How to format a business letter is the first question that comes to mind of any individual, who is interested in starting his career as a business professional. Firstly, you need to know that there are three formats that are commonly used by individuals when writing letters for different purposes. They are personal, business and sales letter format of a business letter.
Let us understand how these different types of format work and which one is best suited for what you are intending to write.
Personal format of a business letter is one, which is generally used by individuals while writing correspondence as they feel it easier to write in this format. The advantage of personal format of a business letter is that it is more informal and easy to understand. For instance, an individual might write a letter to his friend telling his friend about his recent promotion. In this format of a business letter, he would mention the date, venue and purpose of the promotion. In the same way, if he were to write the same letter to another company or individual it would be written in a business tone.
Another format of a business letter is the sales letter format, which is again an informal style of writing. A sales letter is the most popular format for people who are selling some product or service, whether it is a product or a service. While writing in a sales letter the words that should be used should relate directly to the item or service being sold, in a way, so as to make the sale.
Sales letter format is commonly used by companies that sell goods and services. A sales letter is a letter, which is to be sent to a prospective customer after making an arrangement for the purchase of the particular item or service. The format of a business letter that is used for selling is very similar to that of the sales letter format, with the only difference being that it will not contain the name of the seller or the company but will instead use the title of the business or the company. Thus it will go like this: Mr. Smith is a partner of the X Company and is willing to ship to the address of Y. Following this information, the names of the customers will be written in order, from left to right.
An outline is the next format of a business letter that is commonly used by many people. The advantage of using an outline format of a letter is that it helps the writer to organize his thoughts and ideas into a written format without much difficulty. This can also help the writer to come up with an effective conclusion to the letter. Outlines are generally used when the writer is starting from scratch. It can also help the student write a better essay.
One other format of a business letter is called a mini- biography. This format of a letter is very useful when a person wants to give a personal view to his or her customer. A mini- biography usually starts with the name and surname of the customer, who is being asked to do a survey or give his or her opinion on a certain product or service, after which the personal details of the customer are written down. The last format of a business letter that can be used is what is known as the table format. Here one would normally list down all the salutations that one has received, the address that one has rented or bought the product from and the dates that one has sent out the product to his or her customers.