Applied Business Correspondence

by Herbert Watson

This book was recommended by Robert Collier in The Robert Collier Letter Book. There are two closely associated book sets, Applied Business Correspondence and the Business Correspondence Library (sometimes referred to as the Course in Business Correspondence). In the Letter Book, Robert Collier wrote:

“I learned most of the rules of letter writing from Herbert Watson’s Business Correspondence Library.”

And then later:

“In line with our idea of making every possible improvement in our product, we got a few books on letter writing and applied the principles outlined in them to our letters. I remember the first set of books we got. It was Herbert Watson’s Business Correspondence Library, and it become our Bible for direct-mail work. Looking back on it now, I do not believer we could have found a better groundwork for our studies. Certain it is that it helped us to sell many thousands…without it we might have lost the sales. Next to Watson’s Applied Business Correspondence, I believe it has helped more men to a knowledge of how to use letters for profit than any set of books ever written.”

Here is just some of what you’ll learn in this valuable 609-page book:

• The Four Principles Of Getting Attention.
• How To Turn Ideas Into Words.
• Expressing Feeling Or Ideas In Words
• The Specific Ways In Which You Can Express An Idea So It Conveys A Feeling That It Wraps Itself, Right Around The Reader’s Heart
• How To Get Your Letter Read, Understood, Believed, Agreed With And Acted Upon
• The Underlying Principle Of Good Letters.
• How To Establish The “Big Idea” Of Your Letter.
• How To Build Up A Feeling Of Satisfaction.
• Overcoming Indifference Or Opposition
• Two Letters Which Failed, And Why.
• The “Big Idea” And “Features” In A Visionary Appeal.
• How To Win Over An Indifferent Reader.
• How To Make Your Meaning Clear
• How To Express The Idea So That It Will Live In The Reader’s Mind.
• Working Your Prospect Up To An Appreciation Of Your Proposition.
• An Example Where Wide Gaps Between The “Features” Ruined The Letter.
• Choosing The Right Words.
• Why Readers Often Fail To Believe The Truth When It Is Written.
• What The Letter Writer Can Learn From The Salesman.
• How Successful Letter Writers Make Their Personality Felt.
• How Dividing The Big Idea Into “Features” Makes Interests Mutual.
• A Letter That Won A Good Job In Spite Of Strong Competition.
• How To Make Your Letter Persuasive 291
• Using Persuasion To Arouse A Motive For Action.
• The Six Motives From Which All Human Action Springs
• How To Find “Fuel” Which Will Arouse A Motive For Acting.
• How To Attract And Hold The Reader’s Attention In Your Sales Letters.
• The Value Of Putting The Big Idea Squarely Up To Your Reader.
• How To Find The Reader’s Mental Attitude And The Approach To It.
• The First Step To Take In Testing A Letter For Pulling Power.
• The Real Reason Why Some Copy Fails To Get Results.
• Where To Get Ideas For The Letter You Have To Write.
• Sizing Up The Work Your Letter Must Do
• The First Thing To Do In Writing Any Business Letter
• The Primary Elements Of Every Sales Letter
• What Makes Some Letters Have Life And Warmth And Others Sound Cold And Uninviting.
• Learn The Principle Of Exercising Persuasion
• Getting The Right Start
• The Importance Of Mastering Each Point As It Comes Up.
• Knowing Before You Start What Purpose You Want To Accomplish.
• How To Size Up The Complete “Load” Which Your Letter Must Carry.
• Gaging The “Self-Interest” Of The Person You Are Writing To.
• How To Overcome The Indifference Or Opposition Of The Reader To Your Idea.
• What To Avoid Using In Your Letter.
• Determining Your Prospect’s Attitude To Your Proposition.
• How To Know When It Is Necessary To Inspire Enthusiasm And How To Do It
• The Creation Of Self-Interest.
• Why A Successful Letter Writer Must Carefully Analyze And Lay Out The Problem Before Starting.
• Combining The Theory And Practise Of Letter Writing.
• The Fundamentals Of The Art Of Good Letter Writing.
• Making Your Prospect Visualize Your Product.
• The Negative Effect Of Unsupported Statements.
• Picking The “Features” Of Your Letter.
• Connecting The “Features” With The “Big Idea.”
