Business Letter Format

http://www.writing-business-letters.com/business-letter-format.html

This is a sample of my business letter format video. In this video, I will cover why it is important to get the business letter format correct and what is included in a professional business letter format.

In the full video, I will also talk about what are the more uncommon elements in a business letter format.

Download the full business letter format video, mp3 and e-book at the link above.

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Closed Caption:

how to use the correct business letter
format by Dax
Chen copyright writing business letters
dot com
why it is important to use the correct
business letter format
because the way a business letter looks
immediately gives the reader their first
impression
even before the reading the quality of
the paper
letterhead design the margins spacing
and more all have something to say about
the organization
a weakness in any of these elements can
detract from the effectiveness of the
message
even though it may be expertly written
the following explains all the elements
in detail
the paper I recommend using the
twenty-pound from normal use
and 32 pound for important letters like
resume cover letters
and thank you letters color white is the
standard and should usually be used
light tents gray blue green except for a
are also becoming popular size
to me the a4 and the letter are the only
acceptable sizes
there are other sizes but I don't
recommend it unless you are in the
creative field
or you're trying to capture attention
for sales letter layout
in a business letter format there are
many layouts
the three most popular are the semi
blocked blocked
and four blocked in a summer blocked
format the first line each paragraph is
indented
the rest at the heading salutation
exceptional is left just about
in a plot format all text is aligned
left margin
paragraphs are not intended in a full
block format
all text is justified align paragraphs
are not indented
in a justified alignment the text
aligned with both the left and right
margins
whatever layout you wish to use it does
not really matter
as for me I prefer the full block simply
because it is easier to type on the
computer
margins left and right
one-inch top and bottom one and a half
inch
spacing most business letters using the
correct business letter format
are single-spaced use double space for
sure letters
leave one blank line between paragraphs
to blank lines before the complementary
close
and 34 lines for the signature envelopes
make sure the address on your envelope
is easy to read
so that it does not get tossed in some
mail room place the address just below
the vertical center
and just to the right at the horizontal
center any special instructions such as
personal
please for or confidential goes on the
left side of the envelope below the
return address
place inattention mind directly below
the company name on envelope
make sure the address on the envelope is
written so that a postal worker can read
it at a glance
won both the street and the post office
address are given
the postal service will deliver your
letter to the address that appears to
wreck Lee
about the Zipcar on the envelope address
type the name to foreign countries all
in caps spell out on the american street
names from one to 10
use a hyphen between Street and
residents numbers
common business letter format
elements one your own address in most
business iterations you'll be using your
company pre-printed letterhead if you're
using a blank paper
then type out the address to state lines
place the date at least two spaces love
letter
the line maybe flash laterite were
centered below the letterhead
do not abbreviate the month or use
nd St or th with the day numbers
like May 5th 2011 also do not use a
month's number
like 623 11 both date orders listed
below are appropriate however
the latter is used mainly by the
government the military
and those outside the United States
December 10
2010 10 December 2010
3 receiver address
type the receivers address in this
section addressee
address City state zip make sure a
person's name is spelled correctly
a recipient may decide to ignore a
letter that was written by someone who
cannot spell his or her name
do not use both the title and the degree
of a person for example
right either hairy beaver DDS or doctor
hairy beaver
and not doctor hairy beaver DDS
two or more men are dressed as misters
which means misters
do not use first names this abbreviation
mister smith
white and Gary two or more women are
dressed as Madame
mademoiselle mademoiselle do not use
first names that these abbreviations
mademoiselle spar line 0 and grey
when addressing couples get both
appropriate titles
doctor and missus Herald right mister
Harold Wright
and doctor margaret right doctors Herald
and Margaret Wright
doctor margaret right and mister stephen
jones
mister and missus Harvey Adams Quinn
Miss Margaret Wright
and mister stephen jones in selecting a
title
always notice the way an individual
identifies him or herself
for example some hold degrees do not use
their titles while others do
some married women prefer missus others
prefer miss
if you do not know the title the one
prefers use the standard Mysore drop the
title altogether
place the inside address at least two
lines below the date
place a person's title after his name
and less it is unusual mom
then go to the next line lex luther
comma president
lex luther vice president of
international operations
the car before the abbreviations junior
and senior is optional
ken griffey Commagene your ken griffey
senior
for citation always use the name of the
individual
if you know it examples personal friend
or close business associate
dear amy: dear missus writer
dear Miss Spears use mir's if you don't
have a marital status or the preference
dear Miss Tyler dear mister barnum
dear Doctor Doom dear Sir Elton John
if you don't know the name the
individual address it to the individuals
title in the company
and then use dear sir or madam here's an
example
head of human resource evil empire and
123 Sesame Street dear sir/madam
but please only use it if you really
cannot find out the name of the person
most companies will tell you who the
person s all it takes is a phone call
it is also quite easy to find this
information on LinkedIn these days
if you're addressing to an organization
and not individual
then use the following ladies and
gentleman
and if you want to highlight the letter
to individuals in the organization
use the attention line as follows:
attention call on
mischief under CEO and mister and
Jackson
CFL ladies and gentleman calling
if you are dressing officials it
requires a more formal citation
see addressing business letters for
officials and business letter salutation
FAQ
in the PDF for more information
5 letter body this the body your letter
this is the actual content your letter
for specific advice on what to say in
the body
please go to writing business letters
dot com in the site
I try to cover how to write the body
effectively so that you can get your
message across and achieve your
objectives