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WHM - March 2005 -
"The Top 10 Business Letters"
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WRITING HELP
MONTHLY
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Opening Words
2. FEATURE: "The Business Letter Top 10"
3. Writing Resource of the Month: Writing Help Central
4. CONTEST! Are You One Of March's FIVE WINNERS?
5. Your FREE Downloads
6. Writing Help Tools and Resources
7. Administration/Feedback/Subscriptions
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Copyright (c) 2005 Shaun R. Fawcett. All Rights Reserved.
You have received this newsletter because you or somebody
in your household or office
subscribed to it and/or the
free 7-part writing tips course,
"Tips and Tricks For
Writing Success" and/or, you bought a copy of one of
my
eBooks.
If you would like to remove your e-mail address
from the WHM subscribers list,
the instructions for doing
so are at the bottom of this
newsletter.
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The Voice of WritingHelp-Central.com,
WritingHelpTools.com
and associated Writing Toolkits
and Web Sites...
Bringing you tips, information, advice, and resources on
everyday home and business
writing, and related subjects...
Personal letters, business letters, resumes, curriculum
vitae, admission essays,
personal statements, term papers,
research papers/essays, reports,
and general copy writing.
The Mission of Writing Help Monthly Update (WHM) is:
"To provide WHM subscribers with ongoing tips,
advice,
information, resources, and news
on the writing-related
subjects covered by
writinghelp-central.com and its
associated Web sites."
http://www.writinghelptools.com
http://www.writinghelp-central.com
http://www.instanthomewritingkit.com
http://www.instantbookwritingkit.com
http://www.instantletterwritingkit.com
http://www.instantbusinessletterkit.com
http://www.instantresignationletterkit.com
http://www.instantcollegeadmissionessay.com
http://www.instantrecommendationletterkit.com
For information about me please check out this link:
http://www.writinghelptools.com/SRFabout.html
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1. OPENING WORDS
So, I just missed February by one day! Who knew it wasn't
a leap year? It seems like it
was just a couple of weeks
ago that I put out the January
issue (on the last day of
January). Time sure does fly
when you’re busy, doesn’t it!
Weather Report
Only another five or six weeks
of winter to go folks! We’ve
almost made it through another
frigid, snow-filled Canadian
winter.
Actually, for a few days in early February we had a bit
of
a winter thaw during which
temperatures rose well above
freezing for a couple of days.
It was great while it lasted
but just as everybody was
starting to get excited about an
extra-early spring we plunged
back into the deep-freeze
again. That was hard on the
mental health. Personally,
I think we’d be better off if we didn’t have these little
thaws at all, and just stay
resigned to getting through
another long hard winter, until
it’s actually over.
By mid-April the snow should be melted and we’ll start to
hear the spring birds singing
again as they return from
down south. I can hardly wait!
I’m Going To The Blog!
No, that’s not a typo. Over the next few weeks I am going
to set up this Writing Help Monthly
newsletter as a “Blog”.
What’s a Blog, you ask? Well,
it’s the latest communications
delivery mechanism that is
currently taking the Internet
by storm.
Some of you may have already heard about Blogs. Many
prominent people in business,
entertainment and politics
have already set up Blogs.
The term Blog is simply a short
form for “Web Log”. At
some point about 18 months ago
or so, a few online
veterans decided to start making
regular postings of their
thoughts and opinions on
publicly available Web sites that
they dubbed "Web
Logs". Sort of like an online journal or
diary really, except that
everyone can read them. In fact,
that’s the point -- they’re
meant to be read by anyone
interested in their content.
I like the idea of a Blog
because I’ll be able to post
writing help articles,
information and resources whenever
they arise, and I won’t have to
wait to publish the monthly
newsletter. Then, from time to
time when I’ve posted some
new info on my Blog that I think might interest you, I’ll
simply send you a quick “heads
up” e-mail letting you know
that there’s new info posted on
my Blog that you might want
to take a look at.
So, be on the lookout over the next few weeks for my
initial
Blog announcement!
I guess that’s it for my final pre-Blog
version of Writing
Help Monthly.
Thanks for your continuing support. I’m sure you’ll love
the new Blog
approach. You’ll have access to new writing
help information as soon as it
becomes available.
All the best to you and yours!
Shaun Fawcett, M.B.A.
mailto:feedback@writinghelp-central.com
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2. FEATURE:
"THE BUSINESS LETTER TOP 10"
Copyright © 2005 by Shaun Fawcett
Information about how to write business letters is among
the most sought-after by
visitors to my two writing help
Web sites: writinghelp-central.com and
writinghelptools.com.
The strange thing about this is that, when most people are
pressed, they have only a vague
idea as to exactly what
constitutes a true business
letter.
It seems that the term “business letter” is a kind of
catch-all phrase that many
people use to define just about
any kind of letter. Indeed, if
you go down to your local
bookstore and check out some of
the many “how-to” reference
guides on writing “business
letters”, this confusion becomes
apparent.
Often, these guides include just about every type of
letter
imaginable all mixed in together
and loosely labeled as
“business” letters. In these
cases, the publisher probably
told them that the term
“business letters” would sell
better than “general letters”.
Unfortunately, such guides
lack focus and are often
misleading and confusing.
This article covers two aspects of business letters. The
first part provides a summary of
an article I first
published a couple of years ago
titled “Business Letters
Explained” that clarifies exactly what business letters
are, and what they are not. The
second part of this article
is a listing of the “Top 10
Business Letters” derived from
the search requirements
specified by the more than 1.5
million people that visit my
writing help Web sites
annually.
BUSINESS LETTERS
EXPLAINED
Despite the widespread use of e-mail in commerce today,
traditional business letters are
still the main way that
the majority of businesses
officially communicate with
their customers and other
businesses.
This is especially true when businesses want to formalize
an agreement or an
understanding. E-mails are great for
all of the preparatory work, but
a formal business letter
is still most often needed to
"seal the deal".
There are two basic categories of business letters:
business-to-business, and
business-to-customer.
Business-to-Business
Letters
Most business-to-business letters are written to confirm
things that have already been
discussed among officials
in meetings, on the telephone,
or via e-mail.
Can you imagine the letters that would have to go back
and
forth to cover all of the
questions and possibilities that
can be covered in a one-hour
meeting, a half-hour phone
call, or a few quick e-mails?
The main purpose of a typical business letter is to
formalize the details that were
arrived at in those
discussions and communications,
and to provide any
additional information that was
agreed upon.
Typical business-to-business letters include: price
quotations, meeting
confirmations, order confirmations,
joint venture proposals, order
confirmations, project
status reports, news releases,
letters-of-intent,
invitations to participate, etc.
There is also a type of internal business letter that is
known as a “business
memorandum”. Business memoranda are
used almost exclusively for
formal correspondence within
a company or organization.
Business-to-Customer
Letters
There are many different types of business-to-customer
letters. The typical “customer”
is defined here as an
individual “consumer”. Of
course, technically, other
businesses can also be
“customers” at some point.
Nevertheless, the vast majority of day-to-day business
letters are sent to regular,
everyday members of the
general public who purchase
products and services from
the
companies that send them the letters.
Typical business-to-customer business letters include:
sales and marketing letters,
information letters, order
acknowledgement letters, order
status letters, collection
letters, credit status letters,
response to complaint
letters, service follow-up
letters, announcement letters,
among others.
Of course, flowing in the other direction are customer-to-
business letters. These include
such correspondence as:
order letters, order status
inquiry letters, requests for
information, complaint letters,
and others.
Letters That Are
NOT Business Letters
In an effort to be absolutely clear here, I’m going to
tell you the specific types of
letters that frequently get
grouped into the catch-all
“business letters” category, but
are not really business letters
at all. This group usually
includes employment-related
letters such as: recommendation
letters, reference letters,
resume cover letters, interview
thank you letters, job
application letters, application
follow-up letters, job
acceptance letters, among others.
In addition, there are a number of other letter types
that
can be either business or
personal, depending on the
situation, but they often get
thrown exclusively into the
business letter category in many
reference texts. These
include: thank you letters,
appreciation letters, complaint
letters, cover letters,
introduction letters, apology
letters, condolence letters,
request for information
letters, among others. Any one
of these letters can be
either business or personal,
depending on the situation.
Summary: There is no ONE “business letter”. There are
many.
AND, NOT all letters are business letters.
So, it almost always depends on the specific context as
to
whether a letter is truly a
business letter, or an employment
letter, or a personal letter, or
whatever type of letter.
THE TOP 10
BUSINESS LETTERS
Since my writing help Web sites receive over 1.5 million
unique visitors per year I have
a very good idea of the
top business letters that people
are looking for. So,
here’s my Top 10 list of
business letters with a link to
a typical sample for each one.