• Why Some Letters Grasp Your Attention And Other Do Not.
• The Reason One Letter Failed And What To Do About It.
• Changing A Poor Letter Into A Good One.
• An Example In Picking “Features.”
• “Simple” Language As A Strong Point In Letter Writing.
• How To Avoid Jarring The Thought Of Your Letter Out Of The Reader’s Mind
• A Plan For Overcoming Indifference.
• -The Indirect Approach And How To Build It Up.
• How To Overcome The Weakness Of The Buyer.
• Two Great Orations, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address And Ingersoll’s Nominating Speech For Blaine: How They Help The Letter Writer.
• The Consideration Given To The Attitude Of The Audience.
• A Comparison Of The Orations With Two Successful Business Letters.
• The Negative Argument In Letter Writing.
• A Practical Test Of A Negative Argument.
• Examples Which Show How To Meet The Reader’s Attitude.
• Consideration Of The “Willing” And “Unwilling” Types Of Reader.
• Analyzing The Construction Of The Negative Idea.
• Underlying Methods Of A Dealer’s Successful Letter.
• Breaking Down Dealers’ Indifference.
• Using The Visionary Idea In A Successful Result-Pulling Sales Letter.
• A Sales Series, And How It Can Best Be Handled.
• Why The Reader Will Not Translate A Jumble Of Words Into Ideas.
• How To Avoid “Waste-Basket Editions” In Letter Writing.
• The Importance Of Using The Right Word.
• Arranging And Stacking Your Ideas Logically.
• Herbert Spencer On “The Philosophy Of Style.”
• An Analysis Of Victor Hugo’s Greatest Description.
• Utilizing Hugo’s “Arrangement Of Features ” In A Successful Sales Letter.
• The Principle Of Piling Small Ideas On Big Ones In Letter Writing.
• Victor Hugo’s Idea Applied To A Matter-Of-Fact Letter.
• How To Group Ideas For Easy Reading.
• Holding The Reader’s Attention By Saving His Mental Energy.
• Avoiding Short Letters Which Leave Too Much Mental Work For The Reader.
• Lincoln’s Statement That A Man’s Legs Should Be “Long Enough To Reach The Ground ” Applied To Letter Writing.
• Being Sure That The Letter Actually Carries The Complete “Load,” As A Principle For Determining Length.
• Why The Language Of A Letter Should Be Determined By What You Are Writing About And To Whom You Are Writing.
• What Spencer Has To Say Regarding The Choice Of Words.
• Learning From Edgar Allan Poe How To Select Words.
• Acquiring Style Through A Self-Compiled Dictionary Of Your Business Trade Terms And How To Build Such A Word File.
• Where To Find The Words.
• An Easy Method For Sorting Your Ideas.
• How To Use The Word File With The Least Effort.
• How To Make Your Letter Sincere
• Reasons Why Some People Find It Easy To Win The Confidence Of Others.
• Creating Friendliness In A Letter.
• How The Point Of Contact Helps Letter Writers.
• Bookish Theory Boiled Down To Practical Business Principles.
• How To Put Over The Impression Of A Strong, Sincere, Winning Personality.
• A Successful Answer To This Letter.
• How To Arrive At A Basis Of Mutual Understanding.
• A Sales Letter Which Attracts Attention In The First Paragraph.
• An Example Of A Letter Which Beams With Frankness And Sincerity.
• Personality As A Personal Quahty, How To Develop And Use It In Your Letters.
• Why The “You” In Letters Sometimes Is A Mixed Blessing.
• The Fault With “You” In Many Letters.
• Turning The “You” In A Letter To Your Own Use.
• Sizing Up The “Load” Of The Typical “You” Letter Problem.
• Making “Your Interest And Mine” The Connecting Link.
• A Successful Appeal To Human Nature.
• Why Sizing Up The “Load” Is Helpful.
• Why A Human Appeal Gets Results.
• The Importance Of Understanding The Prospect’s Doubts.
• Copy Which Pulled 36% Returns, And The Reason Behind It.
• The Thought Behind It.
• The Thought Behind Mr. Eoot’s Appeal To The Russian People.
• The Same Thought Applied To A Simple Business Letter.
• Applying This Principle In The Letter To “Smith”
• Putting Mutual Understanding And Sympathy In The Very First Line.
• Getting “Smith” In A Receptive Mood For Your Thought.
• Clinching The Thought Of Your Sincerity In “Smith’s” Mind.
• A Letter Which Reflects A Keen Personality.
• Putting Both Dignity And Good Fellowship In Letters.
