Public relations

Public relations (PR) is the practice of deliberately managing the release and spread of
information between an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or
a nonprofit organization) and the public in order to affect the public perception. Public relations
(PR) and publicity differ in that PR is controlled internally, whereas publicity is not controlled
and contributed by external parties.[1] Public relations may include an organization or individual
gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not
require direct payment.[2] This differentiates it from advertising as a form of marketing
communications. Public relations aims to create or obtain coverage for clients for free, also
known as 'earned media', rather than paying for marketing or advertising. But in the early 21st
century, advertising is also a part of broader PR activities.[3]

An example of good public relations would be generating an article featuring a client, rather than
paying for the client to be advertised next to the article.[4] The aim of public relations is to inform
the public, prospective customers, investors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders, and
ultimately persuade them to maintain a positive or favorable view about the organization, its
leadership, products, or political decisions. Public relations professionals typically work for PR
and marketing firms, businesses and companies, government, and public officials as public
information officers and nongovernmental organizations, and nonprofit organizations. Jobs
central to public relations include account coordinator, account executive, account supervisor,
and media relations manager.[5]

Public relations specialists establish and maintain relationships with an organization's target
audience, the media, relevant trade media, and other opinion leaders. Common responsibilities
include designing communications campaigns, writing press releases and other content for news,
working with the press, arranging interviews for company spokespeople, writing speeches for
company leaders, acting as an organisation's spokesperson, preparing clients for press
conferences, media interviews and speeches, writing website and social media content, managing
company reputation (crisis management), managing internal communications, and marketing
activities like brand awareness and event management.[6] Success in the field of public relations
requires a deep understanding of the interests and concerns of each of the company's many
stakeholders. The public relations professional must know how to effectively address those
concerns using the most powerful tool of the public relations trade, which is publicity.[7]

Definitions

Ivy Lee, the man who turned around the Rockefeller name and image, and his friend, Edward
Louis Bernays, established the first definition of public relations in the early 20th century as
follows: "a management function, which tabulates public attitudes, defines the policies,
procedures and interests of an organization... followed by executing a program of action to earn
public understanding and acceptance."[8] However, when Lee was later asked about his role in a
hearing with the United Transit Commission, he said "I have never been able to find a
satisfactory phrase to describe what I do."[9] In 1948, historian Eric Goldman noted that the
definition of public relations in Webster's would be "disputed by both practitioners and critics in
the field."[9]

According to Bernays, the public relations counsel is the agent working with both modern media
of communications and group formations of society in order to provide ideas to the public's
consciousness. Furthermore, he is also concerned with ideologies and courses of actions as well
as material goods and services and public utilities and industrial associations and large trade
groups for which it secures popular support.[10]

In August 1978, the World Assembly of Public Relations Associations defined the field as

"the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling
organizational leaders and implementing planned programs of action, which will serve both the
organization and the public interest."[11]

Public Relations Society of America, a professional trade association,[12] defined public relations
in 1982 as:

"Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other."[13]

In 2011 and 2012, the PRSA solicited crowd supplied definitions for the term and allowed the
public to vote on one of three finalists. The winning definition stated that:

"Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial

relationships between organizations and their publics."[14]

Public relations can also be defined as the practice of managing communication between an
organization and its publics.[15]

History

Public relations is not a phenomenon of the 20th century, but rather has historical roots. Most
textbooks consider the establishment of the Publicity Bureau in 1900 to be the founding of the
public relations profession. Academics have found early forms of public influence and
communications management in ancient civilizations. such as Aristotle’s rhetoric which explains
the core foundations of persuasion. It is believed that there is an evolutionary aspect to PR, and
that it only has improved over time.[16] Evidence shows that it continued to evolve during the
settling of the New World and during the movement to abolish slavery in England. Basil Clark is
considered the founder of public relations in the United Kingdom for his establishment of
Editorial Services in 1924.[citation needed]

The concept of propaganda, which later evolved into Public Relations was used by the United
States, United Kingdom, Germany, and others to rally for domestic support and demonize
enemies during the World Wars. World War I was the first war which affected not only military
but whole populations and is considered to be "modern propaganda's launching pad."[17] This led
to more sophisticated commercial publicity efforts as public relations talent entered the private
sector. Most historians believe modern day public relations was first established in the US by Ivy
Lee or Edward Bernays, then spread internationally. Many American companies with PR
departments spread the practice to Europe when they created European subsidiaries as a result of
the Marshall plan.[citation needed]

In the second half of the 1900s, public relations entered an era of professional development.
Trade associations, PR news magazines, international PR agencies, and academic principles for
the profession were established. In the early 2000s, press release services began offering social
media press releases. The Cluetrain Manifesto, which predicted the effect of social media in
1999, was controversial in its time, but by 2006, the effect of social media and new internet
technologies became broadly accepted.[18]

Career prospects

United Kingdom

Cosmopolitan reported that the average annual salary for a "public relations director" was
£77,619 in 2017.[19] One notable former PR practitioner was former Prime Minister David
Cameron.[20]

United States

Tactics

Public relations professionals present the face of an organization or individual, usually to

articulate its objectives and official views on issues of relevance, primarily to the media. Public
relations contributes to the way an organization is perceived by influencing the media and
maintaining relationships with stakeholders. According to Dr. Jacquie L’Etang from Queen
Margaret University, public relations professionals can be viewed as "discourse workers
specializing in communication and the presentation of argument and employing rhetorical
strategies to achieve managerial aims."[36]

Specific public relations disciplines include:

 Financial public relations – communicating financial results and business

strategy
 Consumer/lifestyle public relations – gaining publicity for a particular product or
service
 Crisis communication – responding in a crisis
 Internal communications – communicating within the company itself
  Government relations – engaging government departments to influence public
policy
 Media relations – a public relations function that involves building and
maintaining close relationships with the news media so that they can sell and
promote a business.
 Social Media/Community Marketing - in today's climate, public relations
professionals leverage social media marketing to distribute messages about
their clients to desired target markets
 In-house public relations – a public relations professional hired to manage press
and publicity campaigns for the company that hired them.
 'Black Hat PR' - manipulating public profiles under the guise of neutral
commentators or voices, or engaging to actively damage or undermine the
reputations of rival or targeted individuals or organizations.

Building and managing relationships with those who influence an organization or individual's
audiences has a central role in doing public relations.[37][38] After a public relations practitioner
has been working in the field, they accumulate a list of relationships that become an asset,
especially for those in media relations.

Within each discipline, typical activities include publicity events, speaking opportunities, press
releases, newsletters, blogs, social media, press kits, and outbound communication to members
of the press. Video and audio news releases (VNRs and ANRs) are often produced and
distributed to TV outlets in hopes they will be used as regular program content.

