After stating problem, indicate purpose clearly: Are you announcing a meeting, welcoming a new employee, or asking for input on adopting a new policy about lunch hour length?

Discussion Segment

In discussion segment, give details about problem, Don't ramble on incessantly, but do give enough information for decision makers to resolve problem. Describe task or assignment with details that support your opening paragraph (problem).

Closing Segment After reader has absorbed all of your information, close with a courteous ending that states what action you want your reader to take. Should they hand email their reports rather than hand in hard copies? Attend a meeting? Chip in for someone's birthday cake? A simple statement like, "Thank you for rinsing coffeepot after pouring last cup" is polite and clearly states what action to take.

Traditionally memos aren't signed. However, it is becoming more common for memos to close way letters do, with a typed signature under a handwritten signature. Follow your company's example for this.

Except for memos that are essentially informal reports or instructional documents, make memo no more than one page long. In a memo, less is more.

Summary Segment If your memo is longer than a page, you may want to include a separate summary segment. This part provides a brief statement of recommendations you have reached. These will help your reader understand key points of memo immediately.

To further clarify your meaning, keep these formatting ideas in mind:

Headings help reader skim for sections of document.

Numbered and bulleted lists make information easy to scan. Be careful to make lists parallel in grammatical form.

Font sizes, underlining, bolding, and italicizing make headings and important information stand out.

As in all technical and business communications, long paragraphs of dense text make reading more difficult. Therefore, keep your paragraphs short and to point.

Now that you know how to write a proper memo, you can be sure that your readers will understand your intentions.

Start From The Other End. All advertising must start with a strategy. But, too often, we build our strategies on what. With too little consideration of potential emotional appeals. And too much focus on specific product differences and benefits, no matter how small these differences might be. We get locked into saying something instead of communicating something. It would be better if we spent more time trying to understand how people might use product in their lives. And trying to judge its emotional importance and appeal. Which means that, sometimes, you may want to start at other end. By first coming up with a great attention-getting idea -- that you can then fit into framework of strategy.

Don't Go Too Far. Don't get wrong idea. The rational appeal of your advertising is important, too. Especially when you have something significant to say. But even when you don't. Because rational element is what people use to justify their emotional decisions. Nobody will ever say, "I bought their product because photos in their brochure were beautiful," or "I gave them business because copy on their Web site gave me a chuckle." Even though stuff like this may have affected them, they still need a rational reason. So, you better give them one.

Rely On Your Own Feelings. If you put anything on paper without emotion, it should be because you're in search of it. You have to start with emotion, if you want to end with it. Remember, whole idea here is to share your feelings (and intensity of them) -- about a company and its product or services -- with people on other side of that page or screen. It means forging those feelings into shape of ads, brochures, Web pages, postcards and matchbook covers for all of rest of world to feel. And just think about it! Every time a person will reach for a product, it's because you have reached them inside. And given them a feeling for it. Which makes for a pretty good feeling in itself. ----------------------------------------•-------------------------------------- Walter is a professional advertising copywriter who writes, edits and publishes "Words @ Work", a FREE bimonthly newsletter of advice and information about writing that works. To view his award-winning portfolio and to subscribe visit www.walterburek.com. You may also subscribe to Words@Work via e-mail to: walter@walterburek.com

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Walter Burek is an award-winning copywriter who learned his craft at some of the finest advertising agencies in the world and has been a writer and Creative Director on some of advertising’s most important accounts.

Currently, he offers freelance copywriting services through his company, WalterBurek.com.