Business Writing: Your How-To Guide
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Business Writing for the Rest of Us
In business, writing is something you’ll do almost every day, especially if you’re a solo entrepreneur who doesn’t have the budget to hire a copywriter. From business letters to press releases to sales letters and web content, your writing needs to be clear and understandable, so your reader “gets” what you’re trying to say.
For many people, business writing is a chore that makes them nervous — they either think they can’t do it, or they just don’t know how to get their message across. That’s why we’ve included several articles in the Gallery focused on business writing. We’ll help you understand the purpose of different types of communications and how to write them more effectively so you’ll get the positive response you want.
First Things First
Writing Styles
Your writing style, or the tone you use (known in the writing world as your “voice”) will depend on the type of document you need to write and the person or people who will read it — your target audience. Sales letters, for example, or an invitation to an Open House can be written in a more conversational style than what you’d use for a collection letter or a cover letter for a loan application. These are known as business casual and formal business writing styles, which we’ll cover more in the Business Letters article.
Press releases, on the other hand, need to follow a specific format that news editors expect, known as the inverted pyramid style, like the way newspaper articles are written. If you have any hope at all that your press release will get printed, you need to follow this formula when delivering your message. We’ll cover this more in the Press Releases article.
Image Is Everything
As a small business owner, your written communications are your calling card — they introduce you to your potential customers. Because this first contact might be the only chance you get to make a good impression, you need to make sure your message works to maximize this opportunity. This means: no typos, no grammatical errors, no improper usage of words that sound alike (such as “they’re/their/there” and “you’re/your” and “it’s/its”). You can learn more about making a good impression with your business writing in our article, “Say What You Mean: Writing Effectively for Business“.
Ask And Ye Shall Receive
The whole point of business writing, whether you’re asking for information or asking for your customer to buy from you, is to get your audience to respond. When you send a letter demanding payment, you expect the recipient to pay their bill. Likewise, if you’re writing a press release, you want the news media to publish it. Therefore you need to make your message clear, and ASK for the response you want to get. Don’t leave it up to your reader to guess what they should do with the information you give them. Tell them what to do. In a direct, but polite way, of course.
The Bottom Line Is…
No matter what type of communication you need to write, your goal is to:
Deliver a clear message.
Make a good impression.
Motivate your reader to take action.
Let’s take a look at some specific examples of everyday business writing and how each should be written and formatted. Click on one of the links below to learn more about:
