The chief point is to avoid the regular hackneyed sentence, beginning, " We beg to submit for your kind consideration," etc., etc. ; one should strive to be a little bit different, and get down to business at once. This can often be managed by commencing the letter with a question, as this is a particularly successful method of securing attention at once. At the same time, in the effOrt to employ a striking opening, any suggestion of abruptness or curtness must be avoided. Many letters fail, not because their opening is not striking, but because it is so striking as to be abrupt and almost rude.
Nor should a letter be in any way freakish. Originality rightly directed is very valuable, but the freakish employment of' what are termed by Americans " stunts," is a very different matter. It is necessary to use the happy mean, and to be neither too strenuous nor yet too genteel. Here again it must not be forgotten that we are in England and appealing to English -2eople, who sometimes attach a quite tangible value to the traditional forms employed in ordinary correspondence.
As an example of this it is worth mentioning tho.t a certain English firm which is one of' the most successful mail-order advertisers in the world, selling goods principally to the average member of the middle class employs three letters, for which it is often blamed by the Atnerican schoo'l of mail-order correspondents. The first begins : "In reply to your. kind inquiry we send you herewith particulars of . . ." ; the second begins : " A few days ago you were kind enough to inquire for particulars of . . ." ; and the.third begins : " As we have not received your order for the . . . it occurs to us that you might . . ." None of these openings is very striking or particularly original, but the results have always proved satisfactory, and more profitable than from other very much more striking openings that have been used as experiments. The most important point seems to be to get down to business at once with the least possible delay.
The following actual openings, for instance, use needless and almost mean ingless words ; " Your esteemed inquiry to hand this morning, for whieh we thank you, and accordingly have pleasur4' in sending you hereveith an illustratei booldeetogether withiparticulars of nut "We beg to acknowledge receipt of your favour of yesterday, and in reply take pleasure in enclosing herewith one of our booklets . ." " In reply to your enquiry of yesterday's date, we beg to send you herewith a sample of our . . ." Such openings are bad, because they use language that no one would ever think of using in a personal conversation.
A good opening is even more important to a follow-up letter than it is to the first communication, as there is a certain freshness and a special interest about the first letter from a firm, which will often ensure its being read however dull the opening may be. A follow-up letter lacks this freshness and runs the risk of being disraissed as " just another letter " about a, matter which has already been decided in the negative. All the more important is it, therefore, that a hackneyed introduction should be avoided.
The following are examples of somewhat differently worded openings: "Read in the enclosed copy of ' Better Paying Occupations,' how men like yourself have got on by training." " You have not accepted the special offer we made you a week ago. We are wondering why it is." " Some days ago we posted you our booklet Cure yourself by Electricity.' We hope you received it. If not, or if you have mislaid it, we will at once send you another." " Pressure of personal matters has probably prevented your replying to the letter we recently had the pleasure of sending you." "I have been waiting for three weeks, looking each day for a reply to my last letter to you. None has come. I p.m well convinced that you are in need of my treatment, and I am satisfied that you wrote me because you were not in perfect health, and wanted my aid. Because I believe this, and because I know I can help you, I ani going co make a 'special offer." This last opening is perhaps a little bit strong, and such an opening should not be used early in a follow-up series. There is always the possibility that the sending out of a number of letters may end in giving ofFence, and as this is very undesirable the greatest care must be taken to avoid it, and that care must never be relaxed until the last letter of the series. Then it is sometimes desirable to send a letter that will almost irritate the person into giving an answer one way or the other. This, of course, applies only to busi nesses conducted on mail-order lines. The following is an example of such an opening: "I really cannot understand why I have not received a reply to the letter I wrote you some time afro. I consulted my manageress, Miss James, and she informs me that she had written to you, but had received no answer. As these letters have not been returned by the Post Office, I conclude that they must have reafhed their destination." A letter as strong as thi,s should only be senteas a final resource.