1. Thank you letter (appreciation letter)
http://writinghelp-central.com/appreciation-letter.html
2. Letter of Reference
http://writinghelp-central.com/letter-of-reference.html
3. Business Letter – Generic
http://writinghelp-central.com/business-letter.html
4. Business Memo – Generic
http://writinghelp-central.com/business-memo.html
5. Sales Letter
http://writinghelp-central.com/sales-letter.html
6. Introduction Letter
http://writinghelp-central.com/introduction-letter.html
7. Apology Letter
http://www.writinghelp-central.com/apology-letter.html
8. Termination Letter
http://writinghelp-central.com/termination-letter.html
9. Invitation Letter
http://writinghelp-central.com/invitation-letter.html
10. Letter of Interest
http://writinghelp-central.com/letter-of-interest.html
Other frequently requested business letters include:
collection letter,
congratulations letter, follow-up
letter, invoice letter, letter
of credit, letter of intent,
marketing letter, sympathy
letter, document cover letter,
among others.
As you can see from the above, it’s best to be as
descriptive as possible instead
of vaguely referring to
a “business letter”. So, try to
be a little more specific
as to the exact purpose of the
letter to which you're
referring. That way, more people
will have some idea of
what you’re talking about.
Instant Business
Letter Kit
How To Write Business Letters
That Get The Job Done
http://instantbusinessletterkit.com
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3. WRITING
RESOURCE OF THE MONTH
Every month I include a new writing-related resource that
I think will be of interest to newsletter readers. Here
it is for February:
WritingHelp-Central.com:
That's right. That IS one of my Web sites! Well, why not?
Many of you who subscribed at some point along the way to
my Writing Help course
"Tips and Tricks For Writing Success"
could have signed-up from any
one of my nine Web sites.
So that means that many of you have probably never been
to my most important writing resource site. Even if you
have, did you take the time to check out all of the free
information that's available
there?
I've been adding content to that Web site, page-by-page
for the past four years. There
are now some 115 pages and
almost 100,000 words of free
original writing help content
available on that Web site.
In fact, WritingHelp-Central.com is now among the most
visited writing help Web sites
on the World Wide Web,
receiving over 25,000 unique
visitors per week on average,
or over 1.3 million visitors per
year.
So, if you haven't already, make a point to spend some time
checking out the free writing help information and resources
at WritingHelp-Central.com:
http://writinghelp-central.com
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4. CONTEST! ARE
YOU ONE OF THE FIVE WINNERS FOR MARCH?
Every month I give away FIVE Writing Kits.
Contest winners are chosen at random from my mailing
list and are announced in each
issue of this newsletter.
As long as you are a current subscriber to Writing Help
Monthly you automatically qualify for the contest each
month.
There's only one teeny, tiny little catch, as follows:
Contest winners will be announced in this newsletter
ONLY.
Winners will NOT be contacted directly when their names
are drawn.
So, to find out if you are one of the monthly winners you
will have to check out your
monthly edition of WHM!
If you are listed here as a winner you will simply be
required to send me an e-mail
from your personal e-mail
address (the one I have on file)
so that I may verify it
and send you your prize. Please
state in your e-mail,
which one of the two Kits you
would like.
Right now, contest winners have their choice of:
Instant Home Writing Kit
http://www.instanthomewritingkit.com
Instant Resignation Letter Kit
http://instantresignationletterkit.com
That's it. "Them's
the rules!"
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CONTEST WINNERS:
March 2005:
The FIVE WINNERS of one Fr*e copy of their choice of
either "Instant Home
Writing Kit" or "Instant Resignation
Letter Kit" are:
Alan alan.***e@boci-pru.com.hk
Alisha alisha@***ed-link.com
Mary marypalmer**@yahoo.ca
May may_p***@primerite.com
Shashi konotum***@myway.com
If you are Alan, Alisha, Mary,
May or Shashi,
please send me an e-mail from
the address listed above
to claim your prize. (In your
e-mail please indicate
which one of the two Kits you
would like).
Send your e-mail to:
mailto:contest@writinghelp-central.com
Congrats to Alan, Alisha, Mary,
May and Shashi!
Don’t worry, if you didn't win this time, next month it
might be your turn!
