WRITING EFFECTIVE

BUSINESS
LETTER(S)/EMAILS
 “A Business letter that includes faxes, emails, memos and
email messages is often the first impression your reader has
of you. Make your message strong and impressive.”

“Writing good letters- communicating on the deeper level

of thought, feeling and ideas rather than on the shallow,
superficial level of events-affects your ability to think, to
reason accurately and to be understood effectively.”
Stephen P. Covey
Business letter is the letter which deals with the
business.
It is a formal way of communication between two
organizations.
The overall style of the letter will depend upon the
relation between the two parties or you can say
between client and the customer.
Business letters are always written very short and
everything up to the point.
Business letters are very much different comparatively
to personal letters because there are certain strict rules
which have to be followed for composition.
Why are business letters/email important?

Business letters are often the only channel of

communication between people and organizations
Business letters act as ambassadors for companies
 Email is the important channel of communication
within an organisation
Purposes of business letters
Letters are written to:
 Give facts
 Ask for information

 Persuade

 Complain

 Get action

 Establish rapport with the audience/generate goodwill

Strategies to write an effective letters/email

Before writing the letter, you must determine your

purpose and audience
Take a few minutes to list all of the specific points
you need to cover
Develop it in a story like format
State your main cause in the first paragraph and
develop it in the subsequent paragraphs
Wrap up with the courteous closing
Making letters readable
A clear subject line
An overview/purpose in the beginning
Headings, even in one page letter
Short sentences and short paragraphs
A simple vocabulary
Action stressed at the end
 
 
Example letter (Poor)

Fine Foods Ltd.

 
10 Bridge Street
London
SW10 5TG
 
Hello Mr. Roger Jones:
 
I got the letter you sent on 1st September, and the stuff about the stock control system
you make. It sounds great for us, but I want to check some things before we buy it. You
said the system is bang up-to-date, but what happens if you update it again soon? Do
we get money off the new one? You said it takes 3 weeks to install the system – that’s
too long! Can’t you do it any quicker? Hope you can reply soon, we’re in a bit of a
hurry.

Thanks,
 
Janet Brown

 
 
  
 Fine Foods Ltd.
 
12th September 2006

10 Bridge Street
London
Dear Mr. Jones,
Stock Control Software System
 
Thank you for your letter of 1st September and the information you sent regarding the stock
control system offered by your company. I certainly feel the system will meet our requirements.
However, there are some points which I would like clarified before we go ahead and order the
system.

Firstly, although you mentioned that the system has recently been updated, I wondered
whether we might be eligible for a discount on any future upgrades.
 
Secondly, the installation and implementation period of three weeks, to which you refer in
your letter, seems rather long. Is there any possibility of getting the system up and running on
a shorter timescale?
 
I would be very grateful for a swift response to these queries, in order that we can begin
the process as soon as possible.

Thank you in advance for your assistance. I look forward to your reply.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
J. Brown

Purchasing Manager
 Letters of Inquiry and Requests for Information
Dear Sir/Madam:
Could you please send us your current catalog and price
list of the video recorders advertised in this month's
issue of Professional Video Equipment News? We are
operating a video production facility and are particularly
interested in Models AA5 and AA8.
 
Please, reply as soon as possible as we would like to
make a purchasing decision early next month.
Sincerely yours,
Signature
Name
 Replies to Letters of Inquiry
Name/Title
Business/Organization Address
City, State Zip Code Dear Name:
 
Thank you very much for your request of April 16 for price list
of the video recorders advertised in this month's issue of
Professional Video Equipment News? We have asked our agents
in San Diego, Arthur Roth Company, to supply you with a
copy of our current sales catalog and price list and a full line of
samples.

We appreciate your interest and thank you for writing to us.

Sincerely yours,

Signature
Name
Dear Name:
We wondered whether you received our sales catalog
and export price lists you requested in your fax of
October 10. 
We would be pleased to discuss the possibility of
having our products distributed in your country. We
will call you to set up a meeting. We hope that we will
be able to meet soon, either in ….or in …
Sincerely yours,
Signature
Name
Dear Name: 
The catalog and price list mailed to you last week provided
descriptions of our professional video recorders. However,
you may have some specific questions on these new
models. For that reason, I would welcome the opportunity
to answer your questions and, if necessary, advise you on
how these new models can best suit your company's
requirements.
I would be happy to arrange a brief demonstration for you
and key members of your staff at a mutually agreeable
time. There is, of course, no cost or obligation. Please,
contact me so that I can reserve a date for you.
Sincerely,
Signature
Name
Letter of apology
Dear Name:
Thank you for your letter of June 17 pointing out the
error in our invoice No. A-531 dated January 9. We
would like to apologize for this billing error and we
are sorry for any inconvenience that our error has
caused you. We try our best, but occasionally errors
do slip by our accounting department. Therefore, we
have canceled the old invoice and now enclose a
revised invoice for the correct amount.
We would like to thank you once again for bringing
this matter to our attention.
Sincerely,
Letter of apology
Dear Name:
I apologize most sincerely for any discourtesy by our
employee, …., last Saturday afternoon. None was
intended. Because of this unfortunate incident, we
would like to offer you as a token of good faith, a gift
certificate for $100 of merchandise valid at any of our
five department stores in Bergen County. Please be
assured that we have taken steps to prevent a
recurrence of such inexcusable rudeness by our sales
staff.
Sincerely,
Letter of congratulations
Dear Name:
Congratulations on your election to the presidency of
the United Association of Engineers. You can be
proud of this election, because it is a well-deserved
recognition of your outstanding work as well as long-
time commitment to the activities of the Association.
I am also certain that the members appreciated the
excellent job you did last year as director of the
Association's international activities program.
My best wishes for success in your new position.
Letter of Congratulations
Dear Name:
On behalf of the management and staff of …, we want
to express our deepest appreciation for your hard
work during our recent fund-raising activities. Your
untiring energy and labor made this fund-raising
drive the most successful one since our foundation
began six years ago. Thank you very much! 

