How to Format and Write a Simple Business Letter

We compose company letters and emails for a range of purposes like inquiring about data, promoting sales funnel, acquiring a job, et cetera. Productive business correspondence should be simple and concise, sounds courteous, and drafted correctly. By organizing a letter into its fundamental elements, you will discover how to format and write a simple business letter as a writer.

What is the standard business letter format?

A standard letter comprises three parts, an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

The Introduction:

The introduction shows who the writer is speaking. If you are communicating to someone you do not recognize or have contacted just shortly, the introduction should be a prompt purpose concerning the reason you are addressing. Usually, the opening is simply one sentence or two.

The Body:

The body of the is where you declare your company. This part could also be as brief as a few sentences or paragraphs long. It all relies on how details are needed to explain the topic.

Conclusion:

The end is the closing section where you will require the coming activity. The future action could be a chance to address in person, to ask for further data, or to handle a purchase. Similar to the opening, this division should be a sentence or two and ought to clarify what you would want from the recipient.

The Introduction

The approach of the introduction relies on your connection with the recipient. If you are writing to an old friend or a company co-worker, addressing their given name is appropriate. But if you are writing to someone you are doing not know, it is best to deal with them formally within the greeting. If you know the name of the recipient, use their designation.

Addresses and Date

Except your corporation has a pre-printed letterhead that bears the address, you should start your message with the company’s address. Typewrite the address on the top left angle of the letter (or right angle, if that is your company’s choice). Example:

Corporate, Inc.

101 Organization Road

City, NY 12345

Later, leave a few empty lines, write the date. You can write the date in both orders: month-date-year (February 1, 2020) or date-month-year (1 February 2020).

Leave a few more empty lines, write the reader’s contact details. It is most suitable to address the letter to a particular recipient who is accountable to respond to you. If you are not sure who should is responsible for this matter, you should so some survey. Then, draft the address as below:

Donald Teddy

(The recipient’s designation in the organization)

Company ABC

123 Excel Road

Amazing Street, CA 10001

Greeting

The greeting that you use generally relies on the degree of ritual between you and the recipient. If you have got a more informal association with the receiver, you will their name. In this instance, you will greet “Dear Bell” or “Dear Robert”.

If you do not recognize the receive, address the reader’s designation and surname, such as “Dear Dr. Mrs.Lim. If you do not know the gender of the receiver, you can use their full name. In this situation, you will say “Dear Dr. Lim Ai Lee”.

As a last option, you can write “To Whom It May Concern”. But this greeting is remote, so you should try to avoid this option. If you decide to apply it, keep in mind to add a colon after the salutation. Contrarily, you can use a comma after the greeting.

The Body

While writing the content of the body, take note that a reader could be short of time. You try not to occupy their time with wrong transitions or strange glossary. Alternatively, have your message concise, transparent, and competent. Write your content clearly without the need to reach you for more details. Besides this, practice personal pronouns like I, we, and you in a casual manner.

Furthermore, always adhere to the purpose of your message. You virtually desire to impress the reader. Perhaps you want the recipient to transfer funds, settle an issue, or adjust his decision on a critical matter. Despite everything, you want to utilize supporting documents to deliver your discussion as efficiently as possible.

Another method to improve your discussion is by practicing active sentences completely in your message. For instance:

Passive: The problem was solved by Albert.

Active: Albert solved the problem.

Do you notice the distinction in these sentences? Applying a provocative tone reinforces your opinions and promotes your lettering. Consequently, always strive for an active verb.

Extra Sheets

Almost all business letters should maintain only one sheet. If you want to write more pages, make sure to include a header. In the header, you will reiterate the receiver’s name, date, and a short address. It is also critical to add sheet numbers to help your receiver to hold the sheets within the right position.

Ending Paragraph

After finishing the body paragraph, analyzing your ending paragraph with a review of your particulars. The intention of composing the letter? For instance, if you desire to lead a company to award you their contracts, make sure you point out this objective within the ending paragraph. Quickly repeat the reasons that they should pick your corporation from the competitors.

Next, allow the receivers aware of the following actions. Should they reach you for and data? Are you expecting that they transfer funds? 

Finish the massage by showing your appreciation for the recipient’s time. Recognize that you are writing to a busy individual, so let her or him understand that you acknowledge their time to study your message. You can express something such as “Thank you for your time to assist in this matter”

The Conclusion

The last item business letters require perhaps a greeting, where you say your goodbyes to the reader. Similar to the opening, the way you write the greeting will rely on your rapport with the receiver.

A few options for the closing consist of:

Best Regards

Many thanks

All the best

Yours truly

Respectfully

Yours truly

Whichever you choose, make sure to put a comma after the closing. Next, endorse your name in blue or black ink. If it is a business email, upload a template of your signature that you can easily paste into the email after the conclusion. Next, attach your contact details such as email address, telephone number.

If you are sending the letter on behalf of your company, add “pp” under your name. This stands for per procuration, which suggests “through the agency of” in Latin. By adding this to your letter, the recipient knows that you are speaking for your company and not only for yourself.

The correct formal letter formats represent the good image of your company. By pursuing these measures on writing a company letter, and examining your content for grammar and vocabulary mistakes, you can draft a letter that will reflect your company’s trademark and influence the receivers.