resource information about the product should be convincing and reliable so as to be bought by buyers in the market. The same with the application letter, since you are selling your self to the company and the application letter serves as the advertisement and reliable information about yourself, it should be convincing for the HR or the Personnel officer to go over your resume for further evaluation.

In addition, since this is a letter, you should be careful on your sentence structure. The simple subject and verb agreement should be followed accordingly not to mention other grammatical sentences boosting your knowledge and skills you are offering. The organization and structure should also be given attention.

Though every part of this letter is important, the employer is eying on the part where you are stating some of your experiences relevant to the company’s needs in the operation of their businesses. You should be careful in structuring this part because in here lies if they will go over your resume for further evaluation.

Before you create your own application letter, have sometime to ask some of your friends or you can surf over the internet. In here lies more information on how to make an application that could stimulate your reader and be hired for the desired position you are applying.

The Difference Between Formal and Informal Writing

When it comes to writing in English, there are two main styles of writing – formal and informal. Consider these two examples:

Example 1:

This is to inform you that your book has been rejected by our publishing company as it was not up to the required standard. In case you would like us to reconsider it, we would suggest that you go over it and make some necessary changes.

Example 2:
You know that book I wrote? Well, the publishing company rejected it. They thought it was awful. But hey, I did the best I could, and I think it was great. I’m not gonna redo it the way they said I should.

The difference between the two is obvious. The first one is formal, and the second is informal. But what is it that makes them formal and informal?

It is the style of writing, or the way we use words to say what we want to say. Different situations call for different ways of putting words together. The way we write in academic and scientific settings differs greatly from the way we write to a friend or close one. The tone, vocabulary, and syntax, all change as the occasion changes. This difference in the styles of writing is the difference between formality and informality, or the difference between formal and informal writing.

Following is a list of some of the main differences between informal and formal writing:

Informal: May use colloquial words/expressions (kids, guy, awesome, a lot, etc.)

Formal: Avoid using colloquial words/expressions (substitute with children, man/boy, wonderful, many, etc.)

Informal: May use contractions (can’t, won’t, shouldn’t, etc.).

Formal: Avoid contractions (write out full words – cannot, will not, should not, etc.).

Informal: May use first, second, or third person.

Formal: Write in third person (except in business letters where first person may be used).

Informal: May use clichés (loads of, conspicuous by absence, etc.)

Formal: Avoid clichés (use many, was absent, etc.)

Informal: May address readers using second person pronouns (you, your, etc)

Formal: Avoid addressing readers using second person pronouns (use one, one’s, the reader, the reader’s, etc.)

Informal: May use abbreviated words (photo, TV, etc)

Formal: Avoid using abbreviated words (use full versions – like photograph, television, etc.)

Informal: May use imperative voice (e.g. Remember….)

Formal: Avoid imperative voice (use Please refer to…..)

Informal: May use active voice (e.g. We have notice that…..)

Formal: Use passive voice (e.g. It has been noticed that….)

Informal: May use short and simple sentences.

Formal: Longer and more complex sentences are preferred (short simple sentences reflects poorly on the writer)

Informal: Difficulty of subject may be acknowledged and empathy shown to the reader.

Formal: State your points confidently and offer your argument firm support.

These are just some of the differences between formal and informal writing. The main thing to remember is that both are correct, it is just a matter of tone and setting. Formal English is used mainly in academic writing and business communications, whereas Informal English is casual and is appropriate when communicating with friends and other close ones. Choose the style of writing keeping in mind what you are writing and to whom. But whichever style you write in – formal or informal – be sure to keep it consistent, do not mix the two.

Letter Writing: Confrontational Letter Writing Defined

‘Confrontational letter writing’ is a distinct form of letter writing.

A confrontational letter is a letter that confronts a situation, a problem or dispute. It seeks a specific objective from the recipient that will not usually be granted without resistance.

The writer wants a certain objective and the recipient of the letter will not grant that objective unless convincingly persuaded that he should.

It is not a cheery letter exchanging pleasantries. It is starkly confrontational and directly confronts an issue and seeks to elicit from the recipient of the letter a favorable response. In most instances the recipient is not eager to provide the objective being requested.

Usually there are two basic situations where such a letter emerges:

The First Situation: An individual has received an important and serious letter from another individual, a government, a regulator/authority, a lawyer, a bank, a corporation, an institution, etc. – a letter which contains a demand of some sort.

The individual needs to effectively confront and respond to that letter. He needs a well-written persuasive letter that forcefully confronts that party with his own position and attempts to persuade that party to either moderate, post-pone or abandon the demand.

