How to Write Better Business Letters

How to Write BETTER BUSINESS LETTERS- A PRACTICAL, STEP-BY-STEP DISCUSSION OF THE PRINCIPLES INVOLVED AND THE PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED IN THE PREPARATION AND THE DICTATION OF SUCCESSFUL LETTERS by EARLE A. BUCKLEY. Originally published in 1936. PREFACE: In writing this introduction to the second edition of my first book, let me steal a paVaj aph from the preface of a book written by another. Joseph Conrad, Polish-born English novelist, in the year, peculiarly enough, that I made my ap pearance on this earth, wrote My task, which I am trying to achieve, is by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel it is, before all, to make you see That is your task, too, whenever you write a letter to make your reader see your product or proposition so vividly that he will be receptive tc any reasonable action you propose. The reading of this book will, I hope, make that task easier. If it does nothing else, it will certainly make you letter conscious and that in itself is worth while. Letter writing today is a profession, an art. Dont take it too much for granted. Dont just dash off a so-called sales letter and send it out, hoping it will do an effective job or hurriedly and thoughtlessly dictate a routine business letter, satisfied if it just answers another. Theres power in a good letter and not to take advantage of it is an economic waste. Remember that by their very customs and traditions people are vitally interested in letters. Of all the different kinds of mail received, they are invariably opened first, and thats true whether the address on the envelope is handwritten or typewritten. So your letter has a decided advantage to begin with. It is almost certain to be opened and shall we say scanned Whether it is read, assimilated and acted upon depends to a large extent on the way you have put your thoughts together, on the construction of your message. If you want to write better letters friendlier, more convincing, more resultful I believe the careful reading of this book will help you. It wasnt prepared for the professional letter writer, but rather for the many thousands of men and women who perhaps write good letters now, but who could write outstanding letters with a little of the right kind of study and application. If I have done a good job, you should be able to apply immediately the information this book con tains to your own individual problems. I hope sincerely that you can and that in a short while every one of the letters you turn out will be a sales letter in every sense of the term, regardless of its primary purpose. EARLE A. BUCKLEY. PHILADELPHIA, PA., April, 1940. Contents include: PREFACE v CHAPTER I. ANALYSIS 3 II. THE FORMULA FOR SALES LETTERS 8 III. WRITING THE OPENING 10 IV. WRITING THE BODY 16 V. WRITING THE CLOSE 30 VI. How TO MAKE A LETTER PRODUCTIVE .... 37 VII. LETTER PROBLEMS 53 VIII. POINTERS ON LETTERS TO DIFFERENT KINDS OF PROSPECTS 67 IX. POINTERS ON SPECIFIC TYPES OF LETTERS. . . 91 X. ANSWERS TO LETTER QUESTIONS 109 XL ON TESTING 127 XII. LETTER DONTS 132 XIII. ILLUSTRATED LETTERS 134 XIV. DICTATED LETTERS 138 1. Cleaning House 141 2. Making Words Count 143 vii CONTENTS PACE 3. Opening Sentences 146 4. Closing Sentences 148 5. The Right Tone 151 6. Making Letters Friendly 153 7. How to Make Every Letter a Sales Letter . 155 8. Making Your Answer Complete 158 9. How to Write an Adjustment Letter. . . . 160 10. How to Write an Inquiry Letter 163 11. How to Write Collection Letters 165 12. How to Revive Inactive Customers .... 170 13. The Importance of Physical Appearance...