business letters. Few men will take the time to decipher a
proposition that is obscured by ambiguous words and involved
phrases. Unless it is obviously to a man's advantage to read such a
letter it is dropped into the waste basket, taking with it the
message that might have found an interested prospect if it had been
expressed clearly, logically, forcibly.
The first essential for style is clearness--make your meaning plain.
Look to the individual words; use them in the simplest way--
distinctive words to give exactness of meaning and familiar words to
give strength. Words are the private soldiers under the command of
the writer and for ease of management he wants small words--a long
word is out of place, unwieldy, awkward. The "high-sounding" words
that are dragged in by main force for the sake of effect weigh down
the letter, make it logy. The reader may be impressed by the
language but not by the thought. He reads the words and misses the
message.
Avoid long, unfamiliar words. Clothe your thoughts in words that no
one can mistake--the kind of language that men use in the office and
on the street. Do not make the reader work to see your point; he is
busy, he has other things to do--it is your proposition and it is to
your interest to put in that extra work, those additional minutes
that will make the letter easily understood. It is too much to
expect the reader to exert himself to dig out _your_ meaning and
then enthuse himself over _your_ proposition.
The men who write pulling letters weigh carefully every sentence,
not only pruning away every unessential word but using words of
Anglo-Saxon origin wherever possible rather than words of Latin
derivation. "Indicate your selection" was written as the catch line
for a letter in an important selling campaign, but the head
correspondent with unerring decision re-wrote it--"Take your
choice"--a simpler, stronger statement. The meaning goes straight to
the reader's mind without an effort on his part. "We are unable to
discern" started out the new correspondent in answering a complaint.
"We cannot see" was the revision written in by the master
correspondent--short, concise, to the point. "With your kind
permission I should like to say in reply to your favor"--such
expressions are found in letters every day--thousands of them. The
reader is tired before the subject matter is reached.
The correspondent who is thinking about the one to whom he is
writing starts out briefly and to the point by saying, "This is in
reply to your letter," or, "Thank you for calling our attention to,
and so forth." The reader is impressed that the writer means
business. The attitude is not antagonistic; it commands attention.
Letters are unnaturally burdened with long words and stilted
phrases, while in conversation one's thoughts seek expression
through lines of least resistance--familiar words and short
sentences. But in writing, these same thoughts go stumbling over
long words and groping through involved phrases.
Proverbs are sentences that have lived because they express a
thought briefly in short, familiar words. Slang becomes popular
because of the wealth of meaning expressed in a few words, and many
of these sayings gradually work their way into respectability--
reluctantly admitted into the sanctuary of "literature" because of
their strength, clearness, adaptability.
While short words are necessary for force and vigor, it may be very
desirable at times to use longer and less familiar words to bring
out the finer shade of meaning. A subtle distinction cannot be
ignored simply because one word is shorter than another. "Donate"
and "give" are frequently used as synonyms, but "give" should not be
used because it is a short word when "donate" expresses the meaning
more accurately. As a usual thing, "home" is preferable to
"residence," but there are times when the longer word should be
used. "Declare" and "state," "thoroughfare" and "street"--there are
thousands of illustrations on this point, and while the short,
Anglo-Saxon word is always preferable, it should not be used when a
longer word expresses more accurately the thought which the writer
wishes to convey.
Many letter writers think that these rules are all right for college
professors, journalists and authors, but impractical for the
every-day business correspondent. Some of the most successful
companies in the country, however, have recognized the importance
of these very points and have adopted strict rules that give
strength and character to the letters that are sent out. For
example, here is a paragraph taken from the book of instructions
issued by a large manufacturing concern in the middle west:
"Don't use a long or big word where a short one will do as well or
better. For example: 'Begin' is better than 'commence'; 'home' or
'house' better than 'residence'; 'buy' better than 'purchase';
'live' better than 'reside'; 'at once' better than 'immediately';
'give' better than 'donate'; 'start' or 'begin' better than
'inaugurate.'"
The selection of words is not the only thing that the writer must
consider. The placing of words to secure emphasis is no less
important. The strength of a statement may depend upon the
adroitness with which the words are used. "Not only to do one thing
_well_ but to do that one thing _best_--this has been our aim and
our accomplishment." In this sentence, taken from a letter, emphasis
is laid upon the word "best" by its position. The manufacturer has
two strong arguments to use on the dealer; one is the quality of the
goods--so they will give satisfaction to the customer--and the other
is the appearance of the goods so they will attract the customer.
This is the sentence used by a clever writer: "We _charge_ you for
the service quality--we _give_ you the appearance quality." The
strength comes from the construction of the sentence throwing
emphasis on "charge" and "give."
"Durability--that is our talking point. Other machines are cheaper
if you consider only initial cost; no other machine is more
economical when its durability, its length of service is
considered." Here the unusual position of the word "durability,"
thrown at the beginning of the sentence, gives an emphasis that
could not be obtained in any other way. And so the stylist considers
not only the words he uses but he places them in the most strategic
position in the sentence--the beginning.
In the building of a climax this order of words is reversed since
the purpose is to work up from the weakest to the strongest word or
phrase. The description, "sweet, pure and sanitary," gives emphasis
to the sanitary feature because it comes last and lingers longest in
the mind.
After the study of words, their meaning and position, the writer
must look to completed sentences, and the man who succeeds in
selling goods by mail recognizes first of all the force of concise
statements. "You can pay more but you can't buy more." This
statement strikes home with the force of a blow. "We couldn't
improve the powder so we improved the box." There is nothing but
assertion in this sentence, but it carries conviction. Not a word is
out of place. Every word does duty. The idea is expressed concisely,
forcibly. The simplicity of the sentence is more effective than
pages of prosaic argument.
Here is a sentence taken from a letter of a correspondence school:
"Assuming that you are in search of valuable information that may
increase your earning capacity by a more complete knowledge of any
subject in which you may be interested, we desire to state most
emphatically that your wages increase with your intelligence." This
is not only ungrammatical, it is uninteresting. Contrast it with the
sentence taken from a letter from another correspondence school:
"You earn more as you learn more." It is short, emphatic, thought
producing. The idea is clearly etched into your mind.
Short sentences are plain and forceful, but when used exclusively,
they become tiresome and monotonous. A short sentence is frequently
most striking when preceding or following a long sentence--it gives
variation of style. Following a long sentence it comes as a quick,
trip-hammer blow that is always effective. And there are times when
the proposition cannot be brought out clearly by short sentences.
Then the long sentence comes to the rescue for it permits of
comparisons and climaxes that short sentences cannot give.
[Illustration: _Unique enclosures catch the eye and insure a reading
of the letter. Here are shown two facsimile bonds--one, an
investment bond and the other a guarantee bond; a sample of the
diploma issued by a correspondence school and a $15.00 certificate
to apply on a course. The axe-blade booklet carries the message of a
wholesale hardware house, and the coupon, when filled out, calls for
a free sample of toilet preparation_.]
[Illustration: _Neither printed descriptions nor pictures are as
effective as actual samples of the product advertised. Here are
shown different methods of sending samples of dress goods, shirtings
and cloth for other purposes. At the right are some pieces of wood
showing different varnishes and wall decorations, and at the bottom
are veneers that show different furniture finishes; the various
colored pieces of leather are likewise used by furniture houses in
showing the styles of upholstering_.]
It is the long, rambling sentences that topple a letter over onto
the waste basket toboggan. But the sentence with a climax, working
up interest step by step, is indispensable. By eye test, by
mechanical test, by erasure test and by strength test, Orchard Hill
Bond makes good its reputation as the best bond on the market for
commercial use. There is nothing tiresome about such a sentence.
There is no difficulty in following the writer's thought.
* * * * *
THE LETTER
THE VEHICLE
WORDS
SHORT
SAXON
SPECIFIC
INDIVIDUAL
PHRASES
VIVID
NATURAL
FIGURES
IDIOMS
SENTENCES
CLEAR
FORCEFUL
CLIMATIC
POLISHED
PARAGRAPHS
SHORT
UNIFORM
LOGICAL
ORDERLY
THE LOAD
IDEAS
GRAPHIC
TECHNICAL
CLEAR
COMPLETE
STATEMENTS
FACTS
PROOFS
REFERENCES
TESTIMONY
EXPLANATIONS
SPECIFIC
TECHNICAL
CLEAR
COMPLETE
ARGUMENTS
LOGICAL
CLIMATIC
CONCLUSIVE
CONVINCING
_There are two elements in every letter: the thought and the
language in which that thought is expressed. The words, phrases,
sentences and paragraphs are the vehicle which carries the
load--explanations, arguments, appeal. Neither can be neglected if
the letter is to pull_
* * * * *
Here is another sentence showing the force to be attained through
the use of a long sentence: "Just as the physician may read
medicine, just as the lawyer may read law, just so may a man now
read business--the science of the game which enables some men to
succeed where hosts of others fail; it is no longer enveloped in
mystery and in darkness." There is no danger of the reader's
becoming confused in the meaning and he is more deeply impressed
because his interest has been gained by the gradual unfolding of the
idea back of the sentence, the leading up to the important thought.
And after the choice of words, the placing of words and the
construction of a sentence comes that other essential element of
style--the use of figures of speech, the illustrating of one's
thought by some apt allusion. Comparison adds force by giving the
reader a mental picture of the unknown, by suggestions of similarity
to familiar things. The language of the street, our conversational
language, secures its color and expressiveness through figures of
speech--the clever simile and the apt metaphor light up a sentence
and lift it out of the commonplace.
"Don't hold yourself down," "Don't be bottled up," "Don't keep your
nose on the grindstone"--these are the forceful figures used in the
letters of a correspondence school. The most ignorant boy knows that
the writer did not mean to be taken literally. Such figures are
great factors in business letters because they make the meaning
clear.
Here is the attention-getting first sentence of another letter:
"Don't lull yourself to sleep with the talk that well enough should
be let alone when practical salary-raising, profit-boosting help is
within your reach." The sentence is made up of figures; you do not
literally lull yourself to sleep with talk, you don't really boost
profits, you don't actually reach out and grasp the help the letter
offers. The figures merely suggest ideas, but they are vivid.
A sales manager writes to the boys on the road regarding a contest
or a spurt for records: "Come on, boys. This is the last turn round
the track. The track was heavy at the start but if none of you break
on the home stretch you are bound to come under the wire with a good
record." The salesman will read this sort of a letter and be
inspired by its enthusiasm, when the letter would be given no more
than a hurried glance if it said what it really means: "Get busy!
Keep on the job! Send in more orders." By framing your ideas in
artistic figures of speech you bring out their colors, their lines,
their fullest meanings--and more than that, you know your letters
will be read.
But in the attempt to add grace and attractiveness by some familiar
allusion, one must not overlook the importance of facts--cold,
plainly stated facts, which are often the shortest, most convincing
argument. In the letter of an advertising concern is this plain
statement: "Last year our business was $2,435,893 ahead of the year
before." No figure of speech, no touch of the stylist could make
such a profound impression as this brief, concise statement of fact.
The average correspondent will agree that these are all essential
elements of style--his problem is practical: how can he find the
right words; how can he learn to put his proposition more clearly;
how think up figures of speech that will light up the thought or
illustrate the proportion.
To some men an original style and the ability to write convincingly
is a birthright. Others have to depend less on inspiration and more
on hard work. One man carries a note book in which he jots down, for
future use, phrases, words and comparisons that he comes across
while reading his morning paper on the way down town, while
going through his correspondence, while listening to callers,
while talking with friends at lunch, while attending some social
affair--wherever he is, his eyes and ears are always alert to catch
a good phrase, an unusual expression or a new figure of speech.
At his first opportunity a notation is made in the ever-handy
memorandum book.
Another man systematically reads articles by Elbert Hubbard, Alfred
Henry Lewis, Samuel Blythe and other writers whose trenchant pens
replenish his storage with similes, metaphors and crisp expressions.