The Second Situation: An individual has a serious situation or problem and wants to confront and persuade a 3rd party – another individual, the government, regulator/authority, a lawyer, a bank, a corporation, an institution etc. to do something – to agree to his request for some sort of action or forbearance.

In order to accomplish this goal the individual needs a well-written persuasive letter that persuades the recipient to agree to his request.

These letters are confrontational letters. Letters that confront a serious problematic situation and attempts to resolve the problem exclusively through the use of letters.

To be effective this form of letter writing must usually be restricted exclusively to letter writing and not be augmented by verbal confrontation. This is because in many instances verbal confrontation gives a distinct and unfair advantage to the recipient of the letter.

‘Confrontational letter writing’ is a distinct form of letter writing and to increase the chances of success it necessarily needs to be written by a writer who is experienced in writing such letters. This is not the sort of exercise that can usually be effectively conducted by a novice or the average layman – expertise and experience is essential.

The professionals most adept at writing confrontational letters are lawyers who have had extensive experience in this type of writing. Many of the skills required to be a successful confrontational letter writer are those same skills that make for an effective court room litigator or negotiator.

While general advice can be given as to how best to write and structure confrontational letters – there is no substitute for experience. A novice confronted with an urgent need to send an effective confrontational letter should seek professional assistance.

Professional Tips For Effective Business Writing – Write to Express, Not to Impress

Business has no time for long or fuzzy words. Effective business correspondence is built on tight writing which depends on few, but hard-hitting words. Every word must convey a precise meaning that is understood in the same way by writer and reader. Use your thesaurus to replace long words with shorter, crisper ones.

Whether you are writing a prospecting letter or a report, a follow-up letter or a proposal, use the shortest, simplest word you can find to convey the meaning you want. Whether you are writing up, out or down, choose appropriate replacements for the cold and pretentious business expressions of the past. Eliminate the junk like: attached herewith please find. Instead, say exactly what you mean: I am attaching this for you. Use ordinary, everyday English–I call it shirtsleeve English–for real results.

Simplicity makes reading easy–and professional writers know that business readers want a quick, easy read. In fact, most busy readers get lost in sentences of 21 words or more. Equally important, when you go for the bigger, more impressive word, the chances are your reader will find you less impressive–not more. According to Daniel Oppenheimer, researcher and contributor to the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology, “Anything that makes text hard to read and understand such as unnecessarily long words or complicated fonts, will lower readers’ evaluation of the text and its author.”

In twenty years of teaching business writing workshops and polishing proposals for my corporate clients, my experience tells me it’s the people with the least education who seem driven to use the biggest words–often with the silliest results. One writer, for example, searched for an alternative to “old” and found one he liked. In his letter, he actually referred to “senile” equipment. Another writer tried to impress a CEO with this: I value your needs and I wish to have the opportunity to assist you in achieving your envisions. You may laugh, but that is a direct quote–and it isn’t funny.

Now, I am not suggesting you would make the same foolish mistakes, but the principle of writing simply and cleanly is an important one–no matter how many degrees you have or how good you are with a dictionary. Professionals don’t complicate information–they simplify it. They don’t choose a ten dollar words when a fifty cent word works better. They don’t try to dazzle with multi-syllables when short, crisp words simplify reading and improve business results.

Don’t use “as per your request” when you could say, “as you asked.” Don’t write, “despite the fact that” when you could write, “although.” Don’t go for the heavy-duty, “in reference to” when “about” works better. I’m sure you get the idea.

When you write for business, it is not your job to teach your reader a new word. Nor is it to your advantage to show off, talk down, or confuse the reader. Clarity charms. Simplicity pays. Write to express, not to impress, and you’ll find your business writing actually means business.

10 Secrets For Writing Killer Complaint Letters

Complaint letters aren’t always fun, but sometimes they need to be written. In many cases, if people don’t complain, the problem agency at fault (i.e. company or government) won’t even know that the problem that you and others may have experienced even exists.

Ultimately, legitimate complaints, by even a few people, can (and often do) result in better service for everybody. Not only that, writing complaint letters can be personally beneficial too!

That’s right. Writing complaint letters can be an empowering and therapeutic experience! It allows one to take action instead of playing the role of a victim and “nursing” an ongoing resentment towards a company about poor service or treatment received. Once the complaint letter is written and in the mail one can “let it go” knowing that one has done something tangible and constructive about the situation.

Not only that, but properly written and handled complaint letters get action!

After I started writing complaint letters, I began receiving gracious letters of apology and contrition from senior executives including bank vice-presidents and VPs of marketing for giant corporations.

Getting those in the mail, felt one heck of a lot better than “polishing” an ongoing resentment and getting even angrier the next time something bad happened. Sometimes I even get discount coupons and free merchandise!

THE 10 SECRETS

Here are some strategies I have learned for writing complaint letters guaranteed to get attention and action.

1. Write To The Senior Person Responsible

It is important that you get the name and detailed mailing address of a very senior person responsible for the product or service that you are complaining about. I generally try to write to the V.-P. level. Never go below Director level if you want a serious response. Name and address information can be obtained from the organization’s Web site or by calling the company and asking for the name and title of the senior person who you should write to.

2. Don’t Send An E-Mail

When it comes to sending a serious complaint letter to a company or the government, don’t send an e-mail, regardless of what it may say on their Web site. E-mails are usually handled dismissively by low level “customer service” people. If you want serious attention and action, the formal written complaint letter is the only way to go. When it arrives in the VP’s office (yes, by snail mail!), it triggers a bureaucratic process that ensures that the right people will see your letter, and will act on it.

3. Keep It As Short As Possible

Preferably no longer than one page, two at the most. When drafting a complaint letter there can be a tendency to go on and on just to make sure the recipient gets the point. Keep it as short as possible, but without diluting the facts of your message too much.

4. Give It A Heading For Identification

Place a heading at the top of the letter with information that the company or agency will relate to, such as your account number or customer number. Make it easy for them to find you on their computer filing system.

5. Clearly Explain The Situation

Make sure that you give all of the specific details needed so that the company or agency can verify your claim without you having to get into an endless game of telephone tag with them. Include specific dates, times and places, as well as the names of people you dealt with. If you’re not sure of these details when composing the letter, call them back and ask for the specifics. (You don’t have to say it’s for a complaint letter).

6. Use A Positive And Respectful Tone

I have found that the best approach is to use a positive upbeat tone. Remember, you are writing to a senior person who probably sympathizes with what happened to you. Your tone should convey the message that you are the innocent victim and you understand that the company wouldn’t have done such a thing deliberately.

7. Send Copies If Appropriate

There can be cases where it is wise to send a copy of the letter to other parties just to make sure that you will get some serious action. For example, in a case where you have been told to write to the Regional Manager of a program, it is often a good idea to make sure that someone in head office also gets a copy. I sometimes send a copy to customer service or customer relations offices at the national level.

8. “Shame” Them As Much As Possible

Companies that claim and advertise high levels of customer focus and service do not like to be criticized in those areas. If you have a strong case that makes them vulnerable in one of these areas, use as much ammunition as you can to embarrass them in these sensitive areas. Modern marketing terms such as: customer relationship management (CRM), one-to-one marketing, most valuable customer (MVC), and customer-centric focus, all tend to get their attention. Also, using such terms makes you sound like an authority.

9. Imply You Might Take Your Business Elsewhere

I always do this near the closing. Companies don’t like to lose customers, especially long-time customers. Senior marketing people are well aware that study after study has shown that it costs five to seven times as much to recruit a new customer as it does to hold on to an existing one.

10. Ask For An Early Reply

In the closing paragraph of your complaint letter, state specifically that you are expecting an early reply. Make sure that you follow-up by phone or e-mail if you have heard nothing in three weeks. Some companies will send you an acknowledgement letter stating that they are working on your case and will get back to you within a week or two.

Use the above strategies and you are sure to get action from your complaint letters. And, don’t forget the old truism “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”!

To see a fully-formatted “real-life template” of a letter of complaint, go to the following link:

http://writinghelp-central.com/complaint-letter.html

The AIDA Principle – Sales Letter Writing Tips

For most business owners, writing sales letters are perhaps one of the hardest things to do. But for those who have basic knowledge in copywriting, sales letter writing might not be as hard as what most people think it is. This is because there are actually proven formulas that work in almost types of business letters. One of these formulas is the AIDA principle. The AIDA principle is an acronym for basic guidelines in copywriting. AIDA stands for (A) attention, (I) interest, (D) desire and (A) action.

Attention

The very first thing that the reader would do upon receiving your sales letter is to scan the entire content. Most sales letters are quite long, and the customers wouldn’t really take so much of their time to read the whole content of your letter not unless it catches their attention upon scanning it. Having said this, the letters should be eye-catching enough so as to draw the attention of the reader to the letter.

This can be done by using a catchy and colorful heading. The heading should also be on different font size as the body of the letter. Using bullets and subtitles would also help in catching the attention of your reader. Interest Upon catching your customer’s attention, it is important to keep the customer interested about the succeeding lines of the sales letter. The first paragraph is basically as important as the heading and so as the second and the last paragraph. Each paragraph should achieve the purpose of keeping the reader interested in reading the next paragraph.

One way to keep the reader’s interest is by asking questions. Questions are proven to arouse interest as the reader would be pushed to think upon reading the question. It is important however, that the question is relevant to the product that you are selling.

Desire

In the certain part of the body of the letter, second and third paragraph perhaps, it is necessary for you to stimulate the desire of the customer to invest on the product. This part is crucial as this would provide the selling point of the product. This could be done by citing the benefits and advantages of owning the product.

If you are promoting a laundry shop, for example, you may mention that the laundry shop is conveniently located in front of a coffee shop wherein the customers can have coffee while waiting, or that the laundry shop has its own Wi-Fi network that would allow internet access inside.

Action

Finally, the last paragraph should encourage the customer to take immediate actions of owning the product. At this point, it is vital that you would convince him to do whatever that is that you ask him to do. This can be done by mentioning the benefits that he or she could get if he or she would own a product now. In the case of the laundry shop example, you may say like there is a discount for the first 100 customers.

Applying the AIDA principle does not only facilitate your sales letter writing tasks, it also helps increase the number of customer responses to your sales promotion letter. Get more tips on sales letter writing tips.

7 Tips For Writing Better Business Reports

Writing a report can be one of the most difficult writing tasks we face, whether it’s for work or at school.

In my various professional incarnations over the years, as bureaucrat, administrator and private consultant, I have been required to write literally (no pun intended) hundreds of reports of just about every description you can imagine. In fact, when I did my MBA in the mid-1990s it was like a total immersion course in report writing; they seemed to be never ending.

So, to help people with their report writing I have put together a few tips that I have picked up over the years.

People often cringe at the thought of writing a “business report”. Granted, these are somewhat more complicated than business letters, but if approached in the right way, writing a business report can be a straightforward and reasonably painless process.

There are a number of different generic types of business reports including: general business report, business plan, business proposal, marketing plan, strategic plan, business analysis, project report, project analysis, project proposal, project review, financial plan, financial analysis, and others.

Although the technical content and terminology will vary from report to report, depending on the subject and industry context, the actual “report writing process” will be essentially the same. Whether it’s a short 10-pager, or a major 100-plus pager, that “process” will involve the same fundamental steps.

The following seven points are what I consider to be the essential steps for writing any business report. Follow these steps carefully and you won’t go wrong.

1. Confirm Exactly What The Client Wants

This is a very important initial step. Whether the client is you, or someone else, be sure that everyone is talking about the same thing in terms of final outcome and expectations. When determining this, always think specifically in terms of the final deliverable (usually the final report). What issues must it address? What direction/guidance is it expected to give? What exactly will it contain? What bottom line are they looking for?

2. Determine What Type Of Report Is Required

This is another very important initial matter to clarify. There are a number of different types of business reports. Although there is usually overlap between the different types, there are also important differences. For example, do they want: a business plan, a business proposal, a strategic plan, a corporate information management plan, a strategic business plan, a marketing plan, a financial plan, or what? Know exactly what type of final report is expected from the outset.

3. Conduct The Initial Research

Once you know exactly what the client (or you) wants, and the specific type of report they are looking for, you are ready to conduct your initial pre-report research. This stage may be as simple as collecting and reading a few background documents supplied by the client, or it could

involve developing questionnaires and conducting detailed interviews with the appropriate people. It will vary with each situation. The Internet of course, can really simplify and shorten the research process, but don’t forget to double and triple check your sources.

4. Write The Table Of Contents First

In my experience, drafting the Table of Contents (TOC), before you start writing the actual report is the single most important key to developing a successful business report. This document can normally be done before, or in parallel with, the first phase of project information gathering. This should be more than just a rough draft TOC. It should be a carefully thought out breakdown of exactly what you imagine the TOC will look like in the final report. Although this takes a certain amount of time and brain power up-front, it really treamlines the rest of the process. What I do is to actually visualize the final report in my mind’s eye and write the contents down. This really works! This TOC then becomes a step-by-step template for the rest of the process.

Sidebar:

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If you are writing the report for an external client, it’s a good idea to present the draft Table of Contents to them at this point in the process and get their approval. This will force them to think it through and confirm what they really want at this point. Once they have agreed to a TOC you will have their “buy-in” for the rest of the process, therefore significantly reducing chances of any major changes or reversals at the final report phase.

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5. Do Any Additional Research

After thinking through the TOC in detail, you will know if any additional research is required. If yes, do this extra information gathering before you sit down and start to actually write the report. That way, once you begin the writing process you will have all of the information needed at hand and you will not have to interrupt the writing process to conduct any further research.

