Business letter is a formal document which is sent by a company to its potential stakeholders, employees and clients. It serves the purpose for professional correspondence between individuals involved in business activities, as well as the companies. There are various types of business letters such as; cover letters, letter of recommendation, interview follow-up letters, offer letters, sales letters, letter of recommendation, letter of resignation etc. Each of these calls for a clean draft that can easily communicate ideas in a professional manner.
Though email has got over the usual form of correspondence, still in-hand business letters are used for various correspondence types, which include employment verification, reference letter, job offers and other. Writing a polished and effective business letter could be a simple and easy task, as long as the language and layout rules are strictly adhered. Follow the below-mentioned steps to write an effective business letter.
What to Include and How to Format a Business Letter
The meaning of business letter is easily conveyed through simple and clear targeted language, and by creating a brief opening paragraph. The letter can begin with “I am writing in reference to…” from here one can only communicate what is required.
The following paragraphs must provide information which gives the reader a clear understanding of objectives but evade twisting sentences and unnecessarily complicated and long words. To sustain the attention, keep it concise.
Important to know: If the letter intends to convince the recipient in anyway, whether it’s to hire the candidate, invest money, fix an issue, for partnership or any other reason, then make sure that compelling case is created for any of these causes.
For instance, you tend to persuade the audience to sponsor a charity event, try to find any overlap with the company’s or business philanthropic goals. Influence the readers through words by helping them realize how they will gain benefit. This increases the probability of you winning their support.
Business Letter Sections
Every section of the business letter must adhere to the proper letter format, beginning with own contact information of the recipient’s; salutation, body information; closing and signature, and enclosure.
- Senders Contact Information covers;
- Name
- Job Title
- Company
- Phone Number
- City, State Zip Code
- Email Address
It allows the reader to quickly identify from whom they have received the letter.
- The Date of letter;
- It takes the date when penning the correspondence. Must be according to country standards, for instance; in US, it is written as August 2, 2020.
- Recipient’s Contact Information covers;
- Name
- Job Title
- Company
- Company’s Address
- City, State Zip Code
It assures that the letter is in right hand. Though, it isn’t important to include recipient name, the best is to address a business letter to particular individual. Avoid using personal titles such as Mr. or Mrs. since you might not know their gender identity.
- The Salutation:
- Do use “To Whom it May Concern” if not sure to whom specifically you’re addressing.
- Make a use of formal salutation such as “Dear Mr./Ms./Dr. -Last Name” when the recipient is unknown.
- Do use “Dear -First Name,” when there is an informal relationship with the recipient.
- The Body:
- Do consistent formatting in the body to give it a professional look. There should be single-spaced lines and space between each paragraph, right after the salutation, and overhead the closing.
- Remember to be brief and move to main points.
- Left justify the business letter i.e. against the left margin.
- Closing Salutation:
Don’t take closing paragraph to more than two sentences. Simply restate the purpose of writing and thank the reader for considering your reason or request. Few closing words are:
- Yours sincerely
- Respectfully yours
- Kind Regards
- Cordially
- Yours Truly
If the business letter is less formal, use;
- Best
- Thank you
- All the best
- Regards
- Place Your Signature
Just under the closing, place your signature and leave four single spaces between the closing and name, title, contact number, email address, and any other contact information that is been included. The below format can be considered:
Your handwritten signature
Typed full name
Title
The rule of thumb is to proofread the letter to ensure nothing has been missed out and there are no grammatical or spelling errors.
Decide if to post or email the business letter:
If you are emailing then send it through professional email that is business id, include a proper subject and brief message in the body. Giving a subject line picks readers attention at first sight. Also, a letter can be attached for recipient to refer.
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