Good-news letters are meant to deliver a positive message to a targeted individual to gain something in return. They usually have a single recipient and are sent via paper or email. The good news should be announced in the first paragraph to grab the recipient's attention. Good-news letters are typically one page, single-spaced, and include the organization's letterhead, date, recipient's contact information, four paragraphs of content organized to provide details on the good news, and a signature. Proper formatting and focusing on the recipient are important.

1. Good-news letters
„ Purpose
ƒ To deliver a strategic message that will
please the targeted individual
„ Audience
ƒ Usually just one person — and, often, you
want something from him or her
„ Media
ƒ Paper (sometimes e-mail)
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2. Good-news letters
„ Key to success
ƒ Announcement of the good news in the first
paragraph
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3. Good-news letters
„ Format
ƒ With rare exceptions, one page
ƒ On organization’s stationery
ƒ Single-spaced
‚ Extra space between paragraphs and elements
of the heading
ƒ At bottom
‚ cc:
‚ P.S.:
‚ encl.
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4. Good-news letter format:
HEADER
Organization Letterhead
123 Front Street
Miami, Florida 49876
555-111-2346
Date
Mr./Ms. First and Last Name
Person’s Business Title
Name of Person’s Organization
Organization’s Street Address
City, State (no comma) ZIP
Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name:
Text of letter starts here. Flush left, no indent. Single-spaced.
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5. Four-part good-news letter
„ Content and organization: four parts
ƒ Part I (one paragraph)
‚ Deliver the good news.
– Try to close the first paragraph with the
announcement.
ƒ Part II (one or two paragraphs)
‚ Explain the details of the good news.
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6. Four-part good-news letter
ƒ Part III — optional (one paragraph)
‚ Say what this means to you.
ƒ Part IV (one paragraph)
‚ Deliver a call for action.
‚ Close with a reassertion of congratulations.
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7. Good-news letter format:
CLOSING
Again, thank you very much for your consideration of etc.
Sincerely,
Your Legible Signature
Your name
Your title
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8. Good-news letters
„ Content and organization
ƒ Avoid an unintentionally sexist greeting.
‚ Is Lynn Jones male or female?
ƒ Use Ms. rather than Miss or Mrs. as a
courtesy title.
‚ Unless you know that the recipient prefers one
of the other titles
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9. Good-news letters
„ Content and organization
ƒ When you address recipient as “Dear Ms. Jones”
‚ Place a colon after “Jones.”
‚ Sign your first and last name at the bottom.
ƒ When you address recipient as “Dear Lynn”
‚ Place a comma after “Lynn.”
‚ Sign only your first name at the bottom.
‚ Still type your first and last name (and title) under
your signature.Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2012

10. Tips
„ Keep the focus on the recipient.
„ When responding to a complaint…
ƒ Empathize.
ƒ Don’t blame your organization.
ƒ Know what you can — and can’t — offer.
„ Always be courteous.
„ Make no commitment that your organization
can’t keep.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved.