Category: Business Writing

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January 18, 2022February 22, 2022

How to Write Newsletters

How to Write Newsletters

Sections of This Topic Include

Newsletters That Work
Various Perspectives on Writing Newsletters

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Writing Newsletters

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Writing Newsletters. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

How to Create an Email Newsletter People Actually Read
HOW
TO PUBLISH YOUR OWN NEWSLETTER
How to make an employee newsletter your CEO’s best friend
How to Write a Newsletter That Gets Read

Newsletters That Work

How to Create Newsletters That Capture Attention.

Your email newsletter is an extension of your company’s brand and personality. It’s an opportunity to offer value and keep your customers engaged. Yet so many times, companies don’t even get to first base – their email newsletter never gets opened!

This list incorporates the most important components of a successful email newsletter, with a few examples of how to use them. I’ve chosen to apply them to The Last Best Women – a nonprofit organization that offers microfinance to impoverished women in third world countries – but they apply to for-profit businesses just as well:

Compelling Subject Line: The very MOST important thing for ANY newsletter is a Compelling Subject Line – something that captures your readers’ attention and intrigues them to open it. You’re competing against dozens of other non-essential emails every day. Most people don’t have time to open every email they receive. So yours must pop out. Here is an example of a compelling subject line: “How YOU can help change a life with just one email”. Then in the inside, on the first page at the top, repeat that with the answer: “Please pass this email on to six grateful women you know who might want to learn how microfinance changes the lives of impoverished women.”
Call to Action: Every newsletter should have a Call to Action – above the fold, so to speak – at the top of the computer screen. If you do #1 above, that is your Call to Action. Another Call to Action might be: “Please read more about how microfinance gave Rosalinda Flores renewed hope for her family and financial earning power she never dreamed possible.” Next to this is a link to an article that tells the story about this real woman and her real microfinance success. Another great Call to Action could be a specific Tweet you ask them to send. Or a Facebook Post.
Tell Stories: Reader interest at least TRIPLES when you tell a real story. Every business has great customer stories. If you haven’t collected them, just ask them! It also makes for a great Facebook or LinkedIn post. Use real names and pictures. Keep it rather short.
Testimonials/Quotes: Almost nothing is as powerful as a quote or very short testimonial. Top of fold, first page, with picture, preferably.
Pictures: Every newsletter should have pictures. The Executive Directors’ picture personalizes her message. Pictures of volunteers help them feel more connected to the organization. Pictures of the recipient of the organizations’ services give readers the feeling that they are in touch with what this organization does.
Mission/Vision: The first page, top of fold, is the best place for the Mission/Vision. It’s enormously important to remind and reaffirm everyone of the organization’s good work.
Facebook Like Button: FB, Twitter, other Social Networks – make it easy for readers to add them. Links placed first page, top of fold.
Headings and Subheads: Readers today are scanners. If they see a large block of text, they’ll likely skip it. In order to get and keep their attention, use short, meaningful headings and subheads in larger, bolder fonts. Break up text into 2-4 sentences between each heading.
Use a Chart to Track Something: If you give Readers something interesting to track, they’ll have another reason to open the next email. It could be the number of microfinance recipients worldwide, or the growth of your own organization, or a timeline to your first funding.
Use a Tagline, or Explain the Organization’s Name: At first glance, your Reader should get the meaning of the newsletter in under TWO SECONDS. So add a tagline under the name, or dedicate some space to explain what “The Last Best Women” means. In the next two seconds, your newsletter should convey why the Reader should care. Many of the tips above help achieve that – especially compelling headings and subheads, and captions under pictures.
Ask Readers for Input: Social Networking (including newsletters) is all about “engaging” your readers. Ask them for links to other microfinance organizations. Ask them what these organizations do right – or where they miss the boat. Engage your readers with questions – and post them on FB.
Use a Conversational Tone: Social Media is casual and authentic. Accessible feeling. You are appealing to human emotion in your newsletter – with rich resources of human need, stories, pictures, mission, and successes (even if they’re others’ successes – you can talk about organizational role models for building your organization.)
Use Strategic Keywords: Choose 2-3 important keywords. Place them in headings and subheads, and in the first 200 words of the text. They should be used 3% – meaning, of every 100 words, use each keyword 3 times. When you attach this newsletter to your website, it will be crawled by search engines and found because of this planned use of keywords. Tip: If you didn’t know about LBW, but were sitting at Google’s search bar and LBW was the perfect result you’re hoping to find, what would you type in the search bar? Those are your strategic keywords.

These ‘tips’ actually work! They make your newsletter captivating, and help you stand out from a very crowded crowd. Newsletters are definitely an art. Your style will evolve as your organization evolves.

Various Perspectives on Writing Newsletters

For the Category of Communications (Business Writing):

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

January 18, 2022February 22, 2022

Sales Letters that Work Like a Charm

A salesman crafting a sales letter on their laptop

Letters that Work Like a Charm

to Sell Your Idea, Service, or Product

Contributed by Deane Gradous, Twin Cities consultant

Four approaches to the sales letter

1. Intrigue or entertain. Grab the reader’s attention and ensure that your reader gets the points about your idea, service, or product while having a good time reading your letter. The theory is that fun, surprise, or drama will open the reader’s mind to what you have to say.

2. Support or assure. Assure the reader that you are always here. When the reader has a need that relates to what you have to offer, you want the reader to associate the need with you, a dependable person who can satisfy it. Regular mailings will add to your image of dependability.

3. Propose or deal. Make a strong offer the reader. Soften a hard-sell image by including a gift or offering a free trial or coupon. Your goal is to get the reader to act now. The motivational sequence is as follows:

· Get the reader’s attention

· Demonstrate a need or a problem

· Visualize the future with the need satisfied or the program solved.

· Offer the means to satisfy the need or solve the problem.

· Ask the reader to act.

4. Touch or pat. Tell the reader in a friendly and personal way that you are thinking of him or her. Your letter is part of a continuing conversation. Your goal is not so much to make an immediate sale but to remind the reader of the importance of your continuing relationship. Send “keep in touch” letters often, especially when you can link your
communication to an occasion or an event of special significance.

Always address a single reader

Whether you are selling an idea, a service, or a product always write to one reader; never a crowd. Use the second person singular–“you”–to converse one-to-one with a single, unique person. Not “Hey all you people out
there with computer problems.” Sometimes, use the reader’s name in direct address–“Mark, take a look at this …”

Thinking of your reader in the singular helps you gauge how much to emphasize your points without appearing pushy. Addressing a crowd calls for raising your voice to a shout. Compare the tone of the following two sentences: 1. “If any of you are still having problems following these simple instructions, please feel free to call me and I’ll explain them” and 2. “Please let me know if you find any of these instructions confusing.”

Addressing a single reader also helps you avoid taking a defensive tone. Compare the following two sentences:
1. “Some of you are not giving me your full cooperation” and 2. “I need your support.”

Tips for writing sales letters

Be conversational. Write in a personal, friendly tone.

Emphasize the reader’s needs. Take the time to analyze your reader’s interests, needs, and biases.

Keep it simple. Limit your appeal to a few important points.

Be credible. Demonstrate your experience, knowledge, and expertise

Be specific. In concrete terms, describe the details of your idea, service, or product. The reader has to be able to “see” himself or yourself engaged with your idea, service, or product. If price is a concern, state the price and emphasize the value received.

Be concise. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short and sharply focused.

Ask for action. Be clear and explicit about what you want your reader to do.

Be accessible. Make it easy for your reader to respond to your idea, ask for your service, or purchase your product.

Close. Tone is important to achieving a cordial close. Compare the following two closing sentences: 1. “Should you have any questions concerning this matter, please feel free to call me” and 2. “If you have any questions, please call me.” The first grants permission. The second extends an invitation.

Be correct. Let the writing rest a while before you review it through the reader’s eyes. Edit and proofread it carefully. Protect and maintain your professional image by being absolutely certain your letter contains no errors in grammar, punctuation, or spelling.

Do a test run. Pilot test the letter. Ask someone to stand in for a reader, or ask a small sample of the population of prospective buyers to read your letter, and give you feedback.

Learn More in the Library’s Blog Related to This Topic

For the Category of Communications (Business Writing):

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Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

January 18, 2022March 29, 2023

Building Blocks of Writing: Vocabulary, Spelling and Grammar

Notepad, laptop, pen, and a cup of coffee on a desk

Building Blocks of Writing: Vocabulary, Spelling and Grammar

NOTE: Be sure to first notice: How to Improve Your Writing

Also consider

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Vocabulary

Vocabulary is the collection of words conveyed by a person or in writing in order to communicate with the reader or listener. The more words that you understand in your personal vocabulary, the more effectively you will comprehend what the speak or writer is intending to convey. The term “vocabulary” is sometimes used interchangeably with the term “lexicon”.

Also consider

Spelling

By the time we have finished grade school, we know what spelling is, although we might not be able to define it. Wikipedia defines spelling as the “…interpretation of speech sound into writing”. You can’t proceed with improving your writing unless you start by knowing how to spell.

Grammar

Grammar specifies the rules for how to correctly construct a sentence. It covers subjects such as how to use commas, apostrophes and punctuation, as well subject-verb matching, run-on sentences and using the correct tense.

Introductions

Guidelines and Tips

Guidebooks

Online Assistants

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Tips to writing a good handout
Twelve Tips for Writing Better Marketing Brochures
How to Write a Brochure

How to Write Brochures

Person drafting out the content of the brochures

How to Write Brochures

Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD

Various Perspectives on Writing Brochures

Also see
Related Library Topics

Also See The Library’s Blogs Related To Writing Brochures

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Writing Brochures. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

For the Category of Communications (Business Writing):

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Use Your New Typographic Capabilities

Use Your New Typographic Capabilities

Contributed by Deane Gradous, Twin Cities consultant

You may have learned to type on a mechanical typewriter. At that time, typists emphasized words by capitalizing or underlining them, which was all the capabilities they had. Today’s business writer has nearly all the capabilities of a professional typesetter at his or her fingertips. This article contains strategies for using the typographic capabilities in Microsoft Word and other word processing programs.

Boldface

Boldfaced type is commonly used in headings, such as Word’s Level 1 heading, which was used as the title style for this article, and Word’s Level 2 subheading, which was used to introduce this segment. In general text, boldface is not used for emphasis because boldfaced words stand out like facial blemishes. As an alternative, some business writers use italics for emphasis. It would be even better if they limited their use of italics and relied on sentence structure to make their emphases clear.

Italics

Italics can be used to show that a word is to be read as a word, for example “The word system is much misused in business writing.” Foreign words that have not been absorbed into English are italicized.
The titles of complete works–books, newspapers, poems, songs–are italicized. Titles of parts of works–articles, chapters–are enclosed in quotation marks.

Small caps

Use small caps for A.M. and P.M.
Modern practice recommends using small caps for acronyms that are pronounced as words, for example
RAM memory. Initialisms, which are pronounced letter by letter, are typed in full caps, for example CPU. When you follow this rule, readers will know how to pronounce what you write.

Dashes

The hyphen (-), the en dash ((the en dash is slightly longer than the hyphen), and the em dash (sometimes represented by two hyphens: —) are important and useful horizontal characters. The hyphen, in addition to being used to break a word at the end of a line, is used to connect two words that modify another, for example “Come to a 3-day meeting.” The en dash is longer than a hyphen and shorter than an em dash. It is used to connect two numbers, for example “Circle October 3 (en dash) 5 on your calendar.”

The em dash, the longest of the three characters, is used to indicate a break in the structure of a sentence, for example “We could allow 20 minutes for–oh, let’s not bother with that issue at the meeting.”

The hyphen, which is easily accessed via the keyboard, should not be substituted for the en dash and the em dash.

To find the two longer dashes, open the Insert menu, select Symbol, and locate them on the character map for normal text. Select the desired dash and insert it into
your text. Note the absence of blank spaces before and after these three characters.

Special characters

To shorten the process of adding em dashes and other special characters to your text, learn their ASCII code numbers. To insert a special character into your text, hold down the Alt key and type 0 and its code number on the number pad. When you let go of the Alt key, the special character is inserted in your text at the cursor.

For example, to insert an em dash, hold down Alt and type
0151 on the number pad. Lift your finger from the Alt key and voila!

Paragraphs

Double-spacing between paragraphs often uses too much page space, especially when you are trying to keep your text to a single page. At your direction, the computer will add extra points of space above each paragraph. To set a paragraph style with additional line space above it, as I have done with all the paragraphs in this article, open the Format menu and select Style. In the Style windows, select in order normal style, modify, format, paragraph and type 3 pt in spacing before. Close and apply.

Indents

Punching the tab key to indent the first line of every paragraph by five full spaces was great for typewriters and for lines of text six inches long. In columnar text, the first lines of paragraphs are usually indented by a space the equivalent of an M. To match the paragraph style in this article, use a first-line indent of 0.15 inches.

Make this adjustment in the Format menu. Select Paragraph and set the first-line indent under Special.

Lists may be indented the same amount.

The default indent for bulleted lists in Word is 0.50
inches–too large an indent for columnar text. Set it at 0.15
inches.
To ease the typing of indented lists, create a new paragraph
style. Set the left margin indent about 0.15 inches, and indicate a hanging indent about the same amount. Name the new style bullet.
Word’s default setting for the distance between the
bullet and text is 0.25–again, too large. To reset this distance, search under the Format menu for Bullets and Numbering, select Modify, and set the distance at 0.15 inches.

Titles

The title of this article is centered and set in large, bold-faced type–22-point Arial [Lucida Sans in the online version].
It could be even larger, but I chose to keep the title on a single line. By convention, the whole title or just the important words in the title are capitalized, but this convention is often ignored in favor of the more easily read sentence capitalization style. Research has shown that readers find all caps very difficult to read. Capitalized words have no ups and downs to help the reader discern the differences among the letters.

Subheads

Subheads (headings) are used to indicate the hierarchy of text. Let the style and size of type say “This is a head; pay special attention because it indicates the relative importance of the text that follows.”

Traditionally, headings were capitalized like titles; that is, the initial letter of each word was capitalized, except articles, conjunctions, and prepositions of five or fewer letters. Today’s business writers increasingly choose to use sentence capitalization for headings; that is, they capitalize only the initial word and any proper nouns. Headings may be followed by quotation marks, question marks, and exclamation points, but not by periods, colons, or semi-colons.

The text within the heading and the level of each heading form a well-organized content outline. The writer decides how many levels of headings to use. The savvy reader skims the headings to understand how the text is organized. The highest level in the hierarchy of headings indicates to the reader that a major section will follow. The next lower level indicates subsections.

All headings of the same level are constructed in parallel form. For example, the headings in this article are nouns with a descriptor as needed.

Spaces

Some hard-won typewriting practices are no longer acceptable in today’s computer-formatted text. You may have a well-entrenched habit of adding two spaces between sentences. You may even think your text looks better that way. Not so. Adding the extra spaces makes your reader’s job harder.

You can use the search-and-replace feature in the Edit menu to change all instances of two spaces to one space. Before applying the spellcheck function and printing your work, search for two spaces [ ] and replace with one space [ ]. This search-and-replace step is especially important when using the Times font, which tends to hide extra spaces on the screen but shows them clearly on hard copy.

Smart quotes

If your program’s default preferences setting specifies straight quotation marks, it’s time to change to “smart quotes.” To learn how to make this change, search for smart quotes in the Help menu.

Don’t use smart (curly) quotes when you need straight quotation marks, as in foot (‘) and inch (“) marks. To add these straight marks, go to the Insert menu and select Symbol. Find the desired marks on the character map and insert them in your text.

Fractions

Commonly used fractions, in which the numerator and denominator are smaller than the normal text, can be found in the Insert menu under Symbol, for example ¾. For hints on using superscripts and subscripts to build unusual fractions, for example 3/35, search the word-processing manual or the help file.

Font style

For highly readable paragraph text, use Times in its 10- to 12-point size, 12-point if your readers wear bifocals or have resisted getting bifocals past the point of needing them. The text of this article is 10-point Times. [Lucida Fax “small” in online version]

For highly visible headings, use Arial in its 14- to 16-point
size and boldface the text. See the default settings for heading styles in Word.

Fancy type

Resist using a variety of fancy fonts. Blocks of text in Algerian, Braggadocio, or other fancy fonts may be nearly unreadable. But blocks of text in Times will
not tire your reader. Make your words exciting and meaningful through skillful writing, not by using tricks and gimmicks. Grayed boxes and outlined or shadowed type, when used indiscriminately, shout Amateur! or UNPROFESSIONAL!

In summary, with these word-processing strategies you will enhance the presentation of your ideas and ease your writing chores. Explorations into the word-processing manual or help file will yield other useful techniques.

Learn More in the Library’s Blog Related to This Topic

For the Category of Communications (Business Writing):

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Recommended Headings for Business Reports and What Report Readers Want to Know

Someone typing a business report with a laptop

Recommended Headings for Business Reports and What Report Readers Want to Know

Contributed by Deane Gradous, Twin Cities consultant

Recommended Headings for Business Reports

Meeting reports

Group/date/place
Chart of follow-up actions and persons responsible by
date
Those present (those absent*)
Agenda items
Discussion of each agenda item
· Background
· Discussion
· Action plan
Next meeting and proposed agenda

What is the meta-message? “We make well-considered and important decisions.” “This group accomplishes a lot.”

Progress reports

Projects completed
· Final against plan (data)
· Learning to be shared
Projects in process
· Status against plan (data)
· Issues/concerns
Recommendations/implications

What is the meta-message? “I add value to the organization and am a learner/achiever.”

Research reports

Executive summary
Purpose/problem
Background
Research methods: design/activities/ costs, etc.
Research findings/results
Implications of these results
Conclusions/recommendations
Appendices (data, graphs, tables, charts, etc.)

What is the meta-message? “I follow good scientific methods.
You can trust my work, which is reliable and valid and the foundation for sound decisions.”

Trip reports

Date of trip/destination
Purpose of the trip
Background
Details
· Who
· What
· Findings/results
· Implications
Conclusions/recommendations
Follow up
Attachments

What is the meta-message? “I am a good investigator/ambassador.”

What Report Readers Want to Know From Research/Activity Reports

Do I need to read your report? Does the title indicate a subject that is relevant to my responsibilities? Is the title
accurate and descriptive? Does your report look interesting and readable?
Give me a quick overview? Does your report have an executive summary so I can decide whether or not I need to read the whole thing?
Why did you undertake this research/activity? Fill me in on the context and the background. Explain the relevance of your research/activity to our larger organizational goals.
What purposes or accomplishments did you aim for? What were the major objectives and sub-objectives of your research/activity? What questions did you ask?
What methods, processes, and procedures did you use? Because I and other may need to make decisions on the basis of information in your report, I expect to see a detailed description of what you did to obtain your results/findings. What obstacles and surprises did you encounter in the process?
What are your results/findings? I don’t want to know everything you know about your research/activity. I do want to know what you discovered/accomplished. I hope you have included negative as well as positive results, so I and many others can learn from your research/activity.
How do you interpret your results/findings? Your facts are interesting and important, but they also require some heavy thinking to interpret. Don’t leave all of the difficult, interpretive work to me. Give me tables, lists, charts, and/or graphs and point out the patterns in the data. Turn the data info information.
What are the implications of your results/findings? What do your results/findings mean in terms of others’ activities? Turn your information into knowledge. Go beyond your interpretation to explain the significance of these results/findings. Do also express the limitations of these results/findings.
What follow-up research/activities do you recommend? Because you have studied and explored the context, the background, and the results/findings in some detail, I look to you to offer recommendations on related decisions and future research/activities.

In short,

What are the facts?
What do they mean?
What do we do now?

Learn More in the Library’s Blog Related to This Topic

For the Category of Communications (Business Writing):

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Cues and Transitions for the Reader (of Your Correspondence)

A business correspondence on a work desk

Cues and Transitions for the Reader

Contributed by Deane Gradous, Twin Cities consultant

To show addition
· and
· in addition
· besides
· furthermore
· moreover
· what’s more
· too
· not only … but also
· both … and
· not so obvious
· as well as
· another

To show time
· now
· since
· after this
· at length
· thereafter
· already
· at length
· after a few hours
· in the end
· afterwards
· then
· later
· previously
· formerly
· at an earlier time
· at the same time
· simultaneously
· meanwhile
· in the meantime
· and then

To show sequence
· first, second, etc.
· next
· former
· latter
· final
· last

To emphasize
· obviously
· in fact
· as a matter of fact
· indeed
· what’s more
· even without this
· especially
· truly
· really
· certainly
· moreover
· in truth
· above all

To compare
· similarly
· likewise
· in like manner
· parallel with
· in the same category
· comparable to
· equally important

To contrast
· on the other hand
· on the contrary
· conversely
· by contrast
· from another point of view
· more important
· but
· yet
· and yet
· however
· still
· after all
· for all that
· although this is true
· while this is true
· in spite of
· though
· even though
· nonetheless
· nevertheless
· notwithstanding
· in spite of this

To include
· namely
· especially
· specifically
· in detail
· including
· in particular
· to list
· to enumerate

More on next page

To repeat
· to repeat
· in brief
· in short
· as I have said
· as I have noted
· in other words
· once more
· again
· yet again
· that is

To give examples
· for instance
· for example
· to demonstrate
· to illustrate
· as an illustration
· a case in point
· another case

To show purpose
· to
· in order to
· so that
· for the purpose of
· with this in mind
· with this in view

To conclude
· to conclude
· in conclusion
· thus
· finally
· last
· to end

To infer
· hence
· so
· therefore
· consequently
· as a result
· for this reason
· this being the case
· it follows that …

To summarize
· in brief
· in summary
· on the whole
· to sum up
· in other words
· briefly
· in short
· in conclusion

To exclude
· with this exception
· all except
· all but
· except for this
· not that
· but not
· neither … nor

To show condition
· if
· whether

To show alternatives
· or
· either … or
· whether …or not

To concede
· no doubt
· admitting
· to be sure
· certainly
· indeed
· granted
· true
· in any case
· in any event

To refute
· no
· hardly
· on the contrary
· never

To mark
· with respect to
· as for …
· concerning
· in point of reference

To link
· in general
· to resume
· in particular
· to continue
· to return
· along with

To paint a picture
· imagine this scene
· to illustrate my point
· let’s examine this idea closely

Learn More in the Library’s Blog Related to This Topic

For the Category of Communications (Business Writing):

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Two Formats for Sharing “Bad News” Correspondence

Businessman lost in thoughts after reading a bad news correspondence

Formats for “Bad News” Correspondence

Contributed by Deane Gradous, Twin Cities consultant

Two Formats, Two Results

“Bad news” memos and letters are easier to write when you remember the two formulas for organizing the content of such correspondence. Although the formulas appear to be only slightly different, the reader is likely to respond to each format in a different way.

Indirect format, or “You are a valued person.”

1. Thanks …
2. Because …
3. Sorry …
4. Thanks …

By using the indirect formula you prepare the reader for the bad news while you develop in his or her mind the rationale for your “no” decision. The indirect format is designed to preserve relationships under difficult circumstances for both writer and reader. It is gracious and definite and can be empathetic.

Direct format, or “Go away and don’t bother us again.”

1. Thanks …
2. Because …
3. Sorry …
4. Thanks …

By using the direct formula you quickly inform the reader of your decision. If you choose to add a reason for your decision, keep it simple. The direct format is not designed to preserve the relationship between writer and reader. Nevertheless, it is courteous and definite.

Choose the bad news format that fits your purpose.

Additional Resources

Also consider
– Asserting Yourself
– Conflict Management
– Emotional Intelligence
– Empathy
– Writing Skills

Learn More in the Library’s Blog Related to This Topic

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Using a Variety of Appeals to Sell Your Idea, Service, or Product

Using a Variety of Appeals to Sell Your Idea, Service, or Product

Contributed by Deane Gradous, Twin Cities consultant

Readers are rational, emotional, and spiritual beings. If you write to change readers’ opinions or to get them to accept your point of view, you could decide to appeal to their minds, their hearts, and their souls:

· Minds through reason (logos)
· Hearts through emotion (pathos)
· Souls through ethics (ethos)

Logos.
Logical appeals rely on evidence, such as research data or examples. Use reason to convince a skeptical reader of the truth or validity of your argument. Use reason to ask someone to take a new view of a situation.

Pathos. Emotional appeals attempt to arouse the feelings of the reader. Daniel Goleman, Author of Emotional Intelligence, says that such appeals rely on tapping the energy associated with basic feelings of fear, enjoyment, anger, surprise, or disgust. Two other basic feelings seem generally less applicable in writing to persuade in a business setting: sadness and shame. Emotional appeals are most effective when the reader can be expected to agree with your argument and you want the reader to act.

Ethos. Ethical appeals rely on the reader’s sense of right and wrong. Such appeals depend on the writer’s credibility as
a respected expert, reliable contributor, or well-informed observer whose opinions are believable because they are ethically sound. Ethical appeals are most effective when the reader can be moved by what is said and by who is saying it.

Examples:

A writer seeks to increase the budget for new computers in her department. She could use:

Logic–“A new computer would increase our productivity by 5 percent. Since our combined salaries are $300,000, that’s a productivity increase worth $15,000. Subtract the cost of $7500 for the computers, and you have a net gain of
$7500.”

Pathos–“Our old computers are so inadequate that we are feeling super cautious (fear) about tackling the biggest barcoding job.”

Ethos–“It’s only fair that our department gets new computers at this time. Our present computers are five years old. The neighboring department got new computers two years ago.”

Know your reader and choose logic, pathos, ethos, or all three–whatever works.

Learn More in the Library’s Blog Related to This Topic

For the Category of Communications (Business Writing):

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.