Sincerely,
Dear Name:
Please accept my sincere appreciation for all the
assistance you gave me in planning our recent
seminar at the … Hotel. Being a novice at planning
this type of event, I am certain its success was directly
related to your suggestions and directions.
All the people who attended were extremely pleased
with their accommodations as well as the friendliness
and attentiveness of your entire staff.
Please extend my appreciation to the staff and, in
particular, to … and…

Sincerely,
Dear Name:
I would like to take this opportunity to express my
appreciation to the staff of your conference center for
the prompt and courteous service that we received
during our … meeting on … . We were quite pleased
with your facility and with the friendly and helpful
service we experienced.
I am sure we will be at your conference center again in
the future.

Sincerely yours,
Inviting a guest speaker
Dear Name:
The Executive Council would like to invite you to speak about the
new developments in the …. at our annual General Meeting of the
Society of …. to be held in … on …. About 200 members will be present
at this annual meeting.
Several members have recommended you highly. Your recent article
in … also addresses this very interesting topic. We usually ask our
speakers to prepare a 30-minute address, followed by a 10-minute
question and answer period.
Our society is prepared to pay all your expenses including overnight
accommodation and a modest honorarium of $ ______.
We do hope that you will consider this invitation and join us on ….
Please, let us know as soon as possible if you will accept this speaking
engagement so that we can finalize our program for that evening at
the …

Sincerely,
Accepting an invitation
Dear Name:
Thank you very much for your invitation to address the
General Meeting of … at … in … on … on the subject of new
developments in the … I am pleased to accept your
invitation.
According to your request, I plan to take about 30 minutes
for the main part of my speaking engagement followed by
a question-and-answer period of about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, I am looking forward to receiving additional
information about the annual meeting.
Sincerely yours,
Signature
Name
Declining an invitation
Thank you very much for your kind invitation to address
the members of your … at their annual meeting in … on ….
Unfortunately, I cannot attend this meeting owing to a
prior speaking engagement on that same date. However, I
will be happy to address your organization on another
occasion.
As an alternate, I suggest that you contact … in …. He
recently addressed the members of the Broadcasting
Executives Association with a speech about new
developments in …Thank you again for your invitation.
Best of luck with your annual meeting.
Sincerely,
 Useful Expressions/
Sentences for a variety of
letters
Starting
We are writing 
to inform you that ...
to confirm ...
to request...
to enquire about ...
I am contacting you for the following reason.
I recently read/heard about ..... and would like to know ....
Having seen your advertisement in ..., I would like to ...
I would be interested in (obtaining / receiving) ...
I received your address from ... and would like to ...
I am writing to tell you about ...
Referring to previous contact
Thank you for your letter of March 15.
Thank you for contacting us.
In reply to your request, ...
Thank you for your letter regarding ...
With reference to our telephone conversation
yesterday...
Further to our meeting last week ...
It was a pleasure meeting you in … last month.
I enjoyed having lunch with you last week in…
I would just like to confirm the main points we
discussed…
Useful Sentences for Letters of Complaint
I am writing to complain …
I want to lodge a complaint about….
I am seriously disappointed to find that….
Things have now reached the point that I want action
within forty-eight hours or I will place the whole
matter in the hands of my lawyer.
I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction with...
I'm writing to express my annoyance with...
I am not happy about....was very disappointing.
I am writing to express my concern about...
Useful Sentences for Acknowledging and Responding to
Letters
Thankof Complaint
you for your letter of February 28 bringing this
problem to our attention.
We thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.
Thank you for writing us as candidly as you did about the
defect in your new vacuum cleaner.
We greatly regret your unsatisfactory experience with our
direct mail order products.
We are sorry to learn that you are not completely satisfied
with the performance of our …
 We are very sorry that our work was unsatisfactory and did not meet
your company's expectations, especially since we take great pride in
our work. We can, however, assure you that we will do our utmost to
correct this situation as quickly as possible.
Useful Sentences for Acknowledging and Responding to
Letters of Complaint
Please, accept our sincere apologies for the
inconveniences this has caused you.
We do see your point of view, but we are also sure that
you will consider ours.
We appreciate your patronage and are, of course,
always willing to help a customer with a problem.
Thank you once again for your concern and
understanding and for bringing this serious matter to
our attention.
It is unusual for this type of error to arise and we
apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused
you.
Useful Sentences for Congratulation, Appreciation, and Thank-
We
You Letters
were delighted to learn of your promotion.
On behalf of the Cooperville Bank, I offer you our
sincere congratulations on your recent appointment to
the Cooperville City Council.
I want to compliment you on your outstanding work as
a market researcher.
I am offering you my sincerest congratulations on your
appointment as a member of the board of directors
We want to express to you and your staff our deep
gratitude and appreciation for your company's generous
sponsorship of the Annual Arts Festival.
Useful Sentences for Congratulation, Appreciation, and Thank-
You Letters
We want to express to you and your staff our deep
gratitude and appreciation for your company's
generous sponsorship of the Annual Arts Festival.
Thank you once again for the courtesy and kindness
extended to us
Thank you very much for your hospitality during our
visit to…
We enjoyed your hospitality and hope you will give us
a chance to reciprocate the next time you are
visiting…
Closing remarks
If we can be of any further assistance, please let us
know.
If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
If you require more information ...
For further details ...
Thank you for taking this into consideration.
Thank you for your help.
We hope you are happy with this arrangement.
We hope you can settle this matter to our satisfaction
Referring to future contact
I look forward to seeing you next week.
Looking forward to hearing from you, ...
Looking forward to receiving your comments,
I look forward to meeting you on the (date).
I would appreciate a reply at your earliest
convenience.
An early reply would be appreciated.
Thanking
Thanks.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you kindly.
I can't thank you enough.
No words can express my gratitude.
I am extremely grateful for...
I very much appreciate your ______ing
 BUSINESS LETTERS