Audience targeting

A fundamental technique used in public relations is to identify the target audience and to tailor
messages that are relevant to each audience.[39] Sometimes the interests of differing audiences
and stakeholders common to a public relations effort necessitate the creation of several distinct
but complementary messages. These messages however should be relevant to each other, thus
creating a consistency to the overall message and theme. Audience targeting tactics are important
for public relations practitioners because they face all kinds of problems: low visibility, lack of
public understanding, opposition from critics, and insufficient support from funding sources.[40]

On the other hand, stakeholder theory identifies people who have a stake in a given institution or
issue.[41] All audiences are stakeholders (or presumptive stakeholders), but not all stakeholders
are audiences. For example, if a charity commissions a public relations agency to create an
advertising campaign to raise money to find a cure for a disease, the charity and the people with
the disease are stakeholders, but the audience is anyone who is likely to donate money. Public
relations experts possess deep skills in media relations, market positioning, and branding. They
are powerful agents that help clients deliver clear, unambiguous information to a target audience
that matters to them.[42]
The public in public relations

The public is any group whose members have a common interest or common values in a
particular subject, such as political party. Those members would then be considered
stakeholders, which are people who have a stake or an interest in an organization or issue that
potentially involves the organization or group they're interested in. The Publics in Public
Relations are:

 Traditional Publics: Groups with which the individual has an ongoing and long-
term relationship with, this may include; Employees, Media, Governments,
Investors, and Customers[43]
 Non-Traditional Publics: Groups that are typically unfamiliar with the
organization and the individual has not had a relationship with but may become
traditional publics due to changes in the organization, in society or if a group
changing event occurs.[43]
 Latent Publics: A group whose values have come into contact with the values of
the organization but whose members haven't yet realized it; the members of
that public are not yet aware of the relationship.[43]
 Aware Publics: A group of members who are aware of the existence of a
commonality of values or interests with your organization, but have not
organized or attempted to respond to that commonality.
 Intervening Publics: Any public that helps an individual send a message to
another public, could be the media or someone with stature. [43]
 Primary Publics: If a public can directly affect an organization's pursuit of its
values-driven goals. This publics would include media, employees, government,
shareholder, financial institutions, and the immediate community. [43]
 Secondary Publics: Have high interest in the company such as the primary
publics but will not be directly affected by decisions of the organization. [43]
 Internal Publics: People within an organization[43]
 External Publics: People outside of an organization[43]
 Domestic Publics: Those within the country[43]
 International Publics: Those outside of the country and when communicating
with this publics individuals must be wary of that areas culture, beliefs, values,
ethic, and other valuable cultural difference as to not offend anyone. [43]

Early literature authored by James Grunig (1978) suggested that publics develop in stages
determined by their levels of problem recognition, constraint recognition and involvement in
addressing the issue. The theory posited that publics develop in the following stages:

 Non-Publics: Share no issue with an organisation.

  Latent Publics: Face an issue but do not recognize it.
 Apathetic Publics: Face an issue but do not care to address it.
 Aware Publics: Face an issue but are unorganised to mobilise against it.
 Active Publics: Face an issue and are organised to respond to it. [44]

Messaging

Messaging is the process of creating a consistent story around: a product, person, company, or
service. Messaging aims to avoid having readers receive contradictory or confusing information
that will instill doubt in their purchasing choices, or other decisions that affect the company.
Brands aim to have the same problem statement, industry viewpoint, or brand perception shared
across sources and media.

Social media marketing

Digital marketing is the use of Internet tools and technologies such as search engines, Web 2.0
social bookmarking, new media relations, blogging, and social media marketing. Interactive PR
allows companies and organizations to disseminate information without relying solely on
mainstream publications and communicate directly with the public, customers and prospects.

PR practitioners have always relied on the media such as TV, radio, and magazines, to promote
their ideas and messages tailored specifically to a target audience. Social media marketing is not
only a new way to achieve that goal, it is also a continuation of a strategy that existed for
decades. Lister et al. said that "Digital media can be seen as a continuation and extension of a
principal or technique that was already in place".[45]

Social media platforms enable users to connect with audiences to build brands, increase sales,
and drive website traffic. This involves publishing content on social media profiles, engaging
with followers, analyzing results, and running social media advertisements. The goal is to
produce content that users will share with their social network to help a company increase brand
exposure and broaden customer reach. Some of the major social media platforms are currently
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Snapchat.[46]

As digital technology has evolved, the methods to measure effective online public relations
effectiveness have improved. The Public Relations Society of America, which has been
developing PR strategies since 1947, identified 5 steps to measure online public relations
effectiveness.

1. Engagement: Measure the number of people who engaged with an item (social
shares, likes and comments).
 2. Impressions: Measure the number of people who may have viewed an item.
3. Items: Measure any content (blog posts, articles, etc.) that originally appeared as
digital media.
4. Mentions: Measure how many online items mention the brand, organization, or
product.
5. Reach: Measure how far the PR campaign managed to penetrate overall and in
terms of a particular audience.[47]

Types of public relations arenas

Publicists can work in a host of different types of business verticals such as entertainment,
technology, music, travel, television, food, consumer electronics and more. Many publicists
build their career in a specific business space to leverage relationships and contacts. There are
different kinds of press strategies for such as B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to
consumer). Business to business publicity highlights service providers who provide services and
products to other businesses. Business to Consumer publicizes products and services for regular
consumers, such as toys, travel, food, entertainment, personal electronics and music.

Other techniques

Litigation public relations is the management of the communication process during the course of
any legal dispute or adjudicatory processing so as to affect the outcome or its effect on the
client's overall reputation (Haggerty, 2003).

Ethics

Public relations professionals both serve the public's interest and private interests of businesses,
associations, non-profit organizations, and governments. This dual obligation gave rise to heated
debates among scholars of the discipline and practitioners over its fundamental values. This
conflict represents the main ethical predicament of public relations.[48] In 2000, the Public
Relations Society of America (PRSA) responded to the controversy by acknowledging in its new
code of ethics "advocacy" – for the first time – as a core value of the discipline.[48]

The field of public relations is generally highly un-regulated, but many professionals voluntarily
adhere to the code of conduct of one or more professional bodies to avoid exposure for ethical
violations.[49] The Chartered Institute of Public Relations, the Public Relations Society of
America, and The Institute of Public Relations are a few organizations that publish an ethical
code. Still, Edelman's 2003 semi-annual trust survey found that only 20 percent of survey
respondents from the public believed paid communicators within a company were credible.[50]
Individuals in public relations are growing increasingly concerned with their company's
marketing practices, questioning whether they agree with the company's social responsibility.
They seek more influence over marketing and more of a counseling and policy-making role. On
the other hand, individuals in marketing are increasingly interested in incorporating publicity as a
tool within the realm marketing.[51]
According to Scott Cutlip, the social justification for public relations is the right for an
organization to have a fair hearing of their point of view in the public forum, but to obtain such a
hearing for their ideas requires a skilled advocate.[52]

Marketing and communications strategist, Ira Gostin, believes there is a code of conduct when
conducting business and using public relations. Public relations specialists have the ability to
influence society. Fact-checking and presenting accurate information is necessary to maintain
credibility with employers and clients.[53]

Public Relation Code of Ethics

The Public Relation Student Society of America has established a set of fundamental guidelines
that people within the public relations professions should practice and use in their business
atmosphere. These values are:

 Advocacy: Serving the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for the
clientele. This can occur by displaying the marketplace of ideas, facts and
viewpoints to aid informed public debate.
 Honesty: Standing by the truth and accuracy of all facts in the case and
advancing those statements to the public.
 Expertise: To become and stay informed of the specialized knowledge needed in
the field of Public Relations. Taking that knowledge and improving the field
through development, research and education. Meanwhile, professionals also
build their understanding, credibility, and relationships to understand various
audiences and industries.
 Independence: Provide unbiased work to those that are represented while being
accountable for all actions.
 Loyalty: Stay devoted to the client while remembering that there is a duty to still
serve the public interest.
 Fairness: Honorably conduct business with any and all clients, employers,
competitors, peers, vendors, media and general public. Respecting all opinions
and right of free expression.[54]

Spin

Spin has been interpreted historically to mean overt deceit that is meant to manipulate the public,
but since the 1990s has shifted to describing a "polishing of the truth."[55] Today, spin refers to
providing a certain interpretation of information meant to sway public opinion.[56] Companies
may use spin to create the appearance of the company or other events are going in a slightly
different direction than they actually are.[55] Within the field of public relations, spin is seen as a
derogatory term, interpreted by professionals as meaning blatant deceit and manipulation.[57][58]
Skilled practitioners of spin are sometimes called "spin doctors."
In Stuart Ewen's PR! A Social History of Spin, he argues that public relations can be a real
menace to democracy as it renders the public discourse powerless. Corporations are able to hire
public relations professionals and transmit their messages through the media channels and
exercise a huge amount of influence upon the individual who is defenseless against such a
powerful force. He claims that public relations is a weapon for capitalist deception and the best
way to resist is to become media literate and use critical thinking when interpreting the various
mediated messages.[59]

According to Jim Hoggan, " public relations is not by definition 'spin'. Public relations is the art
of building good relationships. You do that most effectively by earning trust and goodwill among
those who are important to you and your business... Spin us to public relations what
manipulation is to interpersonal communications. It's a diversion whose primary effect is
ultimately to undermine the central goal of building trust and nurturing a good relationship."[60]

The techniques of spin include selectively presenting facts and quotes that support ideal positions
(cherry picking), the so-called "non-denial denial," phrasing that in a way presumes unproven
truths, euphemisms for drawing attention away from items considered distasteful, and ambiguity
in public statements. Another spin technique involves careful choice of timing in the release of
certain news so it can take advantage of prominent events in the news.