• The Knack Of Sincerity, And How Anyone Can Cultivate It.
• How To Start The Motive Power Which Makes A Prospect Act.
• Human Actions And The Influences Which Prompt Them.
• The Difference Between Motives And Ideas.
• A Sales Letter, And Why It Failed.
• Turning The Love Motive To Business Uses.
• Determining Whether A Letter Carries Persuasion Or Not.
• Using Curiosity As A Motive.
• Billy Sunday’s Use Of The Six Prime Motives.
• Sunday’s Methods Applied To An Everyday Business Problem.
• The Effect Of Mixing “Fuel” With The “Features.”
• Mystery, And How It May Be Worked Up To Get Results.
• How The Self-Indulgence Motive Can Be Used.
• Why A Classification Of Motives Helps To Write A Letter.
• A System Built Upon The Same Principle.
• Determining The Quantity Of Motive “Fuel” A Persuasive Letter Requires.
• A Successful Sales Letter And Why Only A Little “Fuel” Was Used.
• Applying The “Motive” Principle To A Sales Letter Series.
• How To Select The Best Motive For A Letter.
• Why The Self-Preservation Motive Is The Most Difficult To Arouse.
• Distinguishing Between The Idea That The Reader Is To Be Sold On, And The’ Motive That Persuades Him To Sign The Order.
• How To Make Your Letter Get Action
• Impulse And The Part It Plays In Making People Act.
• How Salesmen Make Use Of The Old Circus Idea For Securing Action.
• How To Determine Whether Or Not The Close Of A Letter Is Effective.
• How Suggestion Generated Action In One Sales Letter.
• Why One Letter Pulled In The Money.
• An Unsuccessful Close Which Made It Possible For The Reader To Side-Step The Issue.
• Why A “Let-Down” At The Close Spoils A Letter.
• How A Purchasing Letter Put Its Idea Across.
• Making It Hard For A Reader To Decline The Action Desired.
• Closing A Sales Letter.
• How The Reader Was Made To Act.
• A Slight Change In A Letter Which Increased Results By 80%.
• A Letter Which Won A Good Job For An Advertising Man.
• Building Up A Close For A Successful Sales Letter.
• How The Reader’s Fear Of Losing A Good Opportunity Was Aroused.
• How To Analyze Your Proposition.
• The Final Action Desired, The Motive, The Preliminary Job, The Easy Connecting Path.
• How To Use This Analysis In Everyday Work.
• A Letter Worked Out On This Principle That Secured Women Sales Agents By The Score.
• Using The Idea To Secure Dealer Cooperation.
• How To Insure That Your Reply Blanks Come Back To You.
• Why The Enclosure Should Be Given As Careful Consideration As The Letter.
• A Good Plan To Follow When Specifications Are Part Of The Order.
• How To Make Legal Requirements Simple
• Other Ways Of Putting A Punch At The Close Of Your Letter.
• How To Make Your Letter Grip Attention
• The Importance Of The Beginning Of A Business Letter.
• A Follow-Up Letter Which Gripped The Attention Of Its Reader.
• Ensuring That The Busy Man Reads Your Letters.
• The Two Elements To Be Considered When Planning Attention-Grippers
• The Idea To Which His Attention Must Be Led.
• How The Busy Reader May Be Led To Pick Out Your Letter.
• Gaging The Attention-Rays, Of Your Reader.
• The Second Step In Building Up Grippers: Selecting The “Feature” Of Your Letter Which Can Most Easily Be Built Up To Constitute A Stopper.
• A Stopper Which Drew The Attention Of Women Readers.
• Two Letters And Two Stoppers Compared: Why One Was A Success And The Other A Failure.
• A Practical Test Of These Principles.
• Linking Up A Stopper To The Big Idea Of A Sales Letter.
• How A Good Opener Overcame A Weak Close.
• How To Choose An Attention-Ray.
• One “Don’t” To Keep In Mind As You Work Up An Opener: Never Attract Attention Merely For The Sake Of Attracting Attention.
• The Idea Behind An Opener That Lined Up Book Lovers.
• Gripping The Attention Before The Prospect Begins To Read.
• Adapting The Idea Of The Stopper To The Envelope.
• Why Unique And Original Schemes Are Not Always Necessary Or Best.
• An Example Of How The “Features” Of A Letter May Be Used As Openers.
• How An Appeal To Women Was Based On A Feature.
• The Importance Of Limiting Your Appeal So As To Attract The Essential Attention-Ray Of Your Letter.
• A Useful Idea On Hunting The Possible Attention-Rays Of Readers.
• How “Fuel” For The Motive May Also Be Used.
