Professional Writing

Q: Do you ever send professional association letters, and how do you go about composing them?

Yes, I send professional letters all the time. A good rule of thumb is to always ask yourself: what is the purpose of the correspondence? Is it to invite attendees? Is the purpose to update members (such as the examples from Cindy and I below) on the association's events or work?

You can be personal but not be too personal. For instance, start with a sincere sentence like:

"Hi (your name here),

I hope everyone in your family is well.

Procede to what you really want:

I just wanted to remind you about our Writing Workshop which we will be holding in the Clubhouse of our Complex this coming Saturday.

End with a sincere tagline and sign-out:

If there are any questions or concerns, please call my cell. I know you mentioned a previous engagement, but you are always welcome to join us!

Sincerely (or better yet---) Your Friend,

RR Macon
Atlanta
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Another good tip is to keep it simple. Cindy keeps her letters more compact than me, but I make up for that by including helpful links.

In the example below Cindy and I wanted our Urban Professionals Network to set-aside certain event dates.

However, always trying to go that extra mile with writing---I also used the letter to compliment members who have business tools our entire group could share.

So it accomplishes both goals:

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Hi Urban Professionals (UP)!

I just want to commend David Page on his company's growth to an Internet-Based business. Check out this link to his web site: http://www.page-enterprises.cceasy.com/index.cfm.We have seen David's web site grow from being an info-only page to a business where you can receive your own login and customers discounts. You can shop, and browse hundreds of products. David this must have taken a long time and as one of your fellow UP Members, I compliment you.

In the world of mortgage news---have you ever wanted to "watch" a housing market from as far as two states away? The other day Lonnie Schatz and I compared notes and we both are interested in watching the South Florida real estate market. AHM has a great tool which you can use to watch other real estate markets. Locally I use their Home Buyers Marketplace "Scout" to keep my eye of the 30306 area code. If you know ANY realtors, send them Lonnie's way. Believe me, they need this tool more than ever. (To inquire, send Lonnie an email Lonnie Schatz lonnie.schatz@americanhm.com).

Also congratulations to Leah Henderson's son Adam Arcuragi for getting recognized by ABC News. Adam is a very talented musician.
I play Adam's demo CD all the time and I am happy he is getting the recognition he deserves: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/index?section=entertainment&id=4528277

We hope to everyone at the breakfast on February 7th at Huey's (8-9am). UP Members please feel free to bring a guest.

At UP we celebrate small business and the many steps it takes to be successful. And we can be successful. Keep climbing higher everyone! Cindy Caldwell's Monthly email follows...

Your Friend,

Ray Macon
Persily & Associates
"Now a full service law firm!"
404-352-1100
http://www.persilylaw.com/
http://raisemytownmylove.blogspot.com/

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Hi everyone...

Please save the dates for our February events!

Wed, Feb 7 from 8 - 9am at Huey's on Peachtree in Midtown--invite guests for coffee, beignets & professional networking! We will do one-minutes and set up our speaker schedule for '07. We encourage you to invite guests to speak for future meetings!

Thursday, Feb 22 - margaritas at El Azteca (close to Huey's on Peachtree) from 6 - 8pm -- casual networking!

An email will be coming from Ray shortly that you can use to invite guests to these events.

--Cindy

Cindy D. Caldwell
Creative Consultant/Business Development
Randstad Creative Talent
"Good to Know You"

http://www.us.randstad.com/
http://www.randstadinsight.com/ (National Employment News)