Negative

See also: Negative campaigning

Negative public relations, also called dark public relations (DPR), 'black hat PR' and in some
earlier writing "Black PR", is a process of destroying the target's reputation and/or corporate
identity. The objective in DPR is to discredit someone else, who may pose a threat to the client's
business or be a political rival. DPR may rely on IT security, industrial espionage, social
engineering and competitive intelligence. Common techniques include using dirty secrets from
the target, producing misleading facts to fool a competitor.[61][62][63][64] In politics, a decision to use
negative PR is also known as negative campaigning.

T.A.R.E.S.

The T.A.R.E.S. is a five-point test that evaluates ethical persuasion and provides boundaries in
persuasive practices.

 Truthfulness (of the message) examples

o Is this communicating something factually true and accurate?
o Does this downplay or diminish evidence?
o Am I creating a false narrative or image?
o Does this influence people to believe something that I do not believe
myself?
 Authenticity (of the persuader) examples
 o Will people question my honesty or integrity from this?
o Do I truly believe that what is being presented will benefit those who are
reading?
o Do I support or advocate in the statement, person, or product?
 Respect (for the persuadee) examples
o Am I presenting statements in self-interest, or do I genuinely care about
the issue, person, or product?
o Is this presented to persuadees who are rational, self-thinking beings?
o What ethical responsibility do I hold by presenting this information?
 Equity (of the persuasive appeal) examples
o Is this appeal fair and nondiscriminatory?
o Have I target persuadees who are not capable of understanding the
claims and the context?
o Are the statements I present sensitive to various interests, needs, or
concerns of the persuadees?
 Social Responsibility (for the common good) examples
o Have I unfairly stereotyped groups of society in my statements or actions?
o Will my statements or actions cause harms to various groups of society?
o Will there be any negative consequences against a group in society based
on my statements or actions?
o Have I fairly presented issues that concern groups who may have been
underrepresented in society?
o Are the statements or actions that are being communicated responsible
to various societal groups, public interest, and the public? [65]

Politics and civil society

In Propaganda (1928), Bernays argued that the manipulation of public opinion was a necessary
part of democracy.[66] In public relations, lobby groups are created to influence government
policy, corporate policy or public opinion, typically in a way that benefits the sponsoring
organization.

In fact, Bernays stresses that we are in fact dominated in almost every aspect of our lives, by a
relatively small number of persons who have mastered the 'mental processes and social patterns
of the masses,’ which include our behavior, political and economic spheres or our morals.[67] In
theory, each individual chooses his own opinion on behavior and public issues. However, in
practice, it is impossible for one to study all variables and approaches of a particular question
and come to a conclusion without any external influence. This is the reason why the society has
agreed upon an 'invisible government' to interpret on our behalf information and narrow the
choice field to a more practical scale.[68]
When a lobby group hides its true purpose and support base, it is known as a front group.[69]
Front groups are a form of astroturfing, because they intend to sway the public or the
government without disclosing their financial connection to corporate or political interests. They
create a fake grass-roots movement by giving the appearance of a trusted organization that serves
the public, when they actually serve their sponsors.

Politicians also employ public relations professionals to help project their views, policies and
even personalities to their best advantages.

What is Professional Writing?

Professional writing is writing for some sort of reward (like lots of money). OK, that’s it. That’s
all there is to it.

I’m joking! There’s a lot more to being a professional writer than that.

Professional writing is all about conveying information in the workplace. It is different from
creative writing like novels, which are meant to entertain. Professional writing seeks to inform,
persuade, or instruct others in a workplace and business environment.

What Tools Do I Need to Know in Professional Writing?

There are many different tools that you will use as a professional writer to get your message
across to your target audience. Here are a couple that you will need to know in order to be a truly
professional writer.

1. Grammar

You are going to need to know your grammar and punctuation inside and out. Or, if you can’t
memorize all the rules – you should at least have a reference blog (like this one!) bookmarked so
you can refer to the rules when you need them.

You will need to know when to use commas, when to use a colon, what a participle is and how to
keep it from dangling. You will also need to know the best use for adjectives and adverbs, and
how to effectively use the three cases of pronouns. There’s nothing less professional in writing
than bad grammar and punctuation. Don’t let that happen to you!

2. Writing Style

Another tool you will need when you are learning to write like a professional is how to change
your writing style. You will learn how to know your audience before you write. You will know
how to write in the first, second, or third person narrative. You will also be a master of email
etiquette and how to employ effective word choice.
What Will I Be Writing?

There is so much professional writing that takes place in any business context. Here are a few of
the most common types.

 General business letters

 Inquiry letters
 Sales letters
 Speeches
 Cold emails that get replies
 Business plans and proposals
 White papers
 Resumes
 Cover letters
 And of course, let’s not forget about blogs…the most brilliant of all business
writing!

How to Write a Business Letter

A business letter is a formal document, with a set structure. As you can see from the examples in
the links below, a business letter has a very defined format.

A business letter includes contact information, a salutation, the body of the letter,

a complimentary close, and a signature. 

What should you include in a professional letter written for business purposes? A business letter
is a formal document, with a set structurea business letter has a very defined format. A business
letter includes contact information, a salutation, the body of the letter, a complimentary close,
and a signature. 

There are rules for everything, from how wide the letter's margins should be to what size font to
use.

 In general, it's wise to keep the body of your business letter direct and brief.
 Explain why you are writing in your first paragraph,
 Provide more specifics in the next paragraph, and
 Use your closing paragraph to reiterate your reason for writing
 Thank the recipient for reading, and possibly mention follow-up plans

Below, you'll find a list of business letter examples for a variety of employment and business-
related correspondence, as well as tips for how to write an appropriate and effective business
letter. Use these samples as a starting point when you have to write your own letter.
Business Letter Template

This is an example of a professional business letter (compatible with Google Docs and Word
Online) or see below for more examples.

Business Letter Sample (Text Version)

Jennifer Lastname
{Street Address}
{City}, {State} {Zip Code}
555-555-5555
email@email.com

June 17, 2020

Michelle Lastname
Manager
The Company Name
{Street Address}
{City}, {State} {Zip Code}

Dear Ms. Lastname:

Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me to discuss selling my handmade sweaters
in your wonderful shop.

As I mentioned in our conversation, I’ve been a customer of your store since I used my third-
grade allowance to buy my very first pair of knitting needles. I’m honored that you’d consider
selling one of my original creations at The Yarn Company alongside your own work.

We discussed a trial consignment arrangement in which a portion of the sales would go to the
store. This is more than agreeable to me.

Let me know how you want to proceed. I’m available most afternoons at 555-555-5555, or you
can email me at email@email.com, and I’ll respond to your message ASAP.

