Need to write a letter to your clients? Make sure you come across the same way you want your company to be seen: professional, yet with a personal touch. Plum has compiled some tips to help you write an impressive letter, without having to consult an expert.
When writing to your clients, do:
Give your letter a personal touch, even if you are sending out 5,000 of them. Make sure you use the first-person (“I” and “you”) rather than speaking more formally, which will create distance between you and the client. Remember that you are writing to a person. Before trying to push your services or sell the reader on why they should choose you, remember that clients respond better to hearing about how your services will better their life. How can you help them?
Get to the point. Large blocks of text and long paragraphs may prompt clients to stop reading. Stay away from flowery language, long words, and trying to sound like you’re smarter than you are. Your message will come across more easily if your client doesn’t have to re-read your message multiple times.
Check your letter again and again. This may seem like it goes without saying, but tiny errors are easy to overlook and are often found in professional letters. Spelling and grammar errors scream unprofessional, and you don’t want to lose a client’s attention over a simple, avoidable mistake. Have a coworker proofread the letter, or try reading it out loud to make sure it gets across exactly what you wanted to say.
Make sure your letter is formatted correctly and uses a legible and professional font such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri. You will want to use a basic block format, detailed on this website.
Use positive language rather than negation. For example, instead of writing “It won’t be difficult,” which encourages your clients to focus on the difficulty, write “It will be easy.” Using this technique in your writing can have a bigger effect than you think. This helps to create a positive association with you and your company, rather than a subconsciously negative one. This site goes more in-depth on how you can turn negative language into positive.
When writing to your clients, don’t:
Use abbreviations or slang. When in doubt of whether to use a word/phrase, lean on the side of professionalism.
Use too much punctuation!!!! One exclamation point is enough! Don’t end multiple sentences with exclamation points, or your client may think you are yelling at them, or that you are way too excited to be writing this letter. Too many punctuation marks can leave a bad taste in the reader’s mouth.
Ramble. Your client will lose interest if your letter continues to go on longer than it needs to. Save them and yourself the trouble, and get to the point.
Use all caps. Clients will be wondering why you’re yelling at them. Use bold or italic for emphasis.
Try to jazz up your mail using colorful fonts or “word art.” These are unprofessional and will most likely leave your clients wondering if they’re working with you or a sixteen-year-old. You are supposed to be the wise and all-knowing financial consultant. Act like it, and ditch the lime green Comic Sans.
We hope these tips can be of use to you when writing letters to clients. We know it can be difficult! Stay within these guidelines, and we promise you will be fine. Another important topic to read up on when you’re interacting with clients is Building Trust and Credibility With Your Clients. We hope now you will write to your clients with a newfound confidence! Please fill out our web form for more information on how to interact with your clients, and to start your next marketing campaign today!
