Friday, March 30, 2007

Read Any Good Letters Recently?

A letter recently came to me that brought this issue to my attention ….. painfully! This was a draft letter a client was sending to donors to give an update on their funds. We don’t write many letters these days – it’s all email, but for many of our donors a written message is still the best form. So while I can’t share the real letter with you, let me highlight some of the issues.

Too often letters lack a human touch. You don’t talk like what you read in your letters, so why do you write letters like that? Most of our communication is not legal in nature, so think about these tips as you write your letters:

1. Think of your reader first – of yourself last.
2. Relax – write as you would talk face to face.
3. Use as many YOU-words as you can.
4. Get off to a flying start – get to the point and don’t beat around the bush.
5. Make every letter a sales letter.
6. Remember the Golden Rule: Treat the reader as you would like to be treated.
7. Answer your correspondence promptly.
8. Read your letters aloud --- be sure they sound natural, not stuffy and stilted.

As per your request ….enclosed please find …. for your perusal …. according to our records….. we are pleased to inform you ….thank you again for …. inasmuch as … due to the fact that ….. these are all crusty comments of trite terminology that I’ve actually seen in letters recently.

Helen Monroe

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