Thanks, and best,

Jennifer Lastname
Letters of Inquiry

A letter of inquiry asks someone for specific information. In some cases, such as a request for
promotional material, the recipient will have a clear interest in responding to your letter. In other
cases, such as a request for specific information on a product, the recipient may or may not be as
motivated to respond quickly. Consequently, always make the tone of the letter friendly and
make it easy for the recipient to identify and provide the information you need.

Format of a Letter of Inquiry

Follow this format in writing a letter of inquiry:

1. In the first paragraph, identify yourself and, if appropriate, your position, and
your institution or firm.
2. In the second paragraph, briefly explain why you are writing and how you will
use the requested information. Offer to keep the response confidential if such
an offer seems reasonable.
3. List the specific information you need. You can phrase your requests as
questions or as a list of specific items of information. In either case, make each
item clear and discrete.
4. Conclude your letter by offering your reader some incentive for responding.

The following letter of inquiry is written by a computer programmer requesting specific

information about an upcoming release of a software product.
Sales Letters

A sales letter is a marketing tool that promotes a good or service. Its objective is to persuade the
reader to buy what the letter offers. To be effective, its scope must describe a particular benefit
the reader will gain by making the purchase, such as a problem solved or a need fulfilled.
Before you begin, you should be familiar with what your sales letter intends to promote and the
people you intend it to reach. This may require a little research and some brainstorming, but
without preparation your sales letter will be less effective.

Then decide on the features that best highlight the good or service; identify its selling points, in
other words. Bigger, brighter, stronger, faster, cheaper, etc., are common selling points when
writing a sales letter.

Once you have made a selection, you must persuade the readers that the benefit of your offer
outweighs the cost. In other words, convince them that what you have to offer is a good deal.

In the sample sales letter the writer promotes a service performing a time-consuming task that
few people like to do.

Identify Your Reader

A sales letter should be addressed to a group of prospective buyers who meet an established set
of criteria. Selecting their names should be done carefully, ideally with the help of a professional
who specializes in direct mail marketing. He or she will be able to assist you in constructing a
mailing list tailored to your specific needs.

Once assembled, the names of your potential customers should be placed in the salutation and
inside heading of your sales letter. They should also be included on the top line of your envelope.

Whether you are singling out homeowners or renters, students or working people, dentists or
lawyers you are singling out a group of people with an identifiable need or desire, one that you
can fulfill or satisfy in some way. This group is your target audience. Each member is a potential
customer.

Keep in mind that people do business with people. When you personalize your sales letter,
addressing the reader by name, you recognize that person's individual importance and their value
as a human being.

Establish Your Objective

The objective of a sales letter is threefold:

1. To attract attention
2. Generate interest
3. Induce a purchase

Your sales letter may not induce an immediate purchase, however, it should, at the very least,
meet the first two objectives. It should provide its readers with enough information to heighten
their brand awareness about who you are and what goods or services you have to offer. They
may return as a customer in the future.
After all, on the day that your direct mail piece arrives, the targeted reader may neither need nor
want what you have to offer. Regardless, your sales letter can have a positive residual effect if it
succeeds in creating a strong and favorable impression at the time it is received.

Determine Your Scope

To be effective, the scope of a sales letter must identify one or more of the following:

 A problem that can be solved

 A need that can be fulfilled
 A desire that can be satisfied
 A pleasure that can be gained

It must then present an attractive solution in a manner persuasive enough to accomplish the
objective of the letter, convincing the reader to make a purchase.

Successful sales letters gear their pitch toward the benefit received by the reader rather than the
actual goods or services being offered.

Organize Your Letter

Organizing your sales letter will establish a logical order in which to present your information.
You have already begun this task by establishing an objective and determining your scope. Refer
back to them. Together they include much of the content that will become the body of your
letter.

A simple outline will get you organized. Begin by creating a list of items that your package will
include and put them in the sequential order that will best help your reader comprehend the
contents of your package. These points will become the backbone of your draft; your outline will
become a checklist.

Draft Your Letter

Working from an outline is the simplest way to draft a sales letter. You have already organized
yourself by creating a list. Refer back to it and turn each fragment into a full and complete
sentence expressing a single thought or idea

In order that your thoughts and ideas are conveyed in a cohesive manner, write in as natural a
sounding voice as possible.Try writing your draft quickly and then read it out loud. Concentrate
on communicating your objective to your reader. Make sure that the scope of your letter contains
all the relevant information included in your organizational list.

Keep in mind that you are writing a rough draft. For the moment you can ignore spelling,
grammar, punctuation, sentence and paragraph structure. Those are technical details that you will
pay attention to in the final step when you review and revise your work.

Close Your Letter

A sales letter should close in a professional manner. Once your last paragraph is written, sign off
between a complimentary close such as "Sincerely," or "Thank you," and your printed name.

If you are writing in conjunction with an official duty, place your title below your printed name.
Additional information such as dictation remarks, notification of attachments, enclosures and
copies sent to other individuals should be placed beneath the title line.

Review and Revise Your Sales Letter

Reviewing and revising the draft of your sales letter is when you inspect and hone its textual
content. It is a final check to see that your objective is clearly stated, your scope is sufficient, and
the reader has been provided enough information to understand your message.

Look for obvious errors. Check for misspelled words, poor sentence structure, and grammar
mistakes. Make sure that you have been direct and to the point. Use a strong active voice.

Keep in mind the overall cohesiveness of your letter. Look for accuracy, clarity, and a sense of
completeness. Ask yourself if the transitions between paragraphs are working and if your point
of view, tone, and style are consistent throughout the text.

Examine your word choices carefully. Ambiguous words lead to confusion. Jargon and abstract
terms may not be understood at all and affectations, cliches, and trite language tend to diminish
the substance of your message.

If you have not written an opening or a closing now is the time. Lead into the sales letter with a
strong attention getter. Conclude with an inducement to act.

A speech is simply an official verbal presentation that is meant to achieve a certain

goal. The aim of making a speech or even writing one, is to convince your audience to
buy into your idea or pay attention to your subject of discussion.

In an exam setup, an examiner might ask you to write a speech on a particular topic,
or you could be asked to imagine yourself as someone else and giving a speech to a
different audience. Here are a few tips to help you prepare to score top marks in your
GCSE English exam.

1. Introduce yourself
The first thing to do in any speech you write, is to introduce yourself. If you’ve seen
footage of historic speeches, the speaker might skip over the formality of introducing
themselves, or they might be introduced by someone before they take the stage.

Put that out of your mind - for your GCSE speech, you need to make an introduction.

In fact, your introduction is an opportunity. An opportunity to show your examiners

that you can adapt to introduce yourself to any audience. Here’s two examples of
different audiences and how you could introduce yourself appropriately:

 You’re giving a speech to your teachers

Because you’re talking to your teachers, in this example, your introduction

would need to be more formal. For instance; “Hello, and thank you for taking
the time to listen. My name is Lawrence Smart, and I’m here today to talk to you
about…”

Notice how the speech writer in this example uses their full name and is very
polite to his audience.

 You’re making a speech to your classmates

In this example, your language can be more casual. Your classmates already
know who you are, so you could say; “Hi everyone. Most of you know me already
know me - my name’s Shanice. I’m the one who always sits at the back of the
class.”

This speech writer is far less formal, but that’s perfect for her audience. She is
speaking to her equals, and she can connect with them far more effectively by
using the language they would usually use with each other.

Remember - your introduction is an opportunity. Be creative and introduce yourself to

your audience with the tone you mean to go on with.
2. Make a great opening statement

Now the audience know who you are, it’s time to make them pay attention.

You should always begin writing your speech in a way that is catchy. You want to craft
an introduction that will captivate your target audience. A good opening statement is
fairly brief, but uses language techniques to make an immediate impact.

