Business memos are written to inform or request action and act like business letters written internally. It is less formal than a letter, however, this is not permission or an excuse to make common spelling and punctuation errors or you will lose credibility.
Here's how to structure your memo. Include identifying information at the top such as "To," "From," "Subject," and "Date."
The first paragraph should be a purpose statement that can be as simple as, "The purpose of this memo is to..." Then include a brief summary of the problem or need you are writing about. In the body of the memo expand on these two themes. Close with a list of action items.
For example:
March 15, 2008
To: Eastern Region Directors
From: Manager, Retail Sales
Re: Sales Up 22% This Quarter
The purpose of this memo is to inform you of our recent sales performance. This quarter, sales have increased 22% over the same quarter last year. We saw marked improvement across all product lines and expect this trend to continue.
Markdowns were reduced this quarter by using strong inventory controls. Please continue to focus attention on inventory controls and proper purchasing levels to continue with this strong performance.
We did notice an increase in shrinkage of 8% over the same quarter last year. Please inform your stores to increase security during the brisk summer sales cycle to reduce shrinkage. Please also have all of your employees take the new web based training on shrinkage.
Thanks again for a great quarter - keep up the good work!
cc: R. E.
Steps
Fill out the header information. State clearly who the memo is to, from, the date, and what the memo is regarding.
Begin with why the recipient is receiving the memo. State the purpose of the memo very clearly.
State any actions you need the recipient to perform and when you need them performed by.
Close with any follow up items required from the recipients.
Tips and Tactics
Simplify, simplify simplify. Avoid phrases such as "in order to" when "to" will work.
Make it short, one page if possible. People are very pressed for time and they don't have a lot of time to read what you have written. Short sentences, even bulleted lists of points you want to make, are preferred over long, convoluted sentences that go on and on and on... you get the idea. Try breaking each sentence into about 20 words. If a sentence is too long, rewrite it to break it into two sentences. Keep the paragraphs short, too.
Write naturally. Write the way you would speak. This is not the time to show off a newly acquired vocabulary word and get it wrong.
Write from the reader's perspective.
Be specific. Use statistics and percentages.
If you want the reader to take action based upon your memo, don't use a lot of adjectives. Action verbs and nouns should be used more than adjectives.
Links to Resources
Memo writing: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/590/01/
How to Write a Memorable Memo from CIO magazine