A business letter is a communication of information on

matters of trade and commerce or services. It serves not
only as a communication of information but also
preserving record of the communication
STYLES OF BUSINESS LETTER

Indented style
Block style
Complete block style
Semi block style
Hanging indented style
INDENTED STYLE

Oldest form of business letters. This require first line to

begin at the margin and the subsequent line to begin five
spaces away from the beginning of the previous line. A
comma follows each line and a full stop is put after the last
line.
 SRK TRADE LINKS
40 C, OTTAPPALAM – 630728
8 JUNE 2009
The Paralin Co-operative Bank,
548, peace Lane,
Parali – 611306.

Dear sir,
Please refer to your letter no:3784/27 of may 14, 2010
we are happy that…. ……………………….. …………………………… …… ……
……………….. ………………. …………………………. ……………………………….. ...........
………………………… ………………………… . . …………

Yours faithfully,
K.S.Paul
secretary
 BLOCK STYLE

In this style the date line , the complimentary close and

the signature are aligned with the right margin. All other
parts except the letter head, printed matters starts from
the left division. Between the parts and paragraphs of the
body of the letter double spacing is given whereas there is
a single spacing within each part and paragraph.
 FEROK PAPER INDUSTRIES
Bridge Nagar
Ferok- 470326
31. June. 2010
Your reference: letter no:48 of may
Our reference:KOQ-29

The Genaral Manager

Pattanbi genaral stores ltd
Pattambi-667314

Dear sir,

We are………………………………………………………………………………….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ….. ….

……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ………..
……….. ……….. ……….. ………

We are really………………………………………………………………………………………………. ….. ….. ….. …..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ….. ….. ….. ….
…………………………………………………………

Yours faithfully,

T.S./SG T.S. George

Encl 1 Sales officer
 COMPLETE BLOCK STYLE

The complete block style form has all lines beginning at

the margin and no punctuations at the end of any line
except in the text of message.
 Thiruvilwamala book depot
Palakadu -641206
2 July 2009

The finance manager

Chennai book centre
Chennai-614011

Dear sir,

We are …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …..

…….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………..
We hope that ……………………………………………………………………………………….. ….. ….. …..
…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………….

Yours faithfully,

A.C Ayyapa
Stores manager

ACA/kg
Encl:1
 SEMI BLOCK STYLE

This is like the block style except the paragraph of the

letters are indented and complementary close are placed at
the right margin.
 MANKANDA CREAM SUPLIERS
Chittoor – 670 136
2 July 2009
The finance manager
Chennai book centre
Chennai-614011

Dear sir,

We are ………………………… ……………………………………………….

………………. …………………………………………………………………………..
………………………… …………………………
We hope that …………………………………………………………..............
……………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………. ……
Yours faithfully,

A.C Ayyapa
Stores manager
 HANGING INDENTED STYLE

In this style the first line of each paragraph is started from

the left margin. The remaining lines in each paragraph have
four or five spaces.
 Wheat Traders
Nenmara - 413
2 July 2009
The finance manager
Chennai book centre
Chennai-614011

Dear sir,

We are ………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………

We hope that ……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………
Yours faithfully,

A.C Ayyapa
Stores manager
 REFERENCE

Business communication – Rajendra Pal, J.S. Korlahall,

Sultan Chand & sons.

Business Communication – Varinder Kumar, Bodh Raj,

Kalyani Publications.