Characteristics of Good Business Writing

For most of the thousands of Content Producers on Associated Content, writing for the website does not represent their primary source of income. Many are professionals, working outside the home or conducting a home-based freelance writing business. But one thing they all have in common is that they all need to conduct some kind of business writing, whether it's a query letter looking for work, a memo to clients and/or colleagues, or financial reports about their yearly income. In addition, there are certain characteristics that all of these types of business writing must have in common. The following tips will help your business writing look more polished and professional, increasing your own credibility as well as that of your business.

Good Business Writing Tip #1: Be as brief and concise as possible. All good business writing should be brief, but also contain all relevant information in a way that is easily understood by the audience. Resist the urge to impress your readers by using jargon or "big" words-this will all be lost in the decoding of the message you are trying to send. Use plain English and avoid slang and abbreviations. Always keep your audience in mind. Will they be able to understand this? You should aim for your writing to be easily understood by someone with an eighth or ninth grade reading level. Yes, you can still be professional without flaunting all the four-syllable words you learned in college. The trick to good, brief business writing is to avoid long sentences. This will also make it easier for your audience to pay attention and correctly interpret your message.