To begin your speech, try using some of the following language techniques:

 A rhetorical question

Rhetorical questions are questions that you don’t expect your audience to
answer. So why use them? Because they make your audience think.

When you ask a question that your audience wants to know the answer to, they
will pay attention. If you then provide an answer to your own question, your
audience will be hooked.

Example:

“I’m here to talk to you about what ordinary people can do to fight against
climate change. Why? Because we’re running out of time to act.”
 A surprising statement

Surprise is a powerful tool in any speech. It makes your audience sit up and pay
attention.

Think of the most surprising opinion or fact you want to convey in your speech.
Now, use it right at the beginning.

 A famous quote

Before your exam, take a look at a list of famous quotes.

Don’t worry about revising famous quotes before your exam: the quote itself
won’t get you marks. But, if you can remember one which is relevant to your
speech topic, use it. It will demonstrate your creativity and flair.
 Example:

“As a wiser woman than me once wrote: ‘It is our choices, that show what we
truly are, far more than our abilities.’”

Think about how these different techniques effectively grab your attention, and
remember that you can do the same with your speech.

Read our Ultimate Guide to revising for GCSE and A-Level

3. Structure your speech

To structure your speech and make it easy for your audience to understand your point,
split it into three sections: Introduction, main body, and conclusion. In each section
you’re trying to achieve a different aim:

 In the Introduction, your aim is to tell your audience who you are and what
you’re talking about. Then, you want to grab their attention.
 The main body of your speech is where you make your arguments. Divide this
main body into 2-3 points, and separate each point into different paragraphs.
 At the end, comes the conclusion. A good conclusion takes everything you said
and sums it up.

Watch Mr Bruff’s video for some helpful tips and examples of how to structure your
speech.

4. Begin every paragraph with a topic sentence

Because you’re dividing your speech into separate paragraphs, it’s important to make
it clear what each section is about. To do that, ensure that you have topic sentences
for each paragraph.
For example: “Jellyfish are the second thing I want to put into Room 101, and for good
reason.”

5. Use very good English

Good English is essential for your examiner to give you good marks.

But don’t worry, if you’re not confident, there are couple of tricks you can use to avoid
making mistakes:

 Avoid long sentences. Write short sentences instead. By keeping things short,
you limit the amount of complex punctuation you need to use. However, bear in
mind that for the top marks, examiners are looking for a range of sentence
structures and punctuation.
 Practice. It’s a simple tip but it’s the best one I can give you. Trying anything for
the first time takes your attention away from your grammar and spelling, and
that can lead to mistakes. Practice makes perfect, and it also makes you more
confident.

Watch this video for examples of common mistakes you want to avoid in your English
exam.

6. Express your opinion

The most common mistake students make when writing a speech is that they don’t
express an opinion.

Opinions are the element that make a speech interesting. Whatever you are writing a
speech about, express yourself. Don’t just write about your topic, write what you think
about it.

What if you don’t have a strong opinion on the subject? Imagine you do, and write from
that perspective. The examiner won’t care about your opinion, or whether they agree
with it. What they will care about is that you are expressing an opinion in a persuasive,
engaging way.
7. Write from the 1st person and engage your audience

When writing your speech, always ensure that you write using the 1st person. This
means, use “I” as you write. By doing this, your audience will recognise that what
you’re saying is your opinion.

You should also address your audience directly as if you were actually talking to them.
Use “we” and “you” in your writing. For example: “I’m sure you’d all agree that...”, or
“As a community, we need to…”.

Using the 3rd person makes each of your audience members sit up and listen. It makes
them think about how your topic and argument applies to them.

8. Use personal details and anecdotes

Every good speech writer aims to make the audience relate to them. If your audience
relates to you, they are far more likely to agree with what you’re saying.

One of the best ways to do that is to tell a short story about yourself, or provide short
personal details. You don’t want to spend too much time talking about yourself and
not about your argument, but small details will bring your speech to life.

Here’s some examples:

 In a speech about bullying, you might say: “Like it is for so many young people,
bullying is a subject that is close to my heart. When I was at primary school, I
was bullied and I now know how harmful it can be.”
 For a speech about music, you could say: “Ever since the day I first heard Kanye
West’s Runaway, I knew I’d be a lifelong fan.”
 If you were talking about sport, you might say: “I was never a good rugby player.
But, football? My school’s muddy, overgrown football field is where I found my
true calling.”
9. Use rhetorical questions

Use rhetorical questions throughout your speech, just like I suggested you should do
in your opening. Remember: rhetorical questions grab your audience’s (and your
examiner’s) attention.

But, don’t use too many questions, or you’ll begin to sound like you don’t know what
you’re talking about! A good rule of thumb is to use 2-3 rhetorical questions in
throughout your speech, each in different paragraphs.

10. Use emotive language

Emotive language is one of the most basic, but most effective tools a speech writer can
use.

In your speech, things shouldn’t simply be described just as “good” or “bad”. They
should be “fantastic” or “horrible”, “pure” or “corrupted”, “exciting” or “disappointing”.
Notice how these example words express more than just “good” or “bad”, they also add
other flavours to your description.

But, be careful not to over-use emotive language. If you go go over the top it can
reduce the effectiveness of all of your words. Use emotive words sparingly throughout
your speech.

For more emotive language examples, read this article.

11. Use figurative language

As with emotive language, this shouldn’t be over-used. But, used sparingly, figurative
language creates powerful images in your audience’s mind. There are many types of
figurative language, but these are the main ones you should focus on using in your
speech:

 Simile - Describing something to be like something else. For instance, “She has
eyes like a hawk”, “He’s thin as a twig”, or “They’re fighting like cats and dogs”.
  Metaphor - Describing something by using a word that isn’t literally relevant.
For example, “It’s raining men”, “I’m feeling blue”, or “The weather was bitterly
cold”.
 Imagery - Using words to make you imagine how they would affect your senses.
For example; “A sweet apple”, “A sharp pin”, or “The lion roared”.

For more figurative language techniques and examples, read this article.

12. Use contrast

Contrast is a powerful technique. It highlights your point because of the clash of

imagery it creates in the audience’s mind.

You can exploit this by using contrasting words and phrases in your sentences. For
instance; “I love writing, but I hate writing essays”.

You can also bring added flavour to your figurative language, by using contrasting
imagery. For example, you could describe one person as a “fiery and passionate” and
another as “cold-hearted”.

13. Use repetition

Repetition is for emphasis. Repetition is memorable. Repetition is one of many

persuasive techniques which will help you get a good grade.

As I’ve just done, starting consecutive sentences with the same word is a very effective
technique.

Repetition can also be used for key phrases in your introduction and conclusion to
bring your speech full circle. For instance, if you started your speech by saying “The
pen is mightier than the sword”, repeat that phrase in the conclusion to your speech.

14. Use the list of three

We don’t know exactly why, but the human brain easily remembers things in threes.
Use this to your advantage.
When you’re using a list of adjectives to describe something, use three. When you’re

A very common technique is to combine repetition with the list of three. By repeating a
word three times in consecutive sentences, you can make a very compelling point.

15. Focus on the topic

When writing a speech in an English exam, always stay focused on the topic you have
been asked to write about. Never derail from the subject of the speech you are writing.
This will make you lose marks.

This is why it is so important to plan your speech before you begin writing it. Think
through the structure you are going to use and stick to it. That way, you’ll stay on
topic and your argument will be focused.

Writing a good speech is fairly simple, all you need is practice, practice and more
practice before sitting for your GCSE English Exam. And if you have any questions, ask
me in the comments.

The following acronym might help you remember some of the points we have
discussed and help you score highly in your English exam.

P-ersonal anecdotes to bring your speech to life

E-motive language to persuade your audience.
R-hetorical questions to make your audience listen.
F-igurative language such as metaphors and similes.
E-mphasis through repetition and the rule of three.
C-omparison and contrast to make your points clear.
T-one of voice that is relevant and persuasive for your specific audience.

What is a cold email?

A cold email is a message that you send to prospects with whom you don’t have a relationship
yet. Surprisingly, it doesn’t always have a commercial motive.
Cold emailing works in situations like…
  After finding a potential lead on LinkedIn, you send them an email to try and
convert them into a customer;
 When you want to target a particular business;
 If you’d like to ask a public figure, like an Instagram influencer, for a sponsored
post or feedback on a product.

What should it include?

There’s no unique structure that you should implement in a cold email. Use your creativity and
choose the way that paints yourself and your company in the best possible light. Below, we’ve
listed some of the main elements that you might want to involve in your cold emails.

 Subject line. Keep it brief, but eye-catching (at least 3-to-5 words).

 Opening line. Personalize it to grab your lead’s attention. For example, “It was
great seeing you at…”. Or “My friend, [mutual connection], recommended that I
write to you as you’re an expert in…”. Add relevant information about yourself
and your company.

 Body. You should express the main purpose of your email, asking questions that
are connected with the prospect’s pains. Then, provide a solution.

 Closing. In this section, you can insert a call to action and engage the recipient
with what they should do next. If you’ve got one, share a demo or an
educational video. Your CTA gains more value if you end it with a question,
raising the possibility of a response: “Do you have any questions that I may help
you clear up?”
 Signature. Leave all the appropriate information for means of future
communication.

Remember: a cold email is a personal conversation and should be personalized. Sending out a
generic sales email to a list of cold leads almost never brings successful results. That’s spam.
Instead, effective personalization with a touch of originality is the key to standing out when
conducting this form of B2B marketing.

Let’s bust some of the other differences between cold emails and spam…

 Spam is a one-to-many conversation. The same email is sent to multiple people

and doesn’t address a recipient by name. In spam, there’s no customization;
 Spam doesn’t intend to start a conversation; it intends to make a customer
make a purchase;
  Spam does not have a target audience;
 Spam always has high commercial intent.

All of these points have nothing to do with cold emails. When writing a cold email, don’t try to
create new leads from the first message. The goal of the cold email is not to sell… right away.
The real objective is to grab a prospects’ attention, build a relationship, and move them further
along the funnel. The selling comes later!

Know who you’re writing to

Early in the process, it’s important to identify your target audience and divide your list into
segments for one simple reason: no client is the same. Their pain points, budgets, company size,
and needs are all different; your approach needs to be different as well.

Write like you talk

People spot “marketing copy” straight away. Write cold emails as if you are speaking to a friend
or coworker, rather than a large audience.

At the same time, take note that short messages have a greater chance of being opened and read.
Make it concise and friendly. It’s always better if you add the name of an addressee. You can
also include greetings, slang, and idioms, where appropriate. Finally, humor almost always
works.

Build a connection

Don’t forget that the purpose of your cold email is to initiate a relationship rather than close a
sale. You need to conduct initial research about recipients, know their pain points, find common
ground for engaging in conversation, and work toward building a sustainable relationship.

People receive plenty of cold emails every day, so try to stand out from the crowd.

Put yourself in their shoes

Fortunately, technology growth continues to make sales processes ever-easier. Even so, there’s
no way to fully automate a human touch. You need to put yourself in the recipient’s shoes, and
only then will you understand the pain points that you are trying to solve.

Introduce yourself

Include your business card; your email signature. Make it easy for your prospect to learn more
about you through the links you include in that signature. Have a read of “How To Create A
Professional Email Signature”, where you can find tips to help you to write an eye-catching
email signature.
Be the solution

Be useful for your prospect. Make them feel as if you truly care about their growth and are a
viable solution to their pain.
When promoting your product or service to potential customers, you should always state what’s
in it for them. Try and think about why they should choose you.

Make the subject line as specific as possible

A bad subject line is exactly what turns your prospect off at the first glance. Make sure your
subject line is short but intriguing. It’s better not to pitch your product in the subject line. Ask
questions, offer something, present a personal discount, or make a promise.

Take a look at these intriguing subject lines…

 Ideas about/thoughts on [lead’s goal or problem]

 Question about [lead’s business]; What does [department] need at [their
company]
 We met at [conference name]; It was nice seeing you at [event you both
attended], [name]!
 Hey [name]! I have a follow-up offer that you will want to consider.

The first line should be specific to your lead’s business. Compliment them, or comment on an
event you both attended. Always make sure you refer back to your subject line in the main body
of your email.

In other words, your subject line needs to be personal, short, friendly, and relevant to the body of
the email.

Email Marketing Tutorial: How to Write Catchy Email Subject Lines

Try various templates

There are lots of ways to do cold emailing. If one method isn’t working, try another. Don’t be
afraid to experiment.

As you test different templates, keep track of your metrics, and take note of the differences in
reply rates. Track the open rate of your emails as well. Performance tracking helps you
understand what changes need to be made in order to build an effective cold emailing strategy.

5 Cold Email Strategies

We’ve gathered the most effective formulas of cold emailing. Give them a try and see how they
improve your reply rates.

AIDA   – Attention -> Interest-> Desire -> Action

This is one of the most common structures:

Attention – draw the prospect’s attention (ask something that he can be concerned about).
Interest – generate interest (provide data about who has benefited from your product).
Desire – build a desire to try your service (enforce interest with the metrics proving your
benefits).
Action – incorporate a direction (link) where they should go after reading your email, then ask
them about the connection.

BAB   – Before -> After -> Bridge

Before – the problem that exists before the solution.

After – what life is like after the solution.
Bridge – how your product is the solution.

Humans are motivated to take action by pleasure and pain. The BAB formula shows how we
can induce a reader’s pleasure in the second paragraph.

PAS   – Problem -> Agitate -> Solve

This structure is similar to BAB, but with one small difference: PAS motivates by pain. We
express our understanding of the prospects’ problem. In turn, they are more likely to accept your
advice, and your product, to fix it.

MIP   – Mention their product -> Interest to yours -> Push slightly to act

If you target prospects who are using a product similar to yours, this approach is for you. Do
your best to peak your lead’s interest in using your product rather than a competitor’s. All you
need to do is highlight your product‘s advantages and why it’s a better choice for the prospect
than the product they’re currently using.
Again, provide a strong CTA to guide them down the sales funnel.

3P rule: Praise -> Picture -> Push

Everyone likes receiving compliments. Use this approach to push your recipient to read until the
end of your message. Start with a sincere compliment about their recent achievement or
accomplishment. Then, underline exactly what could achieve with your product. Finally,
encourage them to take action.
Maybe they have recently published something interesting online, or their company held an
event? Tell them you enjoyed it and they are much more likely to answer.

Remember that a template is only a starting point, but knowing what to do strengthens your sales
strategy.

Improving response rates by mastering your cold emailing is not a dream anymore. Try different
cold email templates and you’ll how easy it can be in real-life.

Originally published March 16, 2020, updated October 06, 2020

What Is a Business Plan?

What is a business plan? In its simplest form, a business plan is a guide—a roadmap for your
business that outlines goals and details how you plan to achieve those goals.

In this article, I’ll explore the sections of a business plan, as well as:

 Who needs a business plan

 How to choose the right kind of business plan
 The key components that every business plan should include
 How to use your plan to achieve faster growth than your competition

To start, don’t swallow the obsolete idea that the business plan must be a long, formal document
as if it were some term paper you have to write. That’s not true anymore. While every business
has huge benefits to gain from going through the business planning process, only a small subset
needs the formal business plan document required for seeking investors or supporting a
commercial loan.

Most of us need just a Lean Business Plan, for internal use, with just bullet point lists and
important projections. Good businesses always keep their Lean Plan up to date.

The lean business plan is great news because it makes the planning process much less daunting.
You start simple and grow it organically. You don’t do anything that doesn’t have a business
purpose, so you don’t describe your management team (to name one example) unless you need
that section for outsiders. More on that in the section on the Lean Plan.

And furthermore, even for those of you who do need to produce a business plan document, the
task of writing a formal business plan today is much less daunting than it used to be. These days,
business plans are simpler, shorter, and easier to produce than they have ever been. Gone are the
days of 30- and 40-page business plans—modern business plans are shorter, easier to write, and
—thankfully—easier to read (and you could always have our MBA business plan consulting
experts write a business plan for you if you so choose).

Let’s start with the basics.

What is a business plan?

If you’ve ever jotted down a business idea on a napkin with a few tasks you need to accomplish,
you’ve written a business plan—or at least the very basic components of one. At its heart, a
business plan is just a plan for how your business is going to work, and how you’re going to
make it succeed.

How long should your plan be?

Typically, a business plan is longer than a list on a napkin (although, as you’ll see below, it is
possible—and sometimes ideal—to write your entire business plan on one page). For me in
practice, and for most real businesses, it can be as simple as the Lean Plan that has a few bullet
points to focus strategy, tactics, milestones to track tasks and responsibilities, and the basic
financial projections you need to plan: cash flow, budget, expenses.

How should you present your business plan?

A note on format: business plans should only become printed documents on select occasions,
like when you need to share information with outsiders or team members. Otherwise, they should
be dynamic documents that you maintain on your computer.

The plan goes on forever, meaning that you’re constantly tweaking it, because you’re regularly
evaluating your business health, so the printed version is like a snapshot of what the plan was on
the day that it was printed.

What does a formal plan include?

If you do need a formal business plan document, then that includes elements like:

 An executive summary
 A company overview
 Some information about your products and/or services
  Your marketing plan
 A list of major company milestones
 Some information about each member of the management team and their role
in the company
 Details of your company’s financial plan

These are often called the “sections” or “chapters” of the business plan, and I’ll go into much
greater depth about each of them below.

How often should you revise your business plan?

In all cases, the most important element of business planning is the review schedule—set specific
times to review your progress toward your goals. That’s as simple as “the third Thursday of
every month” to cite one obvious example.

Specifically, it’s the time to review your progress on milestones and to compare your actuals
against your financial projections. A real business plan is always wrong—hence the regular
review and revisions—and never done, because the process of review and revising is vital.

Who needs a business plan?

If you’re just planning on picking up some freelance work to supplement your income, you can
skip the business plan. But, if you’re embarking on a more significant endeavor that’s likely to
consume a significant amount of time, money, and resources, then you need a business plan.

If you’re serious about business, taking planning seriously is critical to your success.

Unfortunately, many people think of business plans only for starting a new business or applying
for business loans. But business plans are also vital for running a business—strategic planning—
whether or not it needs new loans or new investments. Existing businesses should have business
plans that they maintain and update as market conditions change and as new opportunities arise.

Every business has long-term and short-term goals, sales targets, and expense budgets—a
business plan encompasses all of those things and is as useful to a startup trying to raise funds as
it is to a 10-year-old business that’s looking to grow.

1. Startup businesses

The most classic business planning scenario is for a startup, for which the plan helps the
founders break uncertainty down into meaningful pieces, like the sales projection, expense
budget, milestones, and tasks.

The need becomes obvious as soon as you recognize that you don’t know how much money you
need, and when you need it, without laying out projected sales, costs, expenses, and timing of
payments. And that’s for all startups, whether or not they need to convince investors, banks, or
friends and family to part with their money and fund the new venture.

In this case, the business plan is focused on explaining what the new company is going to do,
how it is going to accomplish its goals, and—most importantly—why the founders are the right
people to do the job. A startup business plan also details the amount of money needed to get the
business off the ground, and through the initial growth phases that will lead (hopefully!) to
profitability.

2. Existing businesses

Not all business plans are for startups that are launching the next big thing. Existing businesses
use business plans to strategically manage and steer the business, not just to address changes in
their markets and to take advantage of new opportunities. They use a plan to reinforce strategy,
establish metrics, manage responsibilities and goals, track results, and manage and plan
resources including critical cash flow. And of course, they use a plan to set the schedule for
regular review and revision.

Business plans can be a critical driver of growth for existing businesses. Did you know that
businesses that write plans and use them to manage their business grow 30 percent faster than
businesses that take a “seat of the pants” approach? A study by Professor Andrew Burke, the
founding Director of the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurial Performance and Economics at
Cranfield School of Management, discovered exactly this.

For existing businesses, a robust business planning process can be a competitive advantage that
drives faster growth and greater innovation. Instead of a static document, business plans in
existing businesses become dynamic tools that are used to track growth and spot potential
problems before they derail the business.

Choosing the right kind of business plan for your business

Considering that business plans serve many different purposes, it’s no surprise that they come in
many different forms.

Before you even start writing your business plan, you need to think about who the audience is
and what the goals of your plan are. While there are common components that are found in
almost every business plan, such as sales forecasts and marketing strategy, business plan formats
can be very different depending on the audience and the type of business.

For example, if you’re building a plan for a biotech firm, your plan will go into details about
government approval processes. If you are writing a plan for a restaurant, details about location
and renovations might be critical factors. And, the language you’d use in the biotech firm’s
business plan would be much more technical than the language you’d use in the plan for the
restaurant.
Plans can also differ greatly in length, detail, and presentation. Plans that never leave the office
and are used exclusively for internal strategic planning and management might use more casual
language and might not have much visual polish.

On the other end of the spectrum, a plan that is destined for the desk of a top venture capitalist
will have a high degree of polish and will focus on the high-growth aspects of the business and
the experienced team that is going to deliver stunning results.

Here is a quick overview of three common types of plans:

One-page business plan

A one-page business plan is exactly what it sounds like: a quick summary of your business
delivered on a single page. No, this doesn’t mean a very small font size and cramming tons of
information onto a single page—it means that the business is described in very concise language
that is direct and to-the-point.

A one-page business plan can serve two purposes. First, it can be a great tool to introduce the
business to outsiders, such as potential investors. Since investors have very little time to read
detailed business plans, a simple one-page plan is often a better approach to get that first
meeting. Later in the process, a more detailed plan will be needed, but the one-page plan is great
for getting in the door.

This simple plan format is also great for early-stage companies that just want to sketch out their
idea in broad strokes. Think of the one-page business plan as an expanded version of jotting your
idea down on a napkin. Keeping the business idea on one page makes it easy to see the entire
concept at a glance and quickly refine concepts as new ideas come up. Learn more about how to
create a one-page business plan.

The Lean Business Plan

A Lean Plan is more detailed than a one-page plan and includes more financial information, but
it’s not as long as a traditional business plan. Lean Plans are more likely to be used internally as
tools for strategic planning and growth.

The Lean Business Plan dispenses with the formalities that are needed when presenting a plan
externally for a loan or investment and focuses almost exclusively on business strategy, tactics,
milestones, metrics, budgets, and forecasts.

These lean business plans skip sections like company history and management team since
everyone in the company almost certainly knows this information. You don’t do an exit strategy
section of your business plan if you’re not writing for investors and therefore you aren’t
concerned with an exit.

The simplest lean business plan uses bullet points to define strategy, tactics, concrete specific
dates and tasks, and essential numbers including projected sales, spending, and cash flow. It’s
just five to 10 pages when printed. And few Lean Plans need printing. Leave them on the
computer. Review and revise them at least once a month. The first Lean Plan takes just a few
hours to do (or less), and a monthly review and revision can take only an hour or two per month.