• Bringing Your Appeal Into Prominence At The Very Start Of Your Letter.
• A Final Suggestion Regarding The Building Of Attention-Stoppers.
• The Mechanics Of The Letter: New Ideas On Enclosures.
• Building Up Or Protecting Reputation.
• Special Letters Which Require An Out-Of-The-Ordinary Make-Up.
• New Ways To Reinforce A Selling Letter.
• Why Many Enclosures Stuffed In Letters Fail To Get Results.
• Booklets Which Will Increase The Returns On A Sales Letter.
• A Chart Which Helps Analyze The Needs Of A Sales Letter.
• Giving The Big Idea First Consideration.
• Selecting “Features” That Will Reinforce The Sales Letter.
• How To Meet The Mental Process Of The Reader.
• Making It Easy For The Reader To Get The Idea Of Your Copy.
• How To Route The Attention Of The Indifferent Prospect.
• Prices And Other Ways Of Reinforcing The Text.
• Meeting The Natural Question Of The Prospect.
• How To Get An Artistic Balance.
• When It Will Pay To Disregard The Rules Of The Artist.
• What The Designer Can Learn From His Salesman.
• Contrast, And How It Should Be Used To Get The Best Effect.
• The Use Of Colors From A Business Point Of View.
• The First Principles Of Producing A Letter
• Using With Greater Effectiveness The Letters You Write.
• The First Steps In Organizing The Letters Used In A Business.
• Increasing Your Letter-Writing Facilities As The Business Grows And Develops.
• A One-Man-Business Organization Chart For Handling Letters.
• How A Form Paragraph System Is Gradually Developed.
• Organizing The Routine For Easy Handhng Of Letters To Carry The Same “Features.”
• Putting A Word File To Use.
• A Simple Index Which Lightens The Work Of The Writer.
• The Simplest Method Of Using A System Of Form Paragraphs.
• Some Plans Of Indexing To Be Avoided.
• An Outline Of A Thoroughly Successful Indexing Scheme.
• Where And How To Begin Organizing A Form-Paragraph System.
• Why A Study Of Old Letters Will Suggest Big Ideas On Which To Build.
• Your Next Step: Picking “Features” And Visualizing Them.
• Getting The Right “Openers” For Your Letters.
• Fundamental Types And Why It Pays To Hunt For Them.
• How To Work Over And Standardize Paragraphs For Form Letters.
• When A System Of Paragraphs Will Save Money.
• How To Handle Complaints And Inquiries With Letters.
• Little Errors Which Testing Will Help To Disclose.
• How The Test Will Increase Profits Or Stop Losses.
• How Practical Ideas Are Brought To Light.
• What A Series Of Tests On A List Of Bankers Disclosed.
• How A Local Selling Campaign Indicates The Trend Of The Market.
• A Way Prices And Policies May Be Tried Out.
• How To Profit By The Facts That A Test Brings To Light.
• Analyzing Results And Checking Up On The Mailing.
• How To Find New Uses For Your Letters.
• A Simple Principle: Why A Letter Which Will Accomplish Some Definite Benefit Greater Than Its Cost Should Be The Controlling Factor In Deciding On A Mailing.
• One Way Of Making Letters To The Trade Bring In Orders.
• An Idea Record, And How It Can Be Used In Any Business.
• How Live Ideas May Be Merchandised Within The Business.
• A Chart Which Shows How Letters Can Help Your Business.
• Seven Generic Types Of Business Letters.
• Analyzing To Find New Uses For Your Copy.
• How The Chart Of Ideas Can Be Put To Permanent, Practical Use.
• How An Idea Record Is Used By An Automobile Distributor.
• Classifying The Field For Advertising Copy.
• How An Idea Record Will Suggest New Plans For Publicity.
• Suggestions For Using Old Ideas In New Ways.
• How An Idea Record Turned Failure Into Success For One Firm.
• Putting The Record To Work: Where The Ideas Come From.
• How The Store Owner May Profit By Using The Chart.
• An Answer To The Question, “What Shall I Write About?”
• A Banker’s Experience In Making Letters Bring In New Depositors.
• A “Scout Letter” Which Helped To Bring In New Ideas.
• How A Laundry Secured New Ideas For Letters.
• How To Build Up And Maintain Representative Mailing Lists.
• The Sources Of Lists For Any Going Business: Directories, Lists Compiled By Houses In Allied But Non-Competing Lines, Lists Sold By Regular List Houses.
• Keeping The Mailing Lists Weeded Out And Up To Date.
• How To Apply The “Clean-Up” Mailing Idea To Your List.