6. Create The Skeleton Document

A trick I always use when working with MS-Word is to create a skeleton document first. That is, before you actually write any of the text, enter the entire Table of Contents that you have already developed into MS-Word (see Point 4), heading by heading, including sub-headings. At this point, the document is essentially a sequential series of headings and sub-headings with blank space between them. Then, have MS-Word generate an automatic Table of Contents that exactly matches your planned TOC. You’re then ready to start filling in the blank spaces after each heading and sub-heading in the body of the document, with text.

7. Write The Report By Filling In The Blanks

That’s right, by filling in the blanks. Once the TOC skeleton framework is in-place as per the previous step, writing the actual report becomes almost like filling in the blanks. Just start at the beginning and work your way sequentially through the headings and sub-headings, one at a time, until you get to the end. Really. At that point, with all of the preparation done, it should be a relatively straightforward process.

If you follow the above steps in the “report writing process” you will be amazed at how quickly your reports will come together. Give it a try – it really works.

Sample Request Letter

Request letters are written when you want to seek a favor from the concerned authority. You may request for scholarship, recommendation, product feedback, and many more. They strictly follow all the rules of formal letter writing. The language is extremely official and polite. The content is brief and to the point. Request letters are objectively written without any emotional statements. The central idea is to convince the person and not to coerce him to give in to your request.

To get a clear idea about how to write a request letter, look at the example given below.

Scenario – You as Tom Clark, wants to write a letter to the Chancellor of a university to grant you scholarship for further studies.

Tom Clark (the name of the sender)

The Clark House (complete address of the sender)

Street No.8

ABC

Date:

To

Ms. M.M. Williams (the name of the official)

Chancellor (title or designation)

University of California (address of his organization)

ABC

Subject – Request for the grant of scholarship

Dear Madam, (Use ‘Sir’ to address a male)

I introduce myself as Tom Clark, a topper in the Business stream in the state exams. I would like to apply for the Best Student Scholarship to help me take up studies at the college level.

I am a student of Fountain Valley School and passed the state exams with a score of 395 out of 400 marks this year.

I belong to a respectable family. My father, Tim Clark, is a farmer. He toils throughout the day and earns a meager amount. He is a law-abiding citizen and has never got into any conflicts with anyone. The locals of our village look upon him for his righteousness. My mother, Julie Clark, works in a local bakery shop. My other family members have served the nation during Tsunami catastrophe. Two of my brothers worked day and night with local doctors to save lives of tsunami victims. My younger sister is studying in eighth grade.

My parents are financially weak and have a large family to support. They cannot afford the expenses of my further studies. Therefore, I request for some financial support to help me go to college and fulfill my career dreams.

I enclose copies of a reference letter and character certificate from the principal of my school. I also attach my mark sheets of the state exam.

I will be obliged if you consider my plea and help me.

Thanking You,

Yours faithfully,

(Signature)

Tom Clark (sender’s name)

Letter Writing Techniques – Good News Vs Bad News Letters

There are different strategies and techniques to be discussed when writing good-news and bad-news letters. In good-news letters a writer is conveying good news to the receiver. The first paragraph (introduction) provides the good-news topic (reason for the letter). The second paragraph (discussion) provides the details of the good-news and the third paragraph (conclusion) calls for action.

Bad-news letters use the indirect approach and opens with a neutral idea while providing facts and supporting evidence. The second paragraph presents the reason for the bad news letter. The third paragraph ends with a neutral close. Tact and politeness is required when writing a letter of bad news. A writer of a letter of bad news must pay attention to tone and structure throughout the letter to avoid future problems. Writers must prevent themselves from offending the reader.

All writing is a form of persuasion. A writer tries to persuade their reader to understand his, or her point of view. Attention to wording is essential in a bad-news business letter to prevent breaking the code of ethics. An example for a reason for a bad-news letter is:

A company I work for has been advised to downsize labor cost by any means possible. The only choice I have is to terminate all temporary positions within the company. This decision requires that I write bad news letters to each of the temporary employees, terminating them and explaining to each one the reason for termination. I must take care to use tact and politeness throughout the letter while making it clear that their job performance was excellent and had no bearing on my company decision. When writing to the employee, I should offer a severance pay and to write a letter of recommendation to help the employee with job search. Additionally, medical benefits should be extended for a short time after termination. Additionally, letting the employee know that with his, or her given qualifications and proven abilities, I am confident that he or she will find another position in the near future. End on a calm and upward happy note.