Lean business plans are management tools used to guide the growth of both startups and existing
businesses. They help business owners think through strategic decisions and measure progress
towards goals.

External business plan (a.k.a the standard business plan document)

External business plans, the formal business plan documents, are designed to be read by
outsiders to provide information about a business. The most common use of a full business plan
is to convince investors to fund a business, and the second most common is to support a loan
application. Occasionally this type of business plan is also used to recruit or train or absorb key
employees, but that is much less common.

A formal business plan document is an extension of the internal business plan or the Lean Plan.
It’s mostly a snapshot of the internal plan as it existed at a certain time. But while an internal
plan is short on polish and formality, a formal business plan document should be very well-
presented, with more attention to detail in the language and format. See example business plans
in our sample plan library to give you an idea of what the finished product might look like.

In addition, an external plan details how potential funds are going to be used. Investors don’t just
hand over cash with no strings attached—they want to understand how their funds will be used
and what the expected return on their investment is.

Finally, external plans put a strong emphasis on the team that is building the company. Investors
invest in people rather than ideas, so it’s critical to include biographies of key team members and
how their background and experience is going to help grow the company.

What to include in your formal business plan

While we just discussed several different types of business plans, there are key elements that
appear in virtually all business plans. These components include the review schedule, strategy
summary, milestones, responsibilities, metrics (numerical goals that can be tracked), and basic
projections. The projections include sales, costs, expenses, and cash flow.

These core elements grow organically as needed by the business for the actual business purpose.

The order doesn’t matter a whole lot, so don’t sweat having the “right” outline as long as you
have an outline that works. Here’s what they normally include:

Executive summary
Just like the old adage that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, the
executive summary is your business’s calling card. It needs to be succinct and hit the key
highlights of the plan. Many potential investors will never make it beyond the executive
summary, so it needs to be compelling and intriguing.

The executive summary should provide a quick overview of the problem your business solves,
your solution to the problem, the business’s target market, key financial highlights, and a
summary of who does what on the management team.

While it’s difficult to convey everything you might want to convey in the executive summary,
keeping it short is critical. If you hook your reader, they’ll find more detail in the body of the
plan as they continue reading. You could consider using your one-page business plan as your
executive summary. And LivePlan offers an excellent alternative with what it (as of August
2018) calls the Pitch page, a standard summary.

The opportunity

One often useful section of a formal plan describes the market, including market analysis, data,
projections, descriptions, and competition.

Target market

As critical as it is that your company is solving a real-world problem that people or other
businesses have, it’s equally important to detail who you are selling to. Understanding your
target market is key to building marketing campaigns and sales processes that work. And,
beyond marketing, your target market will define how your company grows.

Market trends

Describe the most important changes happening in your target market right now. Are the needs,
demographics, or preferences of potential customers changing in a notable way? Ideally, explain
how those trends will favor your products or services over those of your competitors.

For example, if people in your market are increasingly using their smartphones for tasks that they
used to do on a computer, perhaps the mobile app you are developing is well-positioned to
capture a bigger part of the market.

Market growth

Explain how your target market has been growing or shrinking in recent years. Research is key
here, obviously. You can use Internet searches, trade associations, market research firms,
journalists who cover your market, or other credible sources to gauge market growth. A growing
market is encouraging since it suggests a stronger demand for your solution in the years to come.
That said, you can still be successful in a weak or contracting market. It’s just important to
acknowledge that you are swimming against the tide.
Competition

What other options do your customers have to address their needs, and what makes your solution
better for them?

Execution

Products and services

The products and services section of your business plan delves into the core of what you are
trying to achieve. In this section, you will detail the problem you are solving, how you are
solving it, the competitive landscape, and your business’s competitive edge.

Depending on the type of company you are starting, this section may also detail the technologies
you are using, intellectual property that you own, and other key factors about the products that
you are building now and plan on building in the future.

Marketing and sales

The marketing and sales plan details the strategies that you will use to reach your target market.
This portion of your business plan provides an overview of how you will position your company
in the market, how you will price your products and services, how you will promote your
offerings, and any sales processes you need to have in place.

Operations

Depending on the specifics of your business, include plans related to locations and facilities,
technology, and regulatory issues.

Milestones and metrics

Plans are nothing without solid implementation. The milestones and metrics chapter of your
business plan lays out concrete tasks that you plan to accomplish, complete with due dates, and
the names of the people to be held responsible.

This chapter should also detail the key metrics that you plan to use to track the growth of your
business. This could include the number of sales leads generated, the number of page views to
your web site, or any other critical metric that helps determine the health of your business.

Company overview

For external plans, the company overview is a brief summary of the company’s legal structure,
ownership, history, and location. It’s common to include a mission statement in the company
overview, but that’s certainly not a critical component of all business plans.
The company overview is often omitted from internal plans.

Team

The management team chapter of a business plan is critical for entrepreneurs seeking investment
but can be omitted for virtually any other type of plan.

The management team section should include relevant team bios that explain why your
management personnel is made up of the right people for the roles. After all, good ideas are a
dime a dozen—it’s a talented entrepreneur who can take those ideas and turn them into thriving
businesses.

Business plans should help identify not only the strengths of a business, but areas that need
improvement and gaps that need to be filled. Identifying gaps in the management team shows
knowledge and foresight, not a lack of ability to build the business.

Financial plan

The financial plan is a critical component of nearly all business plans. Running a successful
business means paying close attention to how much money you are bringing in, and how much
money you are spending. A good financial plan goes a long way to help determine when to hire
new employees or buy a new piece of equipment.

If you are a startup and/or are seeking funding, a solid financial plan helps you figure out how
much capital your business needs to get started or to grow, so you know how much money to ask
for from the bank or from investors.

A typical financial plan includes:

 Sales forecast
 Personnel plan
 Profit and loss statement
 Cash flow statement
 Balance sheet

For more details on what to include in your business plan, check out our detailed business plan
outline, download a business plan template in Word format, or read through our library of
sample business plans so you can see how other businesses have structured their plans and how
they describe their business strategy.

Using your business plan to get ahead

I mentioned earlier in this article that businesses that write business plans grow 30 percent faster
than businesses that don’t plan. Taking the simple step forward to do any planning at all will
certainly put your business at a significant advantage over businesses that just drive forward with
no specific plans.

But just writing a business plan does not guarantee your success.

The best way to extract value from your business plan is to use it as an ongoing management
tool. To do this, your business plan must be constantly revisited and revised to reflect current
conditions and the new information that you’ve collected as you run your business.

When you’re running a business, you are learning new things every day: what your customers
like, what they don’t like, which marketing tactics work, which ones don’t. Your business plan
should be a reflection of those learnings to guide your future strategy.

This all sounds like a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to be.

Tips to extract the most value from your plan in the least amount of time

1. Use your one-page business plan to quickly outline your strategy. Use this
document to periodically review your high-level strategy. Are you still solving
the same problem for your customers? Has your target market changed?
2. Use a Lean Plan to document processes that work. Share this document with
new employees to give them a clear picture of your overall strategy.
3. Set milestones for what you plan to accomplish in the next 30 days. Assign
these tasks to team members, set dates, and allocate part of your budget if
necessary.
4. Keep your sales forecast and expense budget current. As you learn more about
customer buying patterns, revise your forecast.
5. Compare your planned budgets and forecasts with your actual results at least
monthly. Make adjustments to your plan based on the results.
6. The final, most important aspect of leveraging your business plan as a growth
engine is to schedule a monthly review. The review doesn’t have to take longer
than an hour, but it needs to be a regular recurring meeting on your calendar. In
your monthly review, go over your key numbers compared to your plan, review
the milestones you planned to accomplish, set new milestones, and do a quick
review of your overall strategy.