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5. YOUR FREE
DOWNLOADS
Here are some quality writing-related eBooks
that you can
download absolutely FREE:
ARTICLES BY
AUTORESPONDER
"Articles by Autoresponder"
contains links to over 900
articles covering 44 different
categories on such
subjects as: weight loss,
fitness, cooking, spirituality,
writing, sales, child care,
marketing, etc., You can
download the eBook for FREE at
the following link:
http://www.writinghelp-central.com/articlesbyauto.html?025
AFFILIATE MASTERS
COURSE
Ken Evoy's legendary Affiliate
Masters Course (AMC) is now
available in eBook format (pdf). You can download it now
for FREE. Click on this link to
download your FREE copy
of the AMC.
http://www.writinghelp-central.com/afmdownload.html?025
JOB SEARCH KITS
Resume writing expert Kevin Donlin
has put together a
special FREE "Job Search
and Resume-Writing Kit" based
on his eBook. For your FR*E Job
Search Kit, click on the
following link and send a blank
e-mail to that address:
mailto:freejobkit@getresponse.com?subject=REF025
Kevin has also written an eBook titled "How To Find A Job
In Tough Times". It
contains 20 chapters and over 40 pages
of real "meat"
covering every aspect of how to conduct
a successful job search
campaign. For valuable information
from an expert who knows what
he's talking about, Kevin's
book is well worth the download.
Here's the link:
http://writinghelptools.com/cgi-bin/a/t.cgi?rcovjobkit
Note: It's a pdf document so
you'll need Adobe Reader
installed. If you don't have it,
here's the link:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
WRITING HELP
COURSE
More than 35,000 people in over 150 countries have taken
this "Tips and Tricks For
Writing Success" e-mail Course
over the past two and one-half
years or so.
DON'T FORGET, you can refer family, friends and
colleagues
to this "internationally
praised" writing course by simply
sending them to the following
sign-up link:
http://instanthomewritingkit.com/cgi-bin/a/t.cgi?freecourse
Just copy-and-paste that link into an e-mail and send it
to them. They'll thank you for
it!
"WRITING
SUCCESS SECRETS" eBOOK
Writing Success Secrets (Revised Edition) is a
comprehensive
"how-to" eBook
designed to help people with their everyday
writing tasks. Its 89 pages are
packed with over 20,000
words of tips, tricks, advice
and information on how to
improve one's writing in just
about every area where
writing help is required on a
daily basis.
The nine chapters cover 20 different writing topics
including: letter writing,
business reports, reference and
recommendation letters,
resignation letters, resume writing,
writer's block, college
admission essays, and more. It's a
"must have" writing
resource for anyone wanting to improve
their practical writing skills
for home, school and/or
business. Here's the download
link:
http://www.writinghelptools.com/sg1.html
ONLINE BOOK
PUBLISHING SECRETS
In late June 2004 I released my eBook...
"Instant Book Writing Kit - How To Write, Publish and
Market Your Own Money-Making Book (eBook)
Online".
The book is based on what I have come to dub "The
Online
Publishing Model". That
model is exactly what I have used
over the past three years to
write, publish and market
a total of eight books and ebooks online.
The beauty of the Online Publishing Model is that you
can make a lot more money
selling your books/ebooks by
virtually sidestepping the
outdated and dysfunctional
traditional book publishing
industry.
To explain the Online Publishing Model in detail I've
put together a free
"info-series" for visitors to my
Instant Book Writing Kit Web site.
Why don't you subscribe to that FREE info series to find
out more? It's called
"Online Book Publishing Secrets"
and you can sign-up at the
following link:
http://instantbookwritingkit.com/cgi-bin/a/t.cgi?freeseries
The info-series is FREE, so there's nothing to lose and
the potential to gain a lot!
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6. WRITING TOOLS
AND RESOURCES
Here are some sponsored writing-related products and
services which you might be
interested in checking out.
I only endorse what I consider to be high quality
products/services:
COPY WRITING
"Make Your Words Sell!" is recognized as the
master manual
on persuasive copywriting.
Co-written by Internet marketing
guru Ken Evoy
and pro copywriter Joe Robson, it transforms
traditional copywriting
techniques into "the art of
e-persuasion". Concepts are
applicable both online and
offline. An extensive
value-added "how to" and reference
guide. A "must have"
in my book.
http://instanthomewritingkit.com/cgi-bin/a/t.cgi?amyws
NEWSLETTERS
"How To Write A Newsletter"
is an all-inclusive toolkit
that shows you exactly how to
quickly and easily create
a professional newsletter in
less than 20 minutes.
