Business Letter Content, Outline, Format, Sample, Example and Guidance on Writing a Professional Business Letter
Essential Qualities of a Good Business Letter
While writing a business letter you must ensure that you have expressed yourself in a very clear and concise way. If you don’t write in such a way, then your reader will have so many ambiguities and your information will not be transmitted efficiently. So, there are different things which one should keep in mind while writing a business letter so purpose can be served. In this article, we will explain to you everything you need to know about the business letter to be effective.
Business Letters
Letters written for the exchange of business-related information are known as business letters. They help in exchanging the information, content, notices and statistical data in written form. Additionally, letters of business also help in record keeping.
A typical business letter includes the job application, customer’s letter to the supplier, cover letters, order letters, letters of inquiry, sale letters, recommendation letter, business contract, resignations, complaint letters, etc.
Business Letter Vital Qualities
Business letter quality must be ensured at all times if you want it to be effective. If the letter is of good quality, then it also puts an impression on the other person which makes business dealing very easy. So, the vital qualities of a business letter are classified as follows:
- Inner Quality
- Outer Quality
Inner Quality of a Business Letter
The inner quality of the business letter represents the presentation and language used in the letter. It includes
- Clarity
The used language in the letter should be very clear. If the language is clear then it will help the other person in an understanding of your message easily, clearly and immediately. However, if the language is unclear then your message will be misinterpreted.
- Simplicity
The used language in the letter should be very simple and must not contain any complex vocabulary or fancy words.
- Conciseness
The letter should be very concise and factual, containing no extra details.
- Concreteness
You should give very specific and concrete information in a letter. If you will use concrete language then your message will be clear and easy to comprehend.
- Accuracy
While lettering the letter of the business you have to make sure that the content in the business letter is accurate, and, precisely formatted. It must not contain any of the spellings, grammar or punctuation mistakes. Additionally, you must target the correct person for communication.
- Coherent
Your business letter should be coherent. You must write the information in a very logical way that it should make sense. Additionally, make sure that information is consistent without any extra details.
- Completeness
The business letter must be very complete. If your provided information is complete then it will definitely help in the understanding of issues and steps needed to be taken by other parties. However, keep in mind that the information has to be very precise and short, but it must give all the necessary information.
- Relevance
A good business letter should have relevant information. If you keep on writing the non-relevant information then the receiver will lose interest in communication and the purpose of your letter will vanish.
- Courtesy
Always try to use courteous language while penning down the business letter. Use very friendly, honest and open words. Try not to use any of the abusive or slang words. Additionally, in the end, try to use words like Thank you, your sincerely, etc.
- Neatness
Neatness is very important when you are sending a business letter. It has to be typed very neatly with proper spaces, indentions, etc. However, if its handwritten then make sure that the writing is very good.
Outer Quality of a Business Letter
The outer quality of business letters also plays an important role. By outer quality, it is meant that how is the physical appearance of the letter, paper quality, printing, and similar stuff. Is it catchy? Is it impressive? Or not?
The following we have mentioned some of the outer qualities of business letters.
- Paper Size
For business letters, the standard paper size must be used. The most commonly used paper size is the A4 size.
- Paper Quality
The paper quality must be very good. But it doesn’t mean that you use the expensive paper. However, you must make use of a good paper for the original copy. While for a duplicate copy you can use the ordinary paper.
- Paper Color
You can make use of different color papers for different business letters. The colors serve the purpose of distinguishing the letters from one another.
- Letter Folding
While folding the letter make sure it is folded uniformly and properly. Additionally, fold in a way that it can fit into the envelope easily. However, do not over fold it as it will give a bad impression to the reader.
- Envelope
The envelope used for the letter should be of very good quality. Pay special attention to the quality and size of the envelope.
