Appearance of Letter

Stationary

With all types of letters, the letterhead is always used only as the first sheet of a letter. If the typed letter is more than one page, a plain sheet of paper matching the letterhead should be used for subsequent pages. It usually consists of at least the following items Business logo; Business full, legal name; Full street address and/or post office box number; City, state, and zip code; Telephone number; Fax number; E-mail address; Web site address.

Formats (see my previous post about formats letters)

Envelope

The addressee’s name should be typed on the first line. If there is space, the addressee’s title can be typed next to the name on the first line, separated by a comma. On the second line, a single space down, the person’s title is typed if it did not fit on the first line. If the company’s name will also fit on the second line, type it next to the title, separated by a comma. A single-space below, the company name is typed if it didn’t fit on the second line. The complete street address or post office box number, whichever is used in the inside address, is typed on the next line. The city followed by a comma, the two-letter state abbreviation, followed by two spaces, and the zip code are typed as the last line of the address.

If you are addressing a company rather than an individual, type the company’s name on the first line and the department name or attention line on the second line.

The sender’s full name and address should appear in the upper-left corner of the letter. Usually the business name will be imprinted on the envelope.

The stamp is placed in the upper-right corner of the envelope. Any special mailing notations should be typed in all capital letters directly below where the stamp is to go. On-arrival notations should be typed in all capital letters about nine lines below the top left of the envelope, aligned with the end of the return address. Italics and script writing should not be used because they might confuse the postal service.

Memorandum

Different businesses use different formats for their memos and written as interoffice correspondence. When you consider writing a memo, remember:

1. Write a memo only when it is necessary. Professionals are already drowning in a sea of paper. Don’t compound the problem by adding unnecessary missives to the flood. If you don’t really need to write the memo, don’t.
2. Keep your memos as brief as possible. The memo is the ideal place for the professional to show how competent a writer he or she is. The memo must be clear, concise, and to the point. The reader must be able to grasp the message quickly and clearly. Memos can run on to more than one page, but only when absolutely necessary.

Fax

It’s important to remember when you send a fax rather than a mailed letter that regardless of whether or not you write ‘‘confidential’’ on a faxed document, it is very likely that your document will be seen by someone other than the recipient. If you want to maintain true confidentiality, either call the recipient to make sure that he or she is the only one who will see the document transmitted or send the document in an envelope addressed to that person’s attention.

Emails

Some basic rules of thumb for e-mail usage:

Ø  Make sure the subject line of your e-mail is descriptive and short—no more than four or five words.

Ø  Keep the e-mail message short.

Ø  Use the same good grammar and spelling that you would use in a letter.

Ø  Avoid cute abbreviations (e.g., lol for ‘‘lots of love,’’ imho for ‘‘in my humble opinion’’) and emoticons (faces made from combinations of keystrokes) in your business e-mail, since your recipients may not have a clue as to what they mean. (Some people use such shorthand in informal e-mails.)

Ø  Never write in all capital letters. It gives the impression you’re shouting at the recipient.

Ø  Don’t be too informal. Remember that your message still reflects your professionalism.

Ø  Avoid ‘‘spamming’’ recipients by sending out mass e-mails about your business.

Ø  Consider setting up a consistent signature that goes out with each e-mail that gives your contact information. (Most e-mail programs allow for an easy set-up of a signature file.)

Ø  Don’t forward chain e-mail or the latest jokes that you receive en masse from friends.

Ø  When you reply to an e-mail, if your program permits, don’t return the entire e-mail that you were sent. If you need to refer to select parts of it, then just include those. Otherwise, the e-mail can become long, confused, and difficult to follow.

Ø  Only send attachments that are necessary and make sure those you do send are free of any viruses (use your antivirus program on your computer to check all files, including attachments).