Letter Writing
You only get one chance to make a great first impression

Get more ink, get more exposure for your company, products and services with Public Relations writing services by Finkelstein. Successful businesses vying for market share send consistent messages to their clients and prospects. The same should be true with your PR. Gain added credibility by being featured by your targeted media outlets. Supplement your advertising with PR that projects the same message, gets you quoted, and makes you an “expert” source for your field.

Finkelstein: When thinking ink, think Fink!
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What Will My Prospects Read Into My Letter?
More than just the words you write. So, when you send a letter to prospects, consider not only the message you are sending, but the overall presentation; from the address box to your sign-off and PS.

Chances are, if you are sending some sort of solicitation letter, your prospects will give it no more than a glance to digest a little information in order to quickly determine whether the letter warrants further reading. If they are hurried for time, and you should assume they are, that first glance will take in a scan of the address box, the first sentence of the letter, your signature, and the PS. These are your four opportunities to draw them in.

The Address Box
First and foremost, make sure you have spelled your prospect s name correctly and that you are sending your letter to the correct person. You don t want to send a letter to a person who no longer works for the company. Likewise, you don t want to send it to someone in the wrong department. Such mistakes leave a bad impression and will shut the door on your ability to do business with that company.

Also, personalize the address box within reason and in keeping with the type of business you do. At the very least, use your prospect s name in the salutation. Don t write Dear Sir or Dear Madam. And whatever else you may do, do not use, To Whom It May Concern.

The First Sentence
This is really your hook. You want to use this first sentence to grab the attention of your prospects and target audience, as well as reel them into the body of the letter. You can snag them by focusing on their concerns and how your services or products can address them. You can use humor or set up an intrigue or puzzle to draw them in. Whatever you choose, however, make sure it is relevant to your topic.

Your Sign-Off
Here recipients will look to see whether you have signed the letter, stamped it, or left it blank. Hand sign the letter with blue ink. Signing the letter shows your prospects that you are interested in them (even if someone else on staff signed them for you - but you didn t hear that from us). We recommend blue ink because the color leaves no doubt that the letter was, indeed, signed rather than printed along with the letter.

Your recipients will also be looking to see your title. If you have one, use it.

The PS
Your PS should be a restatement of the offer, and an action statement or phone # if you haven t already put that in the body of the letter. Humor works well here. Above all, your PS should be catchy.

That's how to get your audience to keep reading. Now, just a few thoughts on how to write the rest of the letter.

Keep the letter to one page. Your prospects are busy. The purpose of the letter is to get them interested in your products and services, not close a sale. So short and sweet is best. Use bullet points for easy readability. Your prospects are busy. (We just said this, but it was worth repeating.) Make it as easy for them to get the facts as possible.

Don't forget to include your phone number and an action statement. You're statement may say you will be calling them, it may urge them to call by a certain date to receive a discount, etc., but it should provoke some sort of action or expectation.

If you follow these few pointers, you ll compose a letter worth reading...and getting you more business.