Friday Protip: Rewrite Your Terrible Form Letters

You send out a lot of form letters, to acknowledge new accounts, to reset passwords, to meet customer service needs, and more. These are the only things you will write that will reach every single user you ever have. Make the most of this opportunity.

A good form letter is one that doesn’t sound like a form letter. You don’t want to be too familiar with customers in the form letter, or the reaction is “who do they thing they’re kidding? I know they aren’t talking to me personally.” And you don’t want to be too formal, because people spending their free time with you don’t want to feel the pressure of workday formality.

You definitely want to avoid marketing-speak, or any kind of sales pitch. These letters are to people who have bought the product. Don’t waste their time selling it again. This goes double for form letters going to people who have sought customer service. If they had a problem with what you’re offering, they aren’t in the mood for more of what you’re offering until you fix the first bit.

This is a case where it’s worth sending out different versions of your letters to test audiences and surveying their reactions. As I said – this is the only thing you’ll write that every customer is sure to see. It’s worth the extra trouble to get it right.