In the era of text messaging, Formal addressing seems outdated. But when it’s all about your business, You have to maintain professionalism. Cause you know the first impressions are important and “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” -said Will Rogers.
At the very beginning, when you are about to write a business letter, your first thought would be how to ADDRESS and what to ADDRESS. In this article, we made these things clear to you by adding more examples of addressing a professional letter.
Let’s have a look!
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How to Address a Business Letter
Starting a formal business letter is confusing, the writer is perplexed about what to write, and what should address recipients. The tone is set based on how the letter is addressed.
Choosing the right word, maintaining professional settings, and showing proper respect to the recipient are the key elements when you address a business letter.
Most copywriters emphasize how to hook the recipient. You should maintain your tone based on the relationship between you and your recipient.
Here are several important elements that you can include in your formal business letter. Have a look!
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I. Write a proper header
To start a business letter, you need to place an appropriate heading which you have to write at the top left side of the page. You have to keep in mind that your letter tone should be professional. You may start your business letter by including:
- Your full name
- Your address
- Your city, state, and zip code
- The best phone number to reach you
- Your email address
- The date the letter is written
- Contact’s full name (if known)
- Contact’s title
- Company name
- Company address
- Company city, state, and zip code
II. Include the right salutation
A salutation means a greeting that is used in a letter, which included the recipient’s name or title. For a business letter, it is more important to follow a proper salutation. Things you need to remember is that your intention is to make a connection with your recipient. In the salutation, you have to include a comma or a colon.
In most of the scenarios, you may find that starting with the word “Dear” is common to all. This word can be used in both formal and Informal business letters. But, when you write a formal business letter, you have to be careful about the perfect salutation.
You can follow the typical greetings which include “Dear” the title of the recipient and the recipient’s last name. Don’t forget to use a colon or comma at the end. For example:
“Dear Mr. Williams:”
“Dear Professor Williams:”
You may start with these all common greetings which are considered professional. Have a look!
“Greetings,”
“Hello,”
“To Whom It May Concern,”
“Ladies and Gentlemen,”
“David,”
Things we are saying are that informal letters, most the people include the recipient’s title and surname. That’s okay.
But, when you do not know the exact gender of your recipient you should avoid addressing that. Suppose as opposed to “Dear Mr. Williams” or “Dear Ms. Williams” you may use these lines:
“Dear Leslie Williams,”
“Dear Professor Williams,”
In case, If you are not sure about the recipient’s marital status of a female correspondent, You can choose “Ms.” or remain the pronoun entirely. For example, “Dear Miss Williams” or Dear Mrs. Williams,” you can choose from any of these:
“Dear Leslie Williams”
“Dear Ms. Williams”
“Dear Professor Williams”
When you have to address two people in a formal scenario, you can place their names in alphabetical order. In the case of any organization, you could consider the entire organization as a whole. For example:
“Dear Mr. Williams and Ms. Jones:”
“Dear [Business Name] Development Team:”
If you are in doubt about the recipient or department, you could place it as a generic, formal phrase. For example:
“Dear Sir or Madam:”
“Dear Hiring Manager:”
“Dear Recruiter:”
Most of the cases, We recommend you collect enough leads about your recipients or research with the best available resource to find out the recipient’s position. That will allow you to get more attention from your receiver. You can email a company to find the proper position name. For example:
“Hello Mr. Williams,”
“Dear Hiring Manager,”
“Dear [Company Name] Team Member,”
“To Whom It May Concern,”
When you need to address a company, consider the entire company as a whole department. In that case, You can use generic greetings. For example:
“Dear [Company Name],”
“Dear [Company Name/Department Name] Department,”
“To Whom It May Concern,”
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Why it’s important to address a business letter appropriately?
Making a proper connection for your business is the main intention of any business letter. First of all, when you start a business letter, you have to properly “ADDRESS,” because that’s a chance to create a great first impression. For your business and further communication, your addressing has a great impact.
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