Advice When Drafting a Memorandum

• What is a Memorandum
• What Does a Memorandum Include?
• When You Should Send a Memorandum
• Tips for Writing Effective Memos
• Securely Sending a Memorandum

A memorandum is a short, formal letter designed to draw attention to an issue or problem and get the reader to take action on it. In business, a memorandum can also be used to inform employees or clients about new policies and practices. Typically, a memorandum, or memo, is used for internal written communication. