The Writing Coach Blog

For Freelance Writers, Client Correspondence Means Business

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by Maya Payne Smart

I recently attended a daylong course on effective business writing for salespeople, ostensibly to give its teacher, Mary Ruth Burton, an outsider's perspective on its content and delivery. As it turns out, I got more out of the seminar than I gave back. The goal of the course was to teach two-dozen professionals how to write easily, accurately and responsibly. As a seasoned freelance writer, my takeaway was a deeper understanding of how important it is to craft routine business correspondence with care, because communiqués as simple as follow-up e-mails have the power to strengthen — or hamper — relationships.

What's more, communicating effectively saves time and money by preventing a string of subsequent queries (and, heaven forbid, in-box clogging "reply alls") to clarify matters. It also bolsters your credibility: A flawless portfolio can be marred by a flip e-mail or flighty status report. To steer clear of pitfalls, here are some guiding principles for corresponding with clients and colleagues.

Form should follow function.

People like us who work with words tend to think that we have it all figured out when it comes to written communication.  But the truth is: Communication conventions that work in one setting may be ill suited to another. Don't approach your client correspondence (or other business documents) as if you're writing a news or feature story. Instead, structure your writing so that it's courteous, concise, and easily digestible for busy people who are already inundated with information.

For example, as part of my role in a professional organization, I recently received a bunch of committee reports from fellow journalists. Many of these reports were written as narratives: The authors talked about their committee work as if they were filing news dispatches from the field, complete with colorful anecdotes and telling details. Although they were enjoyable reads, many didn't clearly convey what progress had been made toward specific milestones — or why the work was initiated in the first place. Using bullet points, headings and other formatting tools to highlight key topics, to provide context and to emphasize any further actions required would have been more effective than storytelling.

Don't bury the lead.

Burton's business-writing course offered a four-tiered structure for workplace correspondence, ranging from e-mails and memos to PowerPoint presentations and spreadsheets. She advocated leading with a statement of the document's purpose, then providing background information, listing recommendations or benefits, and summarizing conclusions and next steps. Although the specifics of how to communicate this information will vary by document type, the order will not. (For example, a spreadsheet encapsulates its purpose in the title while a memo details the same in the first paragraph.)

Each of the four components is important, but the purpose is indispensable. When you bury the lead — a request, a suggestion, a directive — you reduce the odds of getting what you need. Yet think of how often writers do just that, hiding appeals and other calls to action beneath a sea of pleasantries, details and other distractions. People are busy. They may not grasp the relevance or urgency of your request unless you cut to the chase. They may not even recognize it as a request if they have to scroll five paragraphs deep on a smart phone while stopped at a red light between meetings to find it. Get my drift?

Along similar lines, declare your intent with a specific e-mail subject line. I do a decent job of this, but a quick scan of my Sent Mail folder reveals several messages with vague headlines, such as "Quick question," or replies in which I haven't tweaked the subject line to reflect the thread's current focus. Putting the reader first would lead to a more descriptive subject, like "Quick question re: April editing course." Detail helps recipients prioritize, boosts the likelihood of a reply and makes it easier to find the message later, as needed. 

Imagine what a difference it would make in your day if every e-mail you received clearly outlined its point in the first paragraph. Extend that courtesy to your clients and colleagues. Hopefully, what goes around comes around!

Avoid the funny stuff.

Burton's course also reminded me that humor rarely translates well in written business documents. When communicating face-to-face, your tone and body language helps colleagues make sense of what you're saying. But when text alone has to do the heavy lifting, misunderstandings are bound to happen — and it's best to set jokes aside. 

The warning about humor, sarcasm and opinion and other ambiguous communication in this particular course was prompted by the company's work in a particularly litigious sector. But even as freelance writers (who are less likely to be prosecuted for inappropriate notes), it's important to resist the urge to joke with clients or collaborators via e-mail. Ask yourself: Is it worth the risk of confusion? Does it cross the line between collegial and familiar? Generally, it's best to keep your written conversations entirely professional.