Includes a "how to" eBook Manual, assorted
newsletter
templates, and 100
copyright-free articles. Perfect for
creating newsletters for: small
businesses, professionals,
clubs, societies, schools,
community groups, etc. If you're
looking to boost your
credibility, professionalism,
and/or sales, this Kit will do
it.
http://instanthomewritingkit.com/cgi-bin/a/t.cgi?anewslet
PRESENTATIONS
"How To Create and Make A
Presentation" is a powerful
toolkit that shows you exactly
how to create a
successful presentation in less
than 60 minutes. It
covers everything from
brainstorming and naming your
presentation, to techniques for
overcoming fear of
public speaking. Whether you
have to present as an
individual, a business person,
or as a professional,
this toolkit will help you
"wow" your audience.
http://instanthomewritingkit.com/cgi-bin/a/t.cgi?apresent
RESUME WRITING
Kevin Donlin has written the
"bible" on resumes and
cover letters. "Resume
Writing and Cover Letter Secrets
Revealed" will tell you everything you need to know
about writing resumes and cover
letters, and it includes
many real-life examples. For
quality value-added
information from an expert in
his field, I highly
recommend you check out Kevin's
book:
http://instanthomewritingkit.com/cgi-bin/a/t.cgi?adonlin
SALES AND
MARKETING LETTERS
Yanik Silver has developed a
powerful set of fill-in-
the-blanks sales letters called
"Instant Sales Letters".
It contains dozens of proven sales and marketing letter
templates for every kind of
small business imaginable,
from retailers and
restaurateurs, to physicians,
lawyers, and veterinarians. A
fine set of tools that
work. I recommend it highly for
anyone starting or
growing their business:
http://instanthomewritingkit.com/cgi-bin/a/t.cgi?aslslets
WRITING HELP
TOOLKITS
Over the past few years I have developed a number of
Writing Help Toolkits designed to assist people with
their
everyday practical writing needs
for home, business and
educational purposes.
These Kits are unique in the sense that they are
comprised
of two essential parts.
THE FIRST PART of
each Kit is a comprehensive eBook full
of tips, tricks, pointers,
advice and samples that tell you
everything you need to know
about writing a specific type
of letter or document. A mini
“how-to” style guide, if
you like.
THE SECOND PART of
each Writing Kit is a complete set of
ALL of the fully-formatted real-life samples from the
first
”how-to” part of the Kit in a format that you can
download
directly into your word
processing program and work with
as you please.
Here are the links to those Writing Kits:
Instant Business
Letter Kit
How To Write Business Letters
That Get The Job Done
http://www.instantbusinessletterkit.com
Instant
Recommendation Letter Kit (Revised Edition)
How To Write A Winning Letter of
Reference
http://www.instantrecommendationletterkit.com
Instant
Resignation Letter Kit
How To Write A Super Resignation
Letter and Move On With Class
http://www.instantresignationletterkit.com
Instant Home
Writing Kit
How To Save Money, Time and
Effort and Simplify Everyday
Writing Tasks
http://www.instanthomewritingkit.com
Instant Letter
Writing Kit
How To Write Every Letter Like A
Pro
http://www.instantletterwritingkit.com
How To Write A Personal
Statement Essay That Will Get You In
http://www.instantcollegeadmissionessay.com
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7.
ADMINISTRATION/FEEDBACK/SUBSCRIPTIONS
SUGGESTIONS/FEEDBACK:
Your suggestions and feedback on any aspect of this
newsletter are welcome. To
submit something please click
on this link:
mailto:feedback@writinghelp-central.com
------------------------------
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
To Unsubscribe or Change Mailing Details:
If you do not want further notifications about this
newsletter, or if you want to
change your name or e-mail
details, please go to the
"announcement e-mail" that sent
you to this newsletter and then
click on the aweber.com
link at the very bottom of that.
It is labeled like this:
"To unsubscribe or change subscriber options
visit:"
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That's it for
March 2005 folks!
I hope you found some useful practical writing tips and
information.
As I stated in Opening Words at the beginning of this
Newsletter, be on the lookout for messages from me in a
few weeks introducing you to my
new Writing Help Blog.
In the meantime, don't forget...
"With Writing Help Central, you're on the 'write'
track!"
All the best,
Shaun Fawcett, M.B.A.
mailto:shaun@writinghelp-central.com
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http://www.writinghelptools.com
http://www.writinghelp-central.com
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Published By:
Final Draft Publications, 5-1501 Notre-Dame W.,
QC,
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