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MARKETING 'Dear Voice-Over Client Prospect, How Do I Close My Message To You?' November 29, 2018  By Tom DheereVoice Actor & Coach Here's an exercise in the art of letter closing. So I was on Facebook (as I am too often) and an interesting conversation popped up on the VO of NYC Facebook Group.
Founder Carin Gilfry asked if you find it weird when people sign their
emails, "Respectfully, Jane Doe." She said it's "because it reminds me
of the phrase 'With all due respect…' which is typically followed by an
insult."
An interesting discussion ensued where people expressed which letter
closing they like or don't like. What was even more interesting was that
there was no consensus. For example,
CONSIDER CULTURE Another person believed that the more formal the letter closing, the
ruder it is. That's interesting, too, because it's a very American
perspective. By that, I mean there is a correlation between formality and friendliness across international lines. I discovered this a few
years ago when doing email-etiquette-by-country research, which was later
reinforced when I narrated the audiobook Culture Crossing by Michael Landers. Through my research, the Culture Crossing narration, and personal
experience, I've learned that formality and politeness don't always go
hand-in-hand. For instance,
Clearly, this varies from person to
person and whether it's a professional or personal relationship. And there
are also contradictions. In America, if
you call a stranger "buddy" or "pal" it's often meant to show
disrespect.
CLOSING GUIDELINES For writing a letter closing with a potential or existing client, here are some guidelines from the website, The Balance Careers.
ERR TOWARD FORMAL
Here's my tip. When writing to a potential client, your letter
closing should reflect your branding, but err on the side of being
formal. When writing to an existing client, you can (and should, in my
opinion) be less formal but still polite since you're striving to
develop a more comfortable relationship based on strong communication
and trust. If a potential or existing client writes to you, just write
back using the same letter closing they use. That way there is a minimal
chance of being too formal or informal because you're using what they
are comfortable using. ------------------ ABOUT TOM Over two decades, Tom Dheere has narrated thousands of projects for clients in over a dozen countries and voiced more than 40 audiobooks. He is also a voice over business consultant, coach at Edge Studio, was the marketing consultant for the Voice Over Virtual online conference, and is also writer/producer of the sci-fi action comic book Agent 1.22. Web: www.tomdheere.com Agent 1.22 |
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I like to use Warm Regards normally.
And I usually use “Best Wishes” when I let a client know that there is no way I can work for that rate! :)