The head of a mail-order sales department of a large publishing
house keeps a scrapbook in which he pastes words, phrases, striking
sentences and comparisons clipped from letters, advertisements,
booklets, circulars, and other printed matter. Each month he scans
the advertisements in a dozen magazines and with a blue pencil
checks every expression that he thinks may some time be available or
offer a suggestion. It is but a few minutes' work for a girl to clip
and paste in these passages and his scrapbooks are an inexhaustible
mine of ideas and suggestions.
Another man, after outlining his ideas, dictates a letter and then
goes over it sentence by sentence and word by word. With a
dictionary and book of synonyms he tries to strengthen each word; he
rearranges the words, writes and rewrites the sentences, eliminating
some, reinforcing others and devising new ones until he has
developed his idea with the precision of an artist at work on a
drawing.
The average correspondent, handling a large number of letters daily,
has little time to develop ideas for each letter in this way, but by
keeping before him a list of new words and phrases and figures of
speech, they soon become a part of his stock in trade. Then there
are other letters to write--big selling letters that are to be sent
out by the thousands and letters that answer serious complaints,
letters that call for diplomacy, tact, and above all, clearness and
force.
On these important letters the correspondent can well afford to
spend time and thought and labor. A day or several days may be
devoted to one letter, but the thoughts that are turned over--the
ideas that are considered, the sentences that are written and
discarded, the figures that are tried out--are not wasted, but are
available for future use; and by this process the writer's style is
strengthened. He acquires clearness, force, simplicity and
attractiveness--the elements that will insure the reading of his
letters.
And one thing that every correspondent can do is to send to the
scrap-heap all the shelf-worn words and hand-me-down expressions
such as, "We beg to acknowledge," "We beg to state;" "Replying to
your esteemed favor;" "the same;" "the aforesaid;" "We take great
pleasure in acknowledging," and so on. They are old, wind-broken,
incapable of carrying a big message. And the participial phrases
should be eliminated, such as: "Hoping to hear from you;" "Trusting
we will be favored;" "Awaiting your reply," and so on, at the close
of the letter. Say instead, "I hope to hear from you;" or, "I trust
we will receive your order;" or, "May we not hear from you?"
Interest the man quickly; put snap and sparkle in your letters. Give
him clear and concise statements or use similes and metaphors in
your sentences--figures of speech that will turn a spot-light on
your thoughts. Pick out your words and put them into their places
with the infinite care of a craftsman, but do not become artificial.
Use every-day, hard-working words and familiar illustrations that
have the strength to carry your message without stumbling before
they reach their goal.
Making The Letter HANG
TOGETHER
PART III--STYLE--MAKING THE LETTER READABLE--CHAPTER 9
_The letter writer looks to words, phrases and sentences to make the
little impressions on the reader as he goes along. The letter as a
whole also has to make a_ SINGLE IMPRESSION--_clear-cut and
unmistakable. The correspondent must use this combination shot-gun
and rifle. To get this single rifle-shot effect a letter has to
contain those elements of style that_ HOLD IT TOGETHER; _there must
be a definite idea behind the letter; the message must have a unity
of thought; it must be logically presented; it must have a
continuity that carries the reader along without a break, and a
climax that works him up and closes at the height of his enthusiasm_
* * * * *
Thinking is not easy for anyone. And it is too much to expect the
average business man to analyze a proposition in which he is not
interested. His thoughts tend to move in the course of least
resistance. If you want him to buy your goods or pay your bill or
hire you, present your arguments in a way that will require no great
mental exertion on his part to follow you.
A single idea behind the letter is the first requisite for giving it
the hang-together quality and the punch that gets results. The idea
cannot be conveyed to the reader unless it is presented logically.
He won't get a single general impression from what you are saying to
him unless there is unity of thought in the composition. He cannot
follow the argument unless it has continuity; sequence of thought.
And, finally no logic or style will work him up to enthusiasm unless
it ends with a strong climax.
These five principles--the idea behind, logic, unity of thought,
continuity, climax--are the forces that holds the letter together
and that gives it momentum. Because these principles are laid down
in text books does not mean that they are arbitrary rules or
academic theories. They are based on the actual experiences of men
ever since they began to talk and write. Essay or sermon; oration or
treatise; advertisement or letter; all forms of communication most
easily accomplish their purpose of bringing the other man around to
your way of thinking, if these proved principles of writing are
followed. Merely observing them will not necessarily make a letter
pull, but violating them is certain to weaken it.
You cannot hit a target with a rifle unless you have one shot in
the barrel. The idea behind the letter is the bullet in the gun. To
hit your prospect you must have a message--a single, definite,
clearly-put message. That is the idea behind the letter.
Look at the letter on page 61. It gets nowhere. Because the writer
did not have this clear, definite idea of what he wanted to impress
upon his prospect. Not one reader in ten would have the shallowest
dent made in his attention by this letter, as he would have had if
the writer had started out, for instance, with one idea of
impressing upon the reader the facilities of his establishment and
the large number of satisfied customers for whom it does work.
With this dominant idea in mind, a correspondent has got to explain
it and argue it so logically that the reader is convinced. Here is a
letter from a manufacturer of gasoline engines:
Dear Sir:
I understand you are in the market for a gasoline engine and as ours
is the most reliable engine made we want to call your attention to
it. It has every modern improvement and we sell it on easy terms.
The inventor of this machine is in personal charge of our factory
and he is constantly making little improvements. He will tell you
just what kind of an engine you need and we will be glad to quote
you prices if you will call on us or write us, telling us what you
need.
Hoping to hear from you, we are,
Yours truly,
[Signature: THE MADEWELL ENGINE CO.]
* * * * *
The letter is illogical, disjointed and lacking in that dominant
idea that carries conviction. Yet the writer had material at hand
for a strong, logical selling letter. To have interested the
prospect he should have told something specific about his engine.
Here is the letter, rewritten with due regard to the demands of
unity, sequence, logic and climax:
Dear Sir:
A friend told me yesterday that you want a gas engine for
irrigating, so I am sending you bulletin "B."
Do you notice that all its parts are in plain view and easy to get
at? Mr. Wilbur, who invented this engine, had a good many years of
practical experience installing gasoline engines before he started
to manufacture his own, and he knows what it means to tighten up a
nut or some other part without having to send to the factory for a
special man with a special wrench to do the work.
Sparkers sometimes get gummed up. To take the Wilbur sparker out you
simply remove two nuts and out comes the sparker complete, and you
cannot get it back the wrong way. It isn't much of a job to wipe the
point off with a rag, is it?
And the governor! Just the same type of throttling governor that is
used on the highest grade of steam engine, allowing you to speed her
up or slow her down while the engine is running. That's mighty
handy. Few engines are built like this. It costs a good deal of
extra money but it does give a lot of extra satisfaction.
Nothing shoddy about the equipment described in the bulletin, is
there? No. We don't make these supplies ourselves, but we do watch
out and see that the other fellow gives us the best in the market
because WE GUARANTEE IT.
This sounds very nice on paper, you think. Well, we have over four
thousand customers in Kansas. Mr. W. O. Clifford, who lives not so
far from you, has used a Wilbur for three years. Ask him what he has
to say about it.
Then you will want to know just what such an engine will cost you,
and you will be tickled to death when you know how much money we can
really save you. I don't mean that we will furnish you with a cheap
machine at a high price, but a really high-grade machine at a low
price.
I await with much interest your reply telling us what you want.
Very truly yours,
[Signature: L. W. Hamilton]
* * * * *
The commonest cause of a lack of punch in a letter is the temptation
to get away from the main idea--unity of thought. This is what a
mail-order house writes:
"This is the largest catalogue of the kind ever issued, it will pay
you to deal with our house. Every machine is put together by hand
and tested, and we will ship the day your order is received.
"An examination of the catalogue will prove our claim that we carry
the largest stock of goods in our line. Should our goods appeal to
you, we shall be glad to add you to our list of customers."
* * * * *
There is neither unity nor logic in a letter like this, although
there is the suggestion of several good ideas. The fact that the
house issues the largest catalogue of its kind might be so explained
to me that it would convince me that here is the place I ought to
buy. Or, the fact that every machine is tested and put together by
hand, if followed to a logical conclusion, would prove to me that I
could rely on the quality of these goods. But when the writer
doesn't stick to one subject for more than half a sentence, my
attention will not cling to it and my mind is not convinced by a
mere statement without proof.
Unity does not necessarily mean that the whole letter must be
devoted to one point. A paragraph and even a sentence must have this
quality of unity as much as the entire letter. And the paragraphs,
each unified in itself, may bring out one point after another that
will still allow the letter to retain its hang-together.
In the letter quoted, not even the individual sentence retained
unity. This writer might have presented all his points and
maintained the unity of his letter, had he brought out and
simplified one point in each paragraph:
First: The size of the catalogue as an indication of the large stock
carried by the house and the convenience afforded in buying.
Second: The quality of the machines; the care exercised in their
assembling; the guarantee of the test, and the assurance that this
gives the far-away purchaser.
Third: Promptness in filling orders; what this means to the buyer
and how the house is organized to give service.
Fourth: The desire to enroll new customers; not based solely on the
selfish desires of the house, but on the idea that the more
customers they can get, the bigger the business will grow, which
will result in better facilities for the house and better service
for each customer.
And now, giving a unified paragraph to each of the ideas, not
eliminating subordinate thoughts entirely, but keeping them
subordinate and making them illuminate the central thought--would
build up a unified, logical letter.
In the arrangement of these successive ideas and paragraphs, the
third element in the form is illustrated--continuity of thought. Put
a jog or a jar in the path of your letter and you take the chance of
breaking the reader's attention. That is fatal. So write a letter
that the reader will easily and, therefore, unconsciously and almost
perforce, follow from the first word to the last--then your message
reaches him.
How to secure this continuity depends on the subject and on the
prospect. Appealing to the average man, association of thoughts
furnishes the surest medium for continuity. If you lead a man from
one point to another point that he has been accustomed to
associating with the first point, then he will follow you without a
break in his thought. From this follows the well-known principle
that when you are presenting a new proposition, start your
prospect's thoughts on a point that he knows, which is related to
your proposition, for the transition is easiest from a known to a
related unknown.
An insurance company's letter furnishes a good example of continuity
of ideas and the gradual increasing strength in each paragraph:
"If you have had no sickness, and consequently, have never felt the
humiliation of calling on strangers for sick benefits--even though
it were only a temporary embarrassment--you are a fortunate man.
"Health is always an uncertain quantity--you have no assurance that
next week or next month you will not be flat on your back--down and
out as far as selling goods is concerned. And sickness not only
means a loss of time but an extra expense in the way of hospital and
doctor bills."
* * * * *
In the next paragraph the idea is further strengthened; a new
thought is presented with additional force:
"If there is one man on earth who needs protection by insurance
against sickness it is you. There are two thousand one hundred and
fifty ailments covering just such diseases as you, as a traveling
man, expose yourself to every day."
* * * * *
These are specific facts, therefore decidedly forceful. Then, while
interest is at its height, another paragraph presents a specific
offer:
"We will protect you at an extremely low annual cost. We guarantee
that the rate will not exceed $9.00 a year--that's less than two and
a half cents a day. Think of it--by paying an amount so small that
you will never miss it, you will secure benefits on over two
thousand sicknesses--any one of which you may contract tomorrow."
* * * * *
Here is the logical presentation of subject matter by paragraphs,
leading up from an interest-getting general statement to a specific
proposition. Break this continuity of ideas by a space filler or an
inconsequential argument and the reader loses interest that it will
be hard to regain.
Make this the test of each paragraph: if it does not illuminate the
central thought, fit into the argument at that point, or add to the
interest of the reader, eliminate it or bring it into conformity
with the "idea behind the letter."
And there must be an actual continuity of thought from paragraph to
paragraph. Merely inserting a catch-word or a conjunctive does not
build a logical bridge.
The letter from another insurance agent might have been saved if
this test had been applied, for it was well written except where the
writer forgot himself long enough to insert an irrelevant paragraph
about his personal interest:
"We are desirous of adding your name to our roll of membership
because we believe that every man should be protected by insurance
and because we believe this is the best policy offered. We are
endeavoring to set a new record this month and are especially
anxious to get your application right away."
* * * * *
The continuity of thought is broken. The preceding paragraphs have
been working up the reader's interest in casualty insurance by
pointing out the dangers to which he is exposed, the humiliating
position in which it will place him and his family to be the
recipients of charity in case of sickness or accident, and so on.
Then the writer short-circuits the reader's interest by a paragraph
of generalities which call attention to his desire for profits--
things in which the prospect is not interested.
Most propositions can be developed in different ways, along
different angles. The problem of the correspondent is to determine
upon the way that will prove easiest for the reader to follow. He
may have his path smoothed for him if he understands how facts,
ideas and arguments will cohere in the reader's mind. It is much
easier to follow a proposition if it is developed along some
definite channel; if it follows the law of continuity, the law of
similarity; of association or contrast, or of cause and effect.
Some epigrammatic thinker once said, "When you get through, stop!"
This applies to letter writing as well as to speech. But don't stop
a letter on the down grade. Stop after you have given your hardest
punch. This is what rhetoricians call the climax.
A letter constructed along these principles of style will almost
inevitably have a climax. If there is an idea behind the letter, if
it is carried out logically, if the letter sticks to this one idea,
if the argument is carried along step by step, proceeding from the
general statement to the specific, from the attention-getting first
sentence to the inducement, then you are working up your reader's
interest to the point where with one final application of your
entire idea to his own individual case, you have accomplished your
climax, just as was done in the re-written letter about gasoline
engines.
A letter from a firm manufacturing a duplicating machine starts out
by calling attention to the difficulty the personal salesmen has in
getting an audience with the busy executive. The second paragraph
shows how his time and "your money" is wasted in call-backs and in
bench warming while the solicitor waits for an opportunity to be
heard. The third paragraph tells how over-anxious the salesman is to
close a sale when a few minutes is granted--and usually fails, at
least the first time. The fourth paragraph shows how this costly
process of selling can be reduced by using the mails; then follow a
couple of specific paragraphs telling about the advantage of the
company's machine. A paragraph on the saving on five thousand
circulars that would pay for the machine brings the proposition home
to the reader and then, with interest at the height, the last
paragraph--the climax--urges the reader to fill out a post card to
secure the additional information regarding capacity, quality of
work and cost. Logic, unity, sequence, climax--each does its part in
carrying the load.
The principles of style and form in letter writing do not reach
their highest pulling power as long as the correspondent handles
them like strange tools. The principles must, of course, first be
learned and consciously applied. But to give your letter the touch
of sincerity and of spontaneity; to give it the grip that holds and
the hook that pulls, these principles must become a part of
yourself. They must appear in your letters, not because you have
consciously put them in but because your thinking and your writing
possesses them.
How To Make Letters
ORIGINAL
PART III--STYLE--MAKING THE LETTER READABLE--CHAPTER 10
_The average business letter is machine-made. It is full of
time-worn phrases, hackneyed expressions and commonplace
observations that fail to jolt the reader out of the rut of the
conventional correspondence to which he is accustomed: consequently
it does not make an impression upon him. But occasionally a letter
comes along that "gets under the skin," that_ STANDS OUT _from the
rest because it has "human interest;" because it is original in its
statements; because it departs from the prescribed hum-drum routine;
because, in short, it reflects a live, breathing human being and not
a mere set of rules_
* * * * *
Study the letters the janitor carries out in your waste-basket--
they lack the red blood of originality. Except for one here and one
there they are stereotyped, conventional, long, uninteresting,
tiresome. They have no individuality; they are poor representatives
of an alert, magnetic personality.
Yet there is no legerdemain about writing a good letter; it is
neither a matter of luck nor of genius. Putting in the originality
that will make it pull is not a secret art locked up in the mental
storerooms of a few successful writers; it is purely a question of
study and the application of definite principles.
A lawyer is successful only in proportion to the understanding he
has of the law--the study he puts on his cases; a physician's
success depends upon his careful consideration of every symptom and
his knowledge of the effect of every drug or treatment that he may
prescribe. And it is no different with correspondents. They cannot
write letters that will pulsate with a vital message unless they
study their proposition in detail, visualize the individuals to whom
they are writing, consider the language they use, the method of
presenting their arguments, their inducements--there is no point
from the salutation to the signature that is beneath consideration.
You cannot write letters that pull without hard study any more than
the doctor can cure his patients or the lawyer win his cases without
brain work.
So many letters are insipid because the correspondents do not have
time or do not appreciate the necessity for taking time to consider
the viewpoint of their readers or for studying out new methods of
presenting their proposition. Yet the same respect that would be
given to a salesman may be secured for a letter. Any one of four
attitudes will secure this attention. First of all, there may be a
personal touch and an originality of thought or expression that
commands immediate attention; in the second place, one can make use
of the man-to-man appeal; then there is the always-forceful,
never-to-be-forgotten "you" element; and finally, there are news
items which are nearly always interest-getters.
By any one of these appeals, or better, by a combination of appeals,
a letter can be given an individuality, a vitality, that will make
it rise above the underbrush of ordinary business correspondence.
To begin with, vapid words and stereotyped expressions should be
eliminated, for many a good message has become mired in stagnant
language. So many correspondents, looking for the easiest road to
travel, fall into the rut that has been worn wide and deep by the
multitudes passing that way. The trouble is not the inability of
writers to acquire a good style or express themselves forcibly; the
trouble is mental inertia--too little analytical thought is given
to the subject matter and too little serious effort is made to find
an original approach.
Most business letters are cold, impersonal, indifferent: "Our fall
catalogue which is sent to you under separate cover;" "We take
pleasure in advising you that;" "We are confident that our goods
will give you entire satisfaction," and so on--hackneyed expressions
without end--no personality--no originality--no vitality.
The correspondent who has learned how to sell goods by mail uses
none of these run-down-at-the-heel expressions. He interests the
reader by direct, personal statements: "Here is the catalogue in
which you are interested;" "Satisfaction? Absolute! We guarantee it.
We urge you not to keep one of our suits unless it is absolutely
perfect;" "How did you find that sample of tobacco?" No great mental
exertion is required for such introductions, yet they have a
personal touch, and while they might be used over and over again
they strike the reader as being original, addressed to him
personally.
Everyone is familiar with the conventional letter sent out by
investment concerns: "In response to your inquiry, we take pleasure
in sending you herewith a booklet descriptive of the White Cloud
Investment Company." Cut and dried--there is nothing that jars us
out of our indifference; nothing to tempt us to read the proposition
that follows. Here is a letter that is certain to interest the
reader because it approaches him with an original idea:
"You will receive a copy of the Pacific Coast Gold Book under
separate cover. Don't look for a literary product because that's not
its purpose. Its object is to give you the actual facts and specific
figures in reference to the gold-mining industry."
* * * * *
A correspondence school that has got past the stage where it writes,
"We beg to call attention to our catalogue which is mailed under
separate cover," injects originality into its letter in this way:
"Take the booklet we have mailed you and examine the side notes on
Drawing for Profit and Art Training that apply to you individually
and then go back over them carefully."
* * * * *
The reader, even though he may have had nothing more than the most
casual interest is certain to finish that letter.
Here is the way a paper manufacturer puts convincing argument into
his letter, making it original and personal:
"Take the sheet of paper on which this letter is written and apply
to it every test you have ever heard of for proving quality. You
will find it contains not a single trace of wood pulp or fillers but
is strong, tough, long-fiber linen. Take your pen and write a few
words on it. You will find the point glides so smoothly that writing
is a pleasure. Then erase a word or two and write them again--do it
twice, three or four times--repeated erasures, and still you will
find the ink does not blot or spread in the least. This proves the
hard body and carefully prepared finish."
* * * * *
Even if a person felt sure that this same letter went to
ten-thousand other men, there would be an individuality about
it, a vividness that makes the strongest kind of appeal.
In a town in central Indiana two merchants suffered losses from
fire. A few days later, one sent out this announcement to his
customers:
"We beg to announce that temporary quarters have been secured at 411
Main Street, where we will be glad to see you and will endeavor to
handle your orders promptly."
* * * * *
The second firm wrote to its customers:
Dear Mr. Brown:
Yes, it was a bad fire but it will not cripple the business. Our
biggest asset is not the merchandise in the store but the good-will
of our customers--something that fires cannot damage.
Our store does not look attractive. It won't until repairs are made
and new decorations are in, but the bargains are certainly
attractive--low prices to move the stock and make room for the new
goods that have been ordered. Everything has gone on the bargain
tables; some of the goods slightly damaged by water, but many of the
suits have nothing the matter with them except a little odor of
smoke that will disappear in a couple of days. Come in and look at
these goods. See the original price mark--you can have them at just
one-half the amount.
Very truly yours,
[Signature: Smith and Deene] 82
* * * * *
Here is originality; emphasis is laid on "good will" in a way that
will strengthen this "asset." The merchant put a personal element
into the letter; gave it an original appeal that made it not only a
clever bit of advertising, but proclaimed him a live-wire business
man.
Here is the letter sent out by a store fixture manufacturer:
"If one of your salesmen should double his sales slips tomorrow you
would watch to see how he did it. If he kept up this pace you would
be willing to double his wages, wouldn't you? He would double his
sales if he could display all his goods to every customer. That's
the very thing which the Derwin Display Fixture does--it shows all
the goods for your salesman, yet you don't have to pay him a higher
salary."
* * * * *
A merchant cannot read this letter without stopping to think about
it. The appeal strikes home. He may have read a hundred
advertisements of the Derwin fixture, but this reaches him because
of the originality of expression, the different twist that is given
to the argument. There are no hackneyed expressions, no involved
phrases, no unfamiliar words, no selfish motives.
And then comes the man-to-man attitude, the letter in which the
writer wins the reader's confidence by talking about "you and me." A
western firm handling building materials of all kinds entered the
mail-order field. One cannot conceive a harder line of goods to sell
by mail, but this firm has succeeded by putting this man-to-man
attitude into its letters:
"If you could sit at my desk for an hour--if you might listen a few
minutes to the little intimate things that men and women tell me--
their hopes, their plans for the home that will protect their
families--their little secret schemes to make saved-up money stretch
out over the building cost; if you could hear and see these sides of
our business you would understand why we give our customers more
than mere quality merchandise. We plan for you and give expert
advice along with the material."
* * * * *
There is nothing cold or distant in this letter; it does not flavor
of a soulless corporation. It is intimate, it is so personal that we
feel we are acquainted with the writer. We would not need an
introduction--and what is more, we trust him, believe in him. Make
the man feel that you and he are friends.
Write to the average college or university for a catalogue and it
will be sent promptly with a stereotyped letter: "We are pleased to
comply with your request," and so forth. But a little school in
central Iowa makes the prospective student feel a personal interest
in the school and in its officers by this letter:
My dear Sir:
The catalogue was mailed to you this morning. We have tried to make
it complete and I believe it covers every important point. But I
wish you could talk with me personally for half an hour--I wish you
might go over our institution with me that I might point out to you
the splendid equipment, the convenient arrangement, the attractive
rooms, the ideal surroundings and the homelike places for room and
board.
Won't you drop me a line and let me know what you think about our
school? Tell me what courses you are interested in and let me know
if I cannot be of some personal assistance to you in making your
plans.
I hope to see you about the middle of September when our fall term
opens.
Very cordially yours,
[Signature: Wallace E. Lee]
President.
* * * * *
This letter, signed by the president of the institution, is a
heart-to-heart talk that induces many students to attend that school
in preference to larger, better-equipped colleges.
A large suit house manufacturing women's garments uses this
paragraph in a letter in response to a request for a catalogue:
"And now as you look through this book we wish we could be
privileged to sit there with you as you turn its pages. We would
like to read aloud to you every word printed on pages 4, 5 and 6.
Will you turn to those pages, please? Sometimes we think the story
told there of the making of a suit is the most interesting thing
ever written about clothes--but then, we think Columbia suits are
the most wonderful garments in the world."
* * * * *
The letter creates a feeling of intimacy, of confidence in the
writer, that no formal arguments, logical reasons or special
inducements could ever secure.
Important as these two attitudes are--the personal appeal and the
man-to-man appeal--they can be strengthened manifold by making use
of that other essential, the "you" element in letters. The mistake
of so many writers is that they think of their interests in the
transaction rather than the interests of the men to whom they are
writing. It is "we" this and "we" that. Yet this "we" habit is a
violation of the first rule of business correspondence. "We are very
desirous of receiving an order from you." Of course; the reader
knows that. Why call his attention to so evident a fact and give
emphasis to the profit that you are going to make on the deal? To
get his interest, show him where _he_ will gain through this
proposition--precious little he cares how anxious you are to make a
sale.
Mr. Station Agent--
Brother Railroader:
As soon as you have told the fellow at the ticket window that the
noon train is due at twelve o'clock and satisfied the young lady
that her telegram will be sent at once and O.S.'d the way freight
and explained to the Grand Mogul at the other end of the wire what
delayed 'em, I'd like to chat with you just a minute.
It's about a book--to tell the truth, just between you and me, I
don't suppose it's a bit better book than you could write yourself
if you had time. I simply wrote it because I'm an old railroad man
and telegrapher myself and had time to write it.
The title of the book is "At Finnegan's Cigar Store," and the hero
of the fourteen little stories which the booklet contains is Mr
Station Agent. The first story in the book, "How Finnegan Bought
Himself a Diamond," is worth the price of that ten-cent cigar you're
smoking, and that's all the book will cost you.
I know you'll like it--I liked it myself. I'm so sure of it I am
enclosing a ten-cent coin card for you to use in ordering it. A dime
in the card and postage stamp on the letter will bring you the book
by first mail. "Nuff said."
"73"
E. N. RICHARDSON.
P. S.--I am enclosing another card for your night operator, if you
have one--I'd hate to have him feel that I had slighted him.
* * * * *
_This letter, sent out under a one-cent stamp to 80,000 agents,
pulled 22,000 replies with the money. The writer did not address
them individually, but he knew how to flag the interest of a station
agent--by working in familiar allusions he at once found the point
of contact and made the letter so personal that it pulled enormous
results_
* * * * *
No other appeal is so direct, so effective, as that which is summed
up in the words "you," "your business," "your profits," "your
welfare." "It costs you too much to sell crockery, but your selling
expense can be cut down by utilizing your space to better
advantage;" "Your easiest profits are those you make by saving
expense;" "Did you ever figure up the time that is wasted in your
mailing department by sealing and stamping one letter at a time?"--
these are the letters that will be read through. Keep before the
reader _his_ interest. Show him how your proposition would benefit
him.
This letter was sent to lady customers by a mail-order house:
Dear Madam:
You want a dress that does not sag--that does not grow draggy and
dowdy? Then you want to make it of Linette--the new dress goods.
You have seen the beautiful new look and rich luster charm of a
high-priced fabric. You can find this same quality in Linette at
only thirty-nine cents a yard, and then--just think--it will stay in
your dress through wearing, washing and wetting, and you will be
surprised to see how easily dresses made of it may be washed and
ironed and what long service the material will give.
Very truly yours.
[Signature: Anderson & Anderson]
* * * * *
In this letter there is not the faintest suggestion of the profits
that the writer hopes to make by the sale. A man is going to listen
just as long as you talk about him; a woman will keep on reading
your letter as long as you talk about her. Shout "You" and whisper
"_me_" and your letter will carry home, straight to the heart of the
reader.
A capitalized "YOU" is often inserted in letters to give emphasis to
this attitude. Here is a letter from a clothing concern:
Dear Madam,
Remember this--when we make your suit we make it for YOU just as
much as if you were here in our work roomed and, furthermore, we
guarantee that it will fit YOU just a perfectly as if you bought it
of an individual tailor. We guarantee this perfection or we will
refund your money at once without question, and pay the express
charges both ways.
We have tried hard to make this style-book interesting and beautiful
to you and full of advantage for YOU.
Your friends will ask "Who made your suit?" and we want you to be
proud that it is YOUR suit and that WE made it.
Yours very truly,
[Signature: Adams & Adams ]
* * * * *
And there is yet another quality that is frequently most valuable to
the correspondent in making his letter personal. It is the element
of news value. News interests him especially when it is information
about his business, his customers, his territory, his goods, his
propositions. Not only does the news interest appeal to the dealer
because of its practical value to him, but it impresses him by your
"up-to-the-minuteness" and it gives a dynamic force to your letters.
Tell a man a bit of news that affects his pocket book and you have
his interest. Offer to save him money and he will listen to your
every word, and clever correspondents in manufacturing and wholesale
establishments are always on the alert to find some selling value in
the news of the day.
One correspondent finds in the opening of lake navigation an excuse
for writing a sales letter. If the season opens unusually early he
points out to the retailer just how it may affect his business, and
if the season opens late he gives this fact a news value that makes
it of prime interest to the dealer. A shortage of some crop, a
drought, a rainy season, a strike, a revolution or industrial
disturbances in some distant country--these factors may have a
far-reaching effect on certain commodities, and the shrewd sales
manager makes it a point to tip off the firm's customers, giving
them some practical advance information that may mean many dollars
to them and his letter makes the reader feel that the house has his
interests at heart.
Another news feature may be found in some event that can be
connected with the firm's product. Here is the way a manufacturer of
stock food hitches his argument onto a bit of news:
"No doubt you have read in your farm paper about the Poland China
that took first prize at the Iowa State Fair last week. You will be
interested to know that this hog was raised and fattened on
Johnson's stock food."
* * * * *
This is the way a manufacturer of window screens makes capital out
of a new product:
"Throw away that old, rusty, stationary fly screen that you used
last season. You won't need it any more because you can substitute
an adjustable one in its place.
"How many times when you twisted and jerked at the old stationary
screen did you wish for a really convenient one? The sort of screen
you wanted is one which works on rollers from top to bottom so that
it will open and close as easily and conveniently as the window
itself.
"That's just the way the Ideal screen is made. It offers those
advantages. It was placed on the market only a few months ago yet it
is so practical and convenient that already we have been compelled
to double the capacity of our factory to handle the growing
business.
"All the wood work is made to harmonize with the finish of your
rooms. Send the measure of your window and the colors you want and
get a screen absolutely free for a week's trial. If you are not
perfectly satisfied at the end of that time that it's the most
convenient screen you ever used, you need send no money but merely
return the screen at our expense.
"The Ideal screen is new; it is improved; it is the screen of
tomorrow. Are you looking for that kind?"
* * * * *
The news element may have its origin in some new feature, some
attachment or patent that is of interest to the prospect. A
manufacturer of furniture uses this approach effectively:
"The head of my designing department. Mr. Conrad, has just laid on
my desk a wonderful design for something entirely new in a dining
room table. This proposed table is so unique, so new, so different
from anything ever seen before, I am having the printer strike off
some rough proofs of this designer's drawing, one of which I am
sending you under separate cover."
* * * * *
This letter is manifestly a "today" product. It wins attention
because it is so up to date, and a new article may possess the
interest-compelling feature that will lead to an order.
Then there are the letters that tell of the purchase of goods. A
retailer puts news value into his letter when he writes that he has
purchased the entire stock of the bankrupt Brown & Brown at
thirty-eight cents on the dollar and that the goods are to be placed
on sale the following Monday morning at prices that will make it a
rare sales event. This is putting into the letter news value that
interests the customer. It is original because it is something that
could not have been written a week before and cannot be written by
anyone else.
Then there are other elements of news of wide interest--the opening
of a new branch office, the increase of facilities by the
enlargement of a factory, the perfecting of goods by some new
process of manufacture or the putting on the market of some new
brand or line. These things may affect the dealer in a very material
way and the news value is played up in the most convincing style.
The correspondent can bear down heavily on the better service that
is provided or the larger line of commodities that is offered.
Search through the catalogue of possibilities, and there is no
other talking point that it seized upon more joyfully by the
correspondent, for a news item, an actual occurrence or some new
development that enables him to write forceful, interest-impelling
letters, for the item itself is sufficient to interest the dealer or
the consumer. All that is required of the correspondent is to make
the most of his opportunity, seize upon this news element and mount
it in a setting of arguments and persuasion that will result in new
business, more orders, greater prestige.
Making The _Form_ Letter
PERSONAL
PART III--STYLE--MAKING THE LETTER READABLE--CHAPTER 11
_Over ONE-HALF of all the form letters sent out are thrown into the
waste basket unopened. A bare_ ONE-THIRD _are partly read and
discarded while only_ ONE-SIXTH _of them--approximately 15 per
cent--are read through. This wasteful ratio is principally due to
the carelessness or ignorance of the firms that send them out--
ignorance of the little touches that make all the difference between
a personal and a "form letter." Yet an increase of a mere one per
cent in the number of form letters that are_ READ _means a
difference of hundreds--perhaps thousands of dollars to the sender.
This article is based on the experiences of a house that sends out
over a million form letters annually_
* * * * *
There are three ways by which you can deliver a message to one of
your customers: you can see him personally, you can telegraph or
telephone him, or you can write him a letter. After you have
delivered the message you may decide you would like to deliver the
same message to 252 other customers.
To see each customer personally, to telegraph or telephone each one,
or to write each a personal letter, would prove slow and expensive.
So you send the same letter to _all_ your customers, since you wish
to tell them all the same story.
But you do not laboriously write all these letters on the
typewriter; instead, you print them on some kind of duplicating
machine.
But it is not enough to print the body of the letter and send it
out, for you know from your own point of view that the average man
does not give a proposition presented to him in a circular letter,
the same attention he gives to it when presented by a personal
appeal. And so little plans and schemes are devised to make the
letter look like a personally dictated message, not for the purpose
of deceiving the reader, but to make your proposition more intimate.
This form of presentation is merely a means to an end; just because
a letter is duplicated a thousand times does not make the
proposition any the less applicable to the reader. It may touch his
needs just as positively as if he were the sole recipient. The
reason the letter that one knows to be simply a circular fails to
grip his attention, is because it fails to get close to him--it does
not _look_ personal.
So, if form letters are to escape the waste basket--if they are to
win the prospect's attention and convince him--they must have all
the ear-marks of a personally dictated communication. If a
proposition is worth sending out it is worthy of a good dress and
careful handling.
All the principles of making the individual letter a personal
message hold good with the form letter, except that greater pains
must be taken to make each letter look personal. Nothing should be
put into the letter to a dozen or a thousand men that does not apply
to each one individually.
From the mechanical standpoint, there are five parts to a letter:
superscription, body of the letter, signature, enclosures and
envelope. In each of these five parts there are opportunities for
original touches that make letters more than mere circulars.
The superscription and the way it is inserted in a form letter is
the most important feature in making it personal. No semblance of a
regularly dictated letter can be given unless the date, name and
address are filled in, and if this is not done carefully it is far
better to open your letter with "Dear Sir," and thus acknowledge
that it is a circular.
To the left, and in exact alignment with the paragraphs in the body
of the letter, should appear the name and address of the reader. If
this superscription appears a fraction of an inch to either side of
the margin the fill-in is evident. The style of type and the shade
of the typewriter ribbons used in filling-in must match with
absolute accuracy. This is vital and yet the most common error in
form letters is imperfect alignment and conspicuously different
colors of ink.
To secure an exact match between the filled-in name and address and
the body of the letter, it is necessary to use ink on the
duplicating machine which matches your typewriter ribbon. The ink
used on the duplicating machine can be mixed to correspond with the
color of the ribbons. Long experience has shown that violet or
purple shades of ink are best for form letters, for these colors are
the easiest to duplicate. Black and blue are very difficult to
handle because of the great variety of undertones which are put into
these inks.
Duplicating machines which print through a ribbon give variable
shades and the typist in filling in must watch carefully to see that
her typewriter ribbons match the impressions made in the body of the
letter, especially where the form letters are printed several months
in advance and exposed to changing conditions.
In departments where the stenographers fill in only a few letters a
day, a piece of a "fill-in" ribbon is attached to the end of the
regular ribbon and used for this purpose.
For speed and better work, typists who do nothing but fill in form
letters, overlay their work--that is, before one sheet is taken out
of the machine another is started in. A scheme which is slower but
gives accuracy, is to work backward on the name and address, writing
the "Gentlemen" or "Dear Madam" first, beginning flush with the
margin. The town or city is next written, beginning on the paragraph
or established margin line and then the name and the date are filled
in. Guides may be secured so that all sheets will be fed into the
machine at one place, thus assuring an exact margin.
Too much emphasis cannot be laid on the necessity of doing this
fill-in work carefully, or not at all. If letters are printed by
means of some duplicating machine which prints through a ribbon,
care must be taken that the first run from the fresh ribbon is
filled in on the typewriter with an equally fresh typewriter ribbon.
Later when the machine ribbon is worn, giving a lighter impression,
an older ribbon is used on the typewriters.
This fill-in work is difficult, and even when done properly many
firms adopt all kinds of little schemes to help out the personal
appearance. Separating the superscription from the body of the
letter so that the immediate contrast is not so great, accomplishes
this purpose.
One familiar scheme is to print the shipping or sales terms of the
company across the letterhead so that the first paragraph comes
beneath the printed matter and the filled-in superscription above.
Then if there is a slight difference in shades of ink it is not so
apparent. The same care must, however, be taken with the alignment.
Mr. L. B. Burtis,
1034 Elm Ave.,
Ravenswood, Ill.,
Dear Sir:
In reply to your letter of July 3d I
take pleasure in enclosing the free book
asked for.
All that I ask is that you read the book--
no longer letter is necessary.
Everything I could say to you in this
letter about my chest is in my book. I
wrote every word of it so when you read
it, I wish you would take it as a personal
message from me.
We deliver this chest to Ravenswood at the
price quoted in the book.
This is all I am going to say. When you
have selected the chest you wish, simply
check it on the enclosed post card, and
mail to me. Promptly upon its receipt
the chest will go to you subject to
your approval.
I shall be looking for your post card.
Very truly yours,
OLD ENGLISH CHEST COMPANY.
* * * * *
New York,
July 7, 1910,
Mr. L. B. Burtis,
1034 Elm Ave.,
Ravenswood, Ill.
Dear Sir:
I enclose with pleasure the free book you
asked for in your letter of July 3rd.
All that I ask is that you read the book--no
longer letter is necessary.
Everything I could say to you in this
letter about my chest is in my book. I
wrote every word of it so when you read
it, I wish you would take it as a personal
message from me.
Tho prices quoted you in this book include
freight prepaid to Ravenswood.
This is all I am going to say. When you
have selected the chest you wish, simply
check it on the enclosed post card, and
mail to me. Promptly upon its receipt
the chest will go to you subject to
your approval.
I shall be looking for your post card.
Very truly yours,
OLD ENGLISH CHEST COMPANY
[Signature: Edward Brown, Pres.
Dict EB-ERS.]
* * * * *
_The wrong and right way of handling form letters. In the first
letter the type of the fill-in does not match and the lines are out
of alignment. Wide white space at both sides of the date "July 3d"
and the town, "Ravenswood," calls attention to the poor fill-in. The
second letter shows the same fill-ins coming at the end of
paragraphs. The second letter has a date line, personal signature
and initials of dictator and stenographer--little touches that add
to the personality of the letter_
* * * * *
A similar scheme is to write the first paragraph or sentence in red
ink. This is a somewhat expensive process, however, for the letter
must be run through the duplicating machine twice and skill is
required to secure an exact register.
Now that two-colored typewriter ribbons are in such general use the
name and address and date are printed in red, eliminating the
necessity of matching the ink of the body of the letter. This is an
effective attention-getter, but unless carefully printed the
impersonality is apparent.
In certain kinds of communications where the more formal customs of
social correspondence are sometimes employed, the letter is often
opened with the salutation, "My dear Sir." The full name and address
is then written in the lower left corner, in alignment with the
paragraphs of the body of the letter.
Some businesses, presenting a proposition to a limited number of
persons, write the entire first paragraph. It is usually short and
of course should be made pointedly personal. "Typing" the name and
address onto the form letter is another familiar scheme to make it
more personal.
Use of a body fill-in is always effective. But the right way to do
this is to phrase the letter so that the name, or date, or word, to
be inserted, comes at the beginning or end of the paragraph,
preferably at the end. Otherwise the fill-in may be too short for
the space allowed and the result is farcical.
Here is an all too common mistake:
"You may be sure, Mr. Hall, that this machine is just as
represented."
* * * * *
The advantage of having the fill-in at the end of the paragraph is
because names vary so much in length that they seldom just fill the
space that is left and when there is a long blank space, as in the
sentence given above, the scheme is anything but effective.
A manufacturer of automobiles, writing old customers who might wish
to exchange their machines for newer models, added a real personal
touch by filling in the serial number of each machine at the end of
a line. Another individual touch was added in this way:
"You will be interested to know that we have recently sold one of
our machines to a near neighbor of yours, Mr. Henry C. Smith of Rock
Creek."
* * * * *
This sentence was so phrased that the neighbor's name came at the
end of a line and could be easily filled in.
A furniture manufacturer works in a personal touch by closing a
paragraph of his letter with this sentence:
"You can find our liberal offer to ship freight pre-paid to Rogers
Park on page 3 of the catalogue."
* * * * *
The name of the town and page number of the catalogue came at the
end of the sentence. Another manufacturer opened his letter with
this sentence: "On April 2, we received your inquiry." In this case,
"On April 2," was filled in at the beginning of the sentence. Both
schemes give the "one-man" attitude. A personal touch in the body of
the letter indicates an individual communication--as it really is.
There are four ways for making the body of the letter look like a
regularly typewritten message: it may be typewritten, printed on a
printing press, printed through a ribbon or printed by means of a
stenciled waxed paper.
Firms sending out only a few form letters typewrite them so that no
effort is necessary to give an individual touch.
But the letter printed from typewriter type by means of an ordinary
printing press is obviously nothing more than an ordinary circular.
Filling in the name and address by a typewriter is absolutely
useless. It is usually advisable to print form letters by means of
some duplicating process which prints through a ribbon.
Where a stencil is used, the waxed paper is put in the typewriter
and the letter is written on it without a ribbon. Here the stenciled
letter replaces the usual type, and the impression secured can
seldom be detected from a typewritten letter. A stencil can be made
more quickly than type for the same letter can be set. Then the
exact touch of the typist is reproduced on the duplicated letters
through the stencil. No stenographer can write a letter without
making some words heavier than others, the distribution of the ink
is not the same throughout, so absolute uniformity in the printed
letter is not advisable.
In printing the body of the letter select some process which gives
the appearance of typewriting and then match the fill-in. One
merchant secured an effective matching of fill-in and body by
printing the form with a poorly-inked ribbon on the duplicating
machine and then filling in the name and address with a typewriter
ribbon that had been well used. While the general appearance of the
letter was marred by this scheme, the impression was that of a
letter written on a poor typewriter and it was effective.
The business man, the clerk and the farmer--everyone visited by the
postman--is becoming more and more familiar with letters. The day
has passed when anyone is deceived by a carelessly handled form
letter. Unless a firm feels justified in spending the time and money
to fill in the letter very carefully, it is much better to send it
out frankly as a circular.
Nor is this always a weakness, for a clever touch can be added that
introduces the personal elements. One mail-order house sent out a
large mailing with this typewritten notice in the upper left corner
of the letterhead:
"You must pardon me for not filling in your name and address at the
beginning of this letter, but the truth is I must get off fifty
thousand letters tonight, and I have not the necessary stenographic
force to fill in the name and address on each individual letter."
* * * * *
In spite of the fact that each man was frankly told that 49,999
other persons were receiving the same letter, the appeal was as
personal as an individual message. Another writer opened his
communication in this way:
"This letter is to YOU. and it is just as personal as If I had sat
down and pounded it off on the typewriter myself, and I am sure that
you, as a business man, appreciate that this is a personal message
to you, even if I am writing a hundred thousand others at the same
time."
* * * * *
This letter struck a popular and responsive chord, for each reader
took it to himself as a frank, honest appeal, from a frank, honest
business man. It was a direct personal communication because each
reader felt that although it was duplicated a thousand times it
nevertheless contained a live message.
But the care that some writers take to make the form letter look
personal, is the very thing that kills it. They make the letter too
perfect. To avoid this result, leave an imperfect word, here and
there, throughout the body of the letter. Watch the setting up of
the type to be sure the lines are not spaced out like a printed
page. Many correspondents imitate the common mistakes of the
typewritten letter from the mechanical standpoint and in the
language.
Time spent in correcting these errors with pen and ink is usually
considered a paying investment. The tympan of the duplicating
machine is sometimes made uneven so that the impression of a
typewriter is still further carried out. Some duplicating machines
advertise that their type print "loose" for this very purpose. A
favorite scheme with firms where letter presses are used is to blur
the letter slightly after it has been filled in and signed. A word
"XXX'd" out as by a typewriter lends an impression of the personal
message, as does also the wrong spelling of a word, corrected by pen
and ink.
But fully as vital to the individuality of the letter is the manner
in which it is closed. The signature of the form letter is a subject
that deserves as careful consideration as the superscription and the
body of the letter. The actual typewritten letter to Henry Brown is
signed with pen and ink. Even where the name of the company also
appears at the end of the letter, the personal signature in ink is
desirable. And when you write all the Henry Browns on your mailing
list, you should apply the pen-and-ink signature to every letter.
That is the only effective way.
It is not so essential that the signature should be applied by the
writer personally. Often a girl writes the signature, saving the
time of a busy department head. Many firms use a rubber facsimile
stamp for applying the signature, but it is not as effective, for it
is seldom that the stamped name does not stand out as a mechanical
signature. One concern adds the name of the company at the bottom of
the letter and has a clerk mark initials underneath with pen and
ink.
The form letter has a heavy load which carries a row of
hieroglyphics at the bottom of the page--the "X-Y-Z," the "4, 8, 6,"
the "Dictated WML-OR" and the twenty and one other key numbers and
symbols common to the form letters of many houses. When a man
receives such a letter, he is impressed by the mass of tangled
mechanical operations the message has undergone; on its face he has
the story of its mechanical make-up and its virility is lost,
absolutely.
Then consider the various notes, stamped in a frankly mechanical
manner at the bottom of the letter, such as, "Dictated, but not
read," "Signed in the absence of Mr. So-and-So." To the average man
who finds one of these notes on the letter, there is the impression
of a slap in the face. He does not like to be reminded that he may
converse with the stenographer in the absence of the president. When
a letter says "Not read" he feels that the message was not of
sufficient importance to warrant the personal attention of the
writer. Eliminate all such notes from the form letter.
Sometimes a postscript may suggest a note of personality. For
instance, one firm writes underneath the signature: "I want you to
look especially at the new model on page 37 of the catalogue." This
is effective if done with pen and ink, but if printed or stamped, it
gives no additional tone of individuality to the letter. One
manufacturer had a postscript written on an extra slip of paper
which he pasted to the corner of the sheet.
Another concern writes out on a piece of white paper the
blue-penciled postscript: "I'll send you this three-tool garden kit
_free_ (express prepaid) if your order for the patent roller reaches
me before the 5th." This is made into a zinc etching and printed in
blue so perfectly that the postscript appears to have been applied
with a blue pencil.
Still another postscript scheme is to write the form letter so that
it just fills the first page, then to dictate and sign a paragraph
for a second page--a most effective plan.
Then you must consider the enclosure that often goes with the
letter. This frequently stamps it a circular. If you are offering a
special discount or introductory sale price, for instance, it would
be ridiculous to say in your letter, "This is a special price I am
quoting to you," when the reader finds the same price printed on the
circular. Print the regular price, and then blot out the figures
with a rubber stamp and insert the special price with pen and ink,
or with a stamp.
If you offer a special discount it is best to say so frankly:
"I am making this special discount to a selected list of a few of
our old friends. And in order that you may be sure of this discount
I am enclosing the discount card which will entitle you to the
special prices."
* * * * *
[Illustration: _A series of letterheads that illustrate various uses
of the product and so not only vary the appearance of successive
letters but afford good advertising_.]
[Illustration: _For different departments, to handle different
classes of correspondence or simply to vary their follow-up, varying
letterheads are used_.]
* * * * *
The discount card should be filled-in with the name of the person
written and stamped with a serial numbering machine. The date the
special offer expires should also be stamped on the circular. In
making a special offer to a "limited number of persons," the
enclosure describing it and the return order blank should not be too
elaborate or carefully prepared. It is more effective to make them
inexpensive and give a careless appearance. Aim to carry the
impression that with a hundred or so you could not afford to do it
better.
Do not let an opportunity pass to give the enclosure the same
personal touch that you aim at in the letter. Some houses even sign
the reader's name to the card. A pencil or pen mark over some
particular feature of the enclosure is another way to suggest
personal attention.
Refer to the enclosure in a way that indicates individual attention.
A correspondence school takes off the weight of the overload of
enclosures by inserting this paragraph:
"So in order that you may properly understand our proposition I am
enclosing these circulars and application blanks. It is impossible
to tell one whole story in a single letter, or even a series of
letters. To make them perfectly plain I have asked my stenographer
to number them with a pen, and I will refer to them in this letter
in that order."
* * * * *
A manufacturer who has succeeded in the mail-order business turns
down a page in his catalogue, and refers to it in this way:
"I have turned down the corner of a page--39--in my catalogue that I
particularly want you to read. On this page you will find pictured
and described the best value in a single-seated carriage ever
offered to the public. Turn to this page now and see if you can
afford not to investigate this proposition further."
* * * * *
A successful campaign prepared by a wholesale house consisted simply
of a letter and a cheap-looking yellow circular, across the top of
which had been printed with a typewriter duplicating machine this
heading:
"There is no time to prepare an elaborate circular--the time limit
set on this offer is too short."
* * * * *
This idea was further strengthened by additional typewritten notes
on the top and sides of the circular. The special offer and order
blank appeared in typewriter type on the back of the circular.
Another scheme which pulled results for a tailor was this
typewritten postscript:
"The enclosed is a circular letter. If I sent it to you without this
personal note, I fear you would be too busy to give it the attention
it deserves. So I ask you now--in justice to your interests--to read
this circular as carefully as if I had put the whole thing in a
personal letter to you."
* * * * *
It is an easy matter to enclose a few typewritten names, so a paper
manufacturer says in his answer to an inquiry:
"I'm sending you a list of the printers in your immediate vicinity
from whom you can secure our bond papers."
* * * * *
A land concern refers to an enclosed list in this way:
"So you can investigate for yourself just what our proposition will
do for you, I am having my stenographer make up a list of a few
purchasers in your vicinity from whom you can secure first hand
facts."
* * * * *
Another concern typewrites the note "Personal Matter" on the
enclosed return envelope to give added individuality to it. Thus the
return envelope contributes to the general impression of the one-man
message. But whether it is the superscription, the body of the
letter, the closing or the enclosure, there is one general principle
that must be followed: first consider how you would handle the
individual letter, then make the form letter similar. Make the form
letter talk as though it were intended for one man. Keep this rule
in mind and your form letters will pull.
Making _Letterheads_ and _Envelopes_
DISTINCTIVE
PART IV--THE DRESS OF A BUSINESS LETTER--CHAPTER 12
_The dress of a business letter reflects the character and the
standing of a house no less than the dress of its personal
representative. The quality of the paper, the kind of printing or
engraving, the mechanical make-up--all these things contribute to
the_ IMPRESSION _a letter makes upon the recipient even_ BEFORE THE
MESSAGE IS READ. _Many letters come to nothing because their dress
is unattractive, cheap, slovenly; and so progressive business men
are learning to select their stationery with care to insure for it
both tone and dignity. The kind of paper to select--the size, the
tint and the quality--is described and explained in the following
chapter_
* * * * *
The first impression created by a business letter is based upon its
outward appearance--upon its mechanical make-up, the quality of its
paper, the grade of its printing or engraving; upon the superficial
qualities that are apparent at a glance.
The externals do not necessarily reflect the quality of the message
within the letter. But the experienced business man, who is trained
to make his estimate quickly, gets an impression of some kind--good,
bad or indifferent--of every letter that comes before him, even
before a word of that letter is read.
In other words, the general appearance of the letter is the first
appeal that it makes to the average man. The nearer that appearance
conforms to the appearance of the letters from reputable concerns
with which he is familiar, the more favorably he is impressed with
it. The farther its appearance departs from the established and
approved standards, the more forcibly will that letter force itself
upon his attention. But whether the recipient is favorably or
unfavorably impressed by this prominence depends upon the skill and
ingenuity with which the letter is made up mechanically.
Generally speaking, business correspondence paper may be classified
as follows:
First: The _conventional_ stationery, that conforms to the
established rules and the principal variation of which is in the
quality of its paper and printing.
Second: The _individualistic_ stationery, that departs from the
usual styles and is good to the extent that it meets the unusual
requirements for which it is designed.
Third: The _eccentric_ stationery, which is usually merely a
fanciful violation of the conventions for the purpose of being
conspicuous.
Of these three types of business stationery, the first is
essentially practical and sane; the second is forceful if it does
not violate the fundamental rules of color and design, and if it has
a peculiarly apt application; while the third is almost invariably
in as poor taste as eccentricity in dress.
The first consideration in the preparation of business stationery is
the paper, or "stock."
The quality of this "stock," like the quality of material of a suit
of clothes, largely determines the taste, if not the resources of
the owner. Important messages may be written on cheap stationery;
big men with big plans are sometimes clad in shoddy garments. But
ninety-nine out of a hundred are not, and the hundredth man, who
does not conform to the accepted order of things, is taking an
unnecessary business risk of being wrongly classified. After a man
has delivered his message, the quality of his clothes is not an
important item. After a letter has been read, the quality of its
paper is insignificant. But as the man is seen before he is heard,
and the letter before it is read, it is good business to make both
dress and stationery conform to approved styles.
For instance, the average financial institution, such as a bank or
trust company, takes every precaution to create an impression of
strength and security. The heavy architecture of its building, the
massive steel bars, its uniformed attendants the richness of its
furnishings, all tend to insure a sense of reliability. Does it use
cheap stationery? On the contrary, it uses rich, heavy bond. The
quality of its paper conforms to the dignity and wealth of the
institution; indeed, so long has the public been trained to expect
good letter paper from such concerns that it would be apt to
mistrust, perhaps unconsciously, the house that resorted to cheap
grades of stationery which is almost invariably associated with
cheap concerns or with mere form letters issued in large quantities.
Stationery should be representative of the business from which it
comes. The impression created by a well-dressed man, as well as of a
well-dressed letter, is seldom analyzed; the first glance is
generally sufficient to establish that impression. A letter
soliciting an investment of money, if printed on cheap stock, may
create such a tawdry impression as to be discarded instantly by the
average business man, although the letter may come from an entirely
reliable house and contain an excellent business proposition on
good, substantial paper. For this reason, the letter that departs
from the usual standards must assume unnecessary risks of being
thrown away unread.
To discriminate at a glance between important and inconsequential
business letters, is what most men have been trained to do. It is
not exaggeration to claim that the success of many business letters
often depends upon the paper. The difference between the letter of
an obscure country merchant or lawyer, and that of his well-known
correspondent in the city, lies often in its mechanical appearance.
The one, who is not trained to observe what he considers trifling
items, uses paper that is cheap and easily available; the other,
experienced in the details that tend to increase the dignity of the
house, selects his stationery with care from a wider assortment.
Ninety-nine times out of a hundred the two letters may be identified
at a distance. The message of one letter may be just as important as
the other; but one is properly and the other is improperly
"clothed."
What the firm thinks about business stationery is not so important
as what the recipients think. Do not buy good stock because it
pleases the "house," but because it influences the man to whom the
house writes. First impressions are usually strongest and the first
impression produced by a letter comes from the paper upon which it
is written.
Some men seem to feel superior to creating a good impression. They
do not want to stoop so low as to go to the best hotel. They will
not buy a hat or an umbrella that can help them get business. Their
general idea is to bang their way into the market and succeed in
their shirt sleeves, as it were, and on the strength of the goods.
Of course, if a man has time to succeed in his shirt sleeves, there
is no objection to it. The idea of having as one's address the best
hotel, or in writing one's business on the best paper, is not that a
man could not succeed in his shirt sleeves, if he set out to, but
that he has not time. He gets little things out of the way and
proceeds to business.
The quality of the paper must be largely influenced by the purpose,
as well as by the quantity of the letters to be written. A firm that
sends out hundreds of thousands of form letters to sell a small
retail article in the rural districts, will not use an expensive
stock; it will use a cheaper quality of paper. If the form letter
goes to business or professional men in the city, the quality of the
paper will be determined accordingly. In every instance, stock
should be selected which will meet the expectations of the
recipient.
The fact that the recipient knows a form letter as such, largely
nullifies its influence. A business man who sends out a large number
of form letters a year claims that when he gets a reply beginning,
"In response to your form letter," he knows that the effect of that
letter is absolutely lost on a large percentage of this list who
seldom or never bother to read such communications. And one of the
distinguishing marks of such a letter is the poor quality of its
paper.
Different grades of stationery may be used for the various
departments. For inter-house or inter-department correspondence,
an inexpensive paper is desirable. For many purposes, indeed, a
low-priced stock is entirely permissible. But the higher the quality
of paper, the more exclusive and personal that letter becomes,
until, in the cases of executive heads of corporations, the stock
used is of the best. One well-known corporation regularly uses six
different grades of paper for its letters; one grade is engraved
upon a thin bond of excellent quality and used by the president of
the company when writing in his official capacity; another grade
is engraved upon a good quality of linen paper and is used by the
other officers, sales managers and heads of office departments
when writing official letters to outside parties; when writing to
officers or employees of their own concern, the same letterhead,
lithographed on a less expensive grade of paper, is used; A fourth
grade of bond paper is used by officers and department heads for
their semi-official correspondence. The sixth grade is used only for
personal letters of a social nature; it is of a high quality of
linen stock, tinted. Thus, the size, shape and quality of the paper
and letterhead in each instance is made to conform to the best
business and social usages.
For business correspondence, custom allows but little leeway in the
choice of paper. For print shops, advertising concerns, ink
manufacturers, engravers, or paper manufacturers, stationery offers
an opportunity to exploit their taste or products in an effective
and legitimate manner. For most houses, however, a plain bond,
linen, or the vellums and hand-made papers that are coming into
favor, furnish the best letter paper.
Colors on correspondence paper are seldom used to good effect; the
results are frequently glaring and cheap. When in doubt as to what
tint to use in the paper stock, use white, which is always in good
taste. Tinted stock is occasionally used to good advantage as a
"firm color." In such cases all the correspondence of that house has
a uniform tint, which thus acquires an advertising value in
attracting attention to itself among a mass of other letters. Aside
from this occasional and often doubtful advertising value, tinted
stock tends toward the eccentric except in the cases of paper
dealers, publishers, or printers who have a purpose in displaying
typographical effects.
Many concerns use paper of various tints, each of which identifies
the particular department from which it comes. Thus, white paper may
mark the letters from the executive department, blue from the
selling department, and brown from the manufacturing department.
But, even in such cases, the colors are used ordinarily only for
inter-house or inter-department communications.
The sheet should be of standard size; that is the letter sheet
should be folded to fit exactly into the envelope that is used.
Only such paper stock should be selected as can hold ink readily.
Never select a stock that is not entirely serviceable on a
typewriting machine. Never sacrifice the practical to the eccentric
in business stationery.
An inferior quality of stationery is sometimes accepted by the
shrewd observer either as a deliberate act to economize or as an
indication of poor taste or indifference. A man who gets an
estimate, for example, written on cheap paper, may be led to believe
that the man who skimps on letter paper is apt to skimp on his work.
So long as the paper represents the sender, just so long will the
sender be judged by it.
From a semi-business or social standpoint, stationery often plays an
important role; many instances are recorded where a man's private
note paper has been the means of eliminating his name from select,
social lists. The lady who, in writing to an employment office for a
butler, used her private stationery with the remark, "that is one
more way of giving them to understand what sort of a butler I want,"
knew the effect produced by proper letter paper.
In other words, the _stationery_ of a business house--the size, the
proportions, the tint, the quality of its correspondence-paper--
offers the first of the several opportunities for the correspondent
to put the recipient into a receptive state of mind toward the
communication. It is an item that the shrewd correspondent does not
ignore, because it offers him an opportunity--and the first
opportunity--to score.
The _Typographical_ Make-Up
Of BUSINESS LETTERS
PART IV--THE DRESS OF A BUSINESS LETTER--CHAPTER 13
_All business houses recognize the necessity for having printed
letterheads and envelopes, but the variety of designs and styles are
infinite. Nothing, not even the paper, affords such an index to the
character of the individual or firm as the typography of the
envelope and letterhead. An impression, favorable or otherwise, is
created_ BEFORE THE LETTER IS READ. _This chapter describes the
methods of printing, engraving and lithographing; the advantages of
each process, and the difference in prices; the proper placing of
date, name and address, the width of margins, spacing between
lines--little points that contribute to the appearance of the letter
and give it tone_
* * * * *
The feature of a business letter that invariably commands the first
conscious attention of the recipient is the name--printed or
written--of the firm or individual from whom the letter comes.
Except when the correspondent intentionally omits this information
for the purpose of inducing the recipient to notice a circular
letter that he might otherwise ignore, the name and address of the
sender is printed on the envelope.
This is done for two reasons: it brings the name of the
correspondent before the recipient immediately upon receipt of the
letter; it tends to secure favorable attention, and it enables the
post office authorities to return letters to the senders in case of
non-delivery because of removals, death, wrong address or other
causes.
In either case, the interests of the correspondent are best served
by printing this information in the upper left corner of the face of
the envelope. It is this side of the envelope that bears the address
and the stamp, and consequently the only side, under ordinary
circumstances, that receives attention from either the postal
officials or the recipient. When the sender's name is printed in
this position, it is brought prominently to the attention of the
recipient as the letter is placed before him. But even a more
practical reason for putting this data in the upper left corner is
that such a location on the envelope permits the post office rubber
stamp, "_Return to Sender_," to be affixed, in case of need, without
the confusion and annoyance that is caused when this address is
printed on the back of the envelope, as is sometimes done.
As a rule, the printed matter that appears on the envelope should
consist merely of the name and address of the sender in plain,
legible letters.
In no case should the address be ambiguous. However many branch
offices the firm may have, the use of more than one address on the
envelope is apt to be confusing and may result in a communication's
being returned to an office other than that from which it comes. To
avoid this, only one address should be printed on the envelope, and
that should be the address to which the correspondence is to be
returned by the postal authorities in case of non-delivery to the
addressee. The trade mark or other similar distinctive imprint of a
firm may properly be used on the envelope, but only in cases where
it will not tend to confuse or crowd the essential wording. The name
of the person to whom the letter is to be returned is of
considerable more practical value to the postman than a unique
design with which the envelope may be adorned.
The letterhead offers wider opportunities for an array of data.
Pictures of offices, buildings and factories, trade marks, lists of
branch offices, cable codes and the names of officers and executive
heads may be used, but too much reading matter leads to confusion.
The tendency today is toward simplicity. The name and address of the
firm, and the particular department or branch office from which the
communication comes, is regarded as sufficient by many houses. The
day of the letterhead gay with birds-eye views of the plant and much
extraneous information seems to be passing, and money that was once
spent in elaborate designs and plates is now put into the "quality"
of the letter paper--and quality is usually marked by dignified
simplicity and directness.
Letterheads may be mechanically produced by several different
processes that range widely in costs. The principal methods of
printing letterheads are:
First: From type.
Second: From zinc or half-tone plates made from drawings--generally
designated as "photo-engraving".
Third: From plates engraved on copper or steel.
Fourth: From lithograph plates, engraved on stone.
Fifth: From photogravure or similar engraved plates.
Generally speaking, letterheads printed from type are the cheapest.
The costs of type composition for an ordinary letterhead will vary
from fifty cents to four or five dollars, dependent upon the amount
of work. The printing ranges in cost from one dollar a thousand
sheets for one color to several times that amount, dependent upon
the quality of ink and paper, and upon local conditions. Many
concerns are discarding letterheads printed from type, as more
individuality can be shown in some form of engraved or lithographed
work.
Good results may often be secured from "line cuts" or zinc plates--
which cost from five to ten cents a square inch, with a minimum
charge ranging from fifty cents to a dollar--made from pen-and-ink
drawings. Good and distinctive lettering may often be secured in
this way, where type matter does not offer the same opportunities.
The cost of printing from zinc plates is practically the same as the
cost of printing from type. If the drawings are made in water color,
"wash" or oil, or if they contain fine crayon or pencil shadings,
the reproductions must be made from half-tone plates. These cost
from twelve cents to twenty cents a square inch, with a minimum
rate that usually is equivalent to the cost of ten square inches.
Half-tones, however, can be printed only on an enamel or other
smooth-surface paper, and cannot be used satisfactorily on a
rough-surface paper as can zinc plates.
Copper or steel engravings are made from designs furnished either by
the engraver or by some other designer. For simple engraved
lettering such as is customarily used on business stationery, the
cost of a copper plate is about ten cents a letter. For elaborate
designs the costs increase proportionately. Steel plates, which are
more durable, cost about sixty per cent more. Printing from such
plates is considerably more expensive than the two processes
previously described. Engraved letterheads cost from six dollars
upward a thousand for the printing, while the envelopes cost
approximately two dollars and fifty cents a thousand. The envelopes
are usually printed from steel dies, which cost about ten cents a
letter.
For large orders of stationery, exceeding 20,000 sheets, lithography
offers economies in price and other advantages that render it more
practical than metal engraving. The design is engraved upon stone
and printed from the stone block. While the initial costs of
lithography are high, ranging from $25.00 to $100.00 for the
engraving (with an average cost of about $50.00), the price of
printing is so moderate as to make this form of production popular
among extensive users of business paper. Lithography gives a smooth,
uniform and permanent impression on the paper, and permits of an
indeterminate "run." The cost of printing from lithographic plates
is practically the same as from steel or copper plates. The savings
effected in large orders is in the cost of the plates, for copper
and steel must be renewed as they become worn down.
The photogravure process is costly both in the plate-making and in
the printing. While it gives a rich and uniform impression on the
letter paper, and is highly valuable for reproducing pictures and
ornate designs, it is adaptable only for special purposes and is not
generally regarded as suitable for commercial work. A photogravure
plate costs from seventy-five cents to one dollar and twenty-five
cents a square inch, or about $12.00 to $50.00 for a letterhead. The
printing costs about the same as for other engraved stationery. With
other processes, somewhat similar in the market, this method of
printing letterheads has not yet won extensive favor.
It is now almost universally recognized that a letter should be
written on one side of the sheet only.
A copy should be kept of every communication that leaves the
office. Either a carbon copy may be made at the time the letter is
written--six good copies can be made simultaneously on the average
typewriter, although one is usually sufficient--or a letter-press
copy can be made from the sheet after it is signed. Both forms have
been accepted by the courts as legal copies of correspondence.
Such copies are usually filed alphabetically either by the name of
the company or individual to whom the letter is addressed.
Letter-press copies must necessarily be filed chronologically, even
when separate books for each letter of the alphabet are maintained.
In either case the search through the files for a letter copy is
facilitated by placing the name, address and date of a letter at the
top.
For the same reason the date of a letter should be placed in
the upper right corner of the page; the recipient must know when
the communication is sent; it may have a bearing on other
communications. The name and address of the addressee, similar to
the address on the envelope, should in all cases be placed, as the
formal salutation, in the upper left corner of the sheet, whether
the correspondent be greeted "Dear Sir" or "Gentlemen." Not only
does this establish at once the exact individual for whom the
communication is intended but it facilitates the filing of the
correspondence, both by the recipient and by the sender.
The margins of a business letter, owing to the limitations of the
typewriter, are usually variable. The space occupied by the
letterhead must, of course, determine the margin at the top of the
sheet. Theoretically, the margins at the left and right should be
exactly the same size; practically, however, the typewriter lines
will vary in length and cause an uneven edge on the right side. In
printing, the use of many-sized spaces not only between words but at
times, between the letters themselves rectifies these variations,
but the typewriter does not permit this. The more even the right
margin is and the more uniform it is to the left margin, the better
the effect. The margins should be about one and a half inches in
width. The margin at the bottom should not be less than the side
margins. Should it be smaller, the page will appear cramped for
space as the reading matter will be really running over into the
margin--a typographical defect that is as noticeable on typewritten
as on printed pages.
The spacing between the lines and between the paragraphs of a
business letter may vary to suit the tastes of the individual,
although considerations of a practical nature tend to establish a
few general principles.
Both for purposes of convenience and of economy, a letter should be
as compact as possible, both in words and in mechanical production.
It should not take up two sheets if the message can be written on
one without undue crowding. Hence most business letters are single
spaced; that is, only one space on the typewriter separates the
lines. Even when a letter is short, it is advisable for purposes of
uniformity, to use single spaces only.
The first line of each paragraph is usually indented from five to
fifteen points on the machine. Each business house should establish
exactly what this indentation shall be in order to secure uniformity
in its correspondence. Instead of indenting the first line, some
concerns designate the paragraphs merely by separating them by
double spacings, beginning the first line flush with the left
margin. The best practice, however, seems to embody both of these
methods, but the average business letter usually has its paragraphs
separated by double spacing and indenting the first line.
The address on the envelope, to which the salutation at the top of
the letter should correspond, either exactly or in slightly
condensed form, may be properly typewritten in various ways. The
style that is most observed, however, and which has the stamp of
general approval, provides for an indentation of about five points
on each line of the address.
Between the lines the spacings may be either single or double but
the latter is preferable. Greater spacing tends to separate the
address too much to allow it to be read quickly.
Another approved, though less popular form of address does not
indent the lines at all.
Any radical departure from these forms should be made cautiously,
especially if the various items of the address are separated from
each other.
The address, like a paragraph, is generally read as a unit--as a
single, distinct idea. The closer the address conforms to the
generally accepted forms, the more readily are the envelopes handled
by the postoffice and the less danger of delay.
Getting a UNIFORM _Policy_ and
_Quality_ in Letters
PART IV--THE DRESS OF A BUSINESS LETTER--CHAPTER 14
_Every correspondent naturally reflects his own personality in his
letters. His distinguishing characteristics, good, bad and
indifferent, inevitably tend to find expression in his
correspondence_--UNLESS THOSE TENDENCIES ARE GUIDED. _That is
exactly what the modern business house does. It directs the work of
its correspondents by means of general and specific rules as well as
by instruction in the policies of the house until ail of its letters
are uniform in quality and bear the stamp of a consistent
personality--the personality of "the house"_
* * * * *
A number of years ago, the president of a company manufacturing
carriages felt that he was not getting adequate results for the
money he was spending in the mail sales department. One day he
called a meeting of all his correspondents and asked each man what
arguments he used in writing to prospects. He discovered that eight
correspondents were using eight different lines of talk. One
emphasized this feature of the carriage, a second based his argument
on another feature, and no two correspondents were reaching
prospects from the same angle or making use of the same arguments.
"Here are eight different approaches," said the president. "It is
certain that one of these must be more effective than the other
seven. They can't all be best. It is up to us to test them out and
determine which one is best and then we will all use it."
When the proposition was presented in this way, it was so elementary
that everyone wondered why it had not been thought of before. A
series of tests followed with the different arguments and
presentations and by a process of elimination the company proved
conclusively which was the strongest approach. Then all of the
correspondents used it in the first letter and the second strongest
argument was used in the second letter, and so on through the
follow-up. It was no longer left for each man to develop his
arguments and his selling talk according to his own ideas. Through
tests, consultation and discussion, every point was considered and
all the correspondence was on the same level.
By adopting a uniform policy the efficiency of the sales department
was increased, the quality of the letters was raised and the work
was handled more expeditiously and more economically.
One cannot write to all his customers and prospects; that is why it
is necessary to have correspondents in the various departments. It
is an easy matter to adopt rules and establish policies that will
make their letters of a much higher standard and give them greater
efficiency than if each went his own way without rule or regulation
to guide him. Every correspondent represents the house in a
dignified manner and handles the subjects intrusted to his care in a
way that will reflect the best thought and the most successful
methods of the house. Not everyone can be developed into a master
correspondent but it is possible to establish a policy and enforce
rules that will give quality and at least a fair measure of
salesmanship to all letters.
Many businesses have grown so rapidly and the heads have been so
absorbed in the problems of production and extending markets that
little time or thought has been given to the work of the
correspondents. And so it happens that in many concerns the
correspondence is handled according to the whims, the theories and
the personality of the various men who are in charge of the
different departments. But there are other concerns that have
recognized the desirability of giving individuality to all the mail
that bears a house message. They have found that the quality can be
keyed up and the letters, even though they may be written in a dozen
different departments, all have the family resemblance and bear
evidence of good parentage.
And it may be certain that when all the letters from a house impart
this tone, this atmosphere of quality and distinction, it is not
because of chance. It is not because the correspondents all happen
to use a similar policy. Such letters imply a deliberate,
persistent, intelligent effort to keep the correspondence from
falling below a fixed level. Such a policy represents one of the
finer products of the process of systematically developing all the
factors in modern business--the stamping of a strong individuality
upon all of the correspondence of a large organization.
To secure this uniformity in policy and in quality, it is necessary
to adopt a set of clear, comprehensive rules and to impress upon the
correspondents the full significance of the standing, the character
and the traditions of the house.
There are certain tendencies on the part of some correspondents that
can be overcome by a general rule. For instance, there are the
correspondents who try to be funny in their letters. Attempts at
humor should be forbidden for the day has gone when the salesman can
get orders by telling a funny story. Another correspondent may deal
too largely in technicalities in his letters, using words and
phrases that are not understood.
Then there is the correspondent who has an air of superiority in his
letters and writes with impudence and his letters suggest a
condescension on his part to explain a proposition; or the complaint
department may have a man who grants an allowance or makes an
adjustment but puts a sting into his letter that makes the reader
wish he had never patronized the house. All such tendencies may be
eradicated by a set of rules giving specific instruction on how to
handle every point that comes up and the attitude that is to be
assumed in answering complaints, collecting accounts, making sales,
and so forth.
And in order to have the letters reflect the house, rules have been
adopted in some cases that cover every conceivable point from a
broad policy in handling arguments to a specific rule regarding the
use of commas.
For instance, it is no longer left to the discretion of the
correspondent to start his letter "John Smith." A rule provides that
all letters shall begin "Mr. John Smith." For the sake of dignity, a
western mail-order house decided to use "Dear Sir" and "Dear Madam"
in the first three letters that went to a customer. But on the third
and succeeding letters this house uses the salutation "Dear Mr.
Smith" or "Dear Mrs. Smith."
This is a matter of policy, a rule that will keep the letters up to
a fixed standard.
* * * * *
Page from One Firm's Book of Rules:
_In a long letter, or where two or more subjects are treated, each
subject must be introduced with an appropriate subhead.
All letters, long or short, must carry a general subject head
between the address and the first paragraph. This general head and
the subheads must be in capitals, underscored with a single line,
and as nearly as possible in the middle of the sheet from right to
left.
Carefully avoid even the appearance of sarcasm.
Be wary of adjectives, particularly superlatives. "Very,"
"great," "tremendous," "excellent," etc., have marred many an
otherwise strong phrase and have propped needlessly many a good
word, all-sufficient of itself.
Never use the first personal pronoun "I" when writing as Blank
Company. "We" is the proper pronoun. Where a personal reference is
necessary, "the writer" may be used; but even this should be avoided
wherever possible.
Don't forget that certain small words are in the language for a
purpose. "And," "a," "the," are important, and their elimination
often makes a letter bald, curt, and distinctly inelegant.
Carefully avoid such words and stock phrases as "beg to
acknowledge," "beg to inquire," "beg to advise," etc. Do not "beg"
at all.
Do not say "kindly" for "please."
Do not say "Enclosed herewith." Herewith is superfluous.
Do not "reply" to a letter; "answer" it. You answer a letter and
reply to an argument._
* * * * *
In determining a uniformity in policy and quality, the rules may be
grouped in three classes: those which determine the attitude of the
writer; those that relate to the handling of subject matter; and
then there are specific rules, such as the style of paper, the
salutation, the subscription, signature, and so forth.
The attitude and policy of the house must be determined according to
the nature of the business and the ideas of the management. The same
rules will not apply to all houses but this does not lessen the
desirability of an established policy. For instance, one large
corporation, selling entirely to dealers and to large contractors,
forbids the use of the first person singular. Under no consideration
is the correspondent permitted to say "I". And if a personal
reference is absolutely necessary, he must refer to "the writer".
The rule is to say "we" and the correspondents are urged to avoid
this personal pronoun, using the name of the company, as, "It has
always been the practice of the Workwell Company," and so on.
Most mail-order houses, on the other hand, get just as far away from
this formal attitude as possible. Here it is the policy to get up
close to the reader by a "you-and-me" attitude. Some mail-order
houses have letters written in the name of the company, signed by
the writer as department manager, sales manager, or other officer.
Then there are other houses that omit the company name entirely in
order to get away from the "soulless corporation" idea as much as
possible, and letters to a customer are always signed by the same
individual to get a personal relationship that is considered a most
valuable asset. This does not mean merely the matter of the
signature, but the entire attitude of the letter. "Address your
reply to me personally" is the spirit of these firms--a policy that
has been adopted after tests have demonstrated that it is the one
appeal most effective with the average mail-order customer.
A large concern aims to make its points stand out more clearly by
having the arguments presented in a one, two, three order, and each
paragraph is introduced with a subject printed in capitals at the
beginning of the first line, such as _Location_, _Terms_,
_Guarantee_. This company, dealing in lands, usually finds it
necessary to write rather lengthy letters and the subject heads
serve as guide-posts and tend to concentrate attention.
One firm has barred all superlative adjectives, not merely to guard
against exaggeration but because the superlative degree lacks
conviction. The statement that "This is the best collar ever made"
is not believed, but to say that it is a "fine" collar or a "good"
collar for it is five-ply, and so forth, rings true. It is a better
selling talk and so the superlative is not permitted.
Then there are other general policies that concerns have adopted,
such as a rule that the price of articles cannot be mentioned in a
letter. A printed enclosure gives this information and reference may
be made to it, but the dollar mark does not appear in the letter
itself. This policy has been adopted to emphasize upon readers the
fact that the company quotes but one price to all, and it makes an
effective selling talk out of the point that special discounts and
"inside prices" are never given. As confidence is always the first
essential in building up a mail-order business, this policy has done
much towards increasing the standing and reputation of the houses
using it.
And then come certain specific instructions covering a multitude of
details. For instance, the style of paper is a matter that
progressive business houses no longer ignore. The policy of the
house may be revealed in the envelope and letter paper before one
has had time to read even the date line. Some firms provide
different grades of stationery for different departments, the sales
letters going out in a much finer dress than letters from other
departments.
The style to use is largely a matter of personal taste and
preference. The significant thing is not in the kind that is used by
certain companies but the fact that progressive business houses now
appreciate the necessity for a uniformity in stationery and in the
manner of handling it.
Harmony of color is especially desirable--the tint of the paper, the
color of the lithographing, embossing or printing, the color of the
typewriter ribbon used and the color of the ink used in signing.
None of these points are too small to be considered in the
progressive business houses today.
The closing is no less important than the opening and most rule
books relieve the correspondent of all responsibility in deciding on
what subscription to use or how to sign the letter. For instance, he
is told that the house policy is to close with "Yours truly" and
that the name of the company is written with the typewriter followed
by the signature of the writer and his title, such as "President,"
or "Sales Manager."
A publishing house in the east for years clung to the established
policy of having all letters go out in the name of the president.
But it was finally decided by the executive committee that this
policy tended to belittle the house, for it was obvious that no
institution of any size could have all its mail handled directly
from the president's office. It was argued that if the president's
name were used only occasionally, greater prestige would be given to
the letters that actually came from his office, and thereafter
letters were signed by different department heads as "Manager of
Sales," "Advertising Manager," "Managing Editor," "Manager of
Collection Department," and so forth.
And just so one could go through the book of rules of any business
house and find a good reason for every policy that has been adopted.
For while it is desirable to have a "family resemblance" which is
possible only through established rules, and while letters written
under specific instructions have added dignity and character, yet
there is back of each rule some additional significance, the force
of some tested argument, the psychological effect of some timely
suggestion.
No longer do large manufacturing and mercantile houses send out
their salesmen and allow each one to push his line as he sees best.
Many concerns require the salesmen to take a regular course of
training to learn thoroughly the "house" attitude, and they are
given instructions on the best way to present arguments and overcome
objections--just so the men who sell by letter are now instructed in
the best methods for getting results.
The best way to secure a uniform policy is a practical question.
Some houses employ a correspondent expert to spend a few weeks in
the correspondence department just the same as an expert auditor is
employed to systematize the accounting department. In other houses
the book of rules is a matter of evolution, the gradual adding of
new points as they come up and as policies are tried out, a process
of elimination determining those that should be adopted. In some
concerns the correspondents have regular meetings to discuss their
problems and to decide upon the best methods of meeting the
situations that arise in their work. They read letters that have
pulled, analyze the arguments and in this way try to raise the
quality of their written messages.
While it must be admitted that some men have a natural faculty of
expressing themselves clearly and forcibly, the fact remains that
letter writing is an art that may be acquired. It necessitates a
capacity to understand the reader's attitude; it requires careful
study and analysis of talking points, arguments and methods of
presentation, but there is no copyright on good letters and any
house can secure a high standard and be assured that distant
customers are handled tactfully and skilfully if a uniform policy is
worked out and systematically applied.
Making Letters UNIFORM In
_Appearance_
PART IV--THE DRESS OF A BUSINESS LETTER--CHAPTER 15
_Business stationery should reflect the house that sends it out but
unless specific rules are adopted there will be a lack of uniformity
in arrangement, in style, in spelling, infolding--all the little
mechanical details that contribute to an impression of_ CHARACTER
_and_ INDIVIDUALITY. _Definite instructions should be given to
correspondents and stenographers so that letters, although written
in a dozen different departments, will have a uniformity in
appearance. What a book of instructions should contain and how rules
can be adopted is described in this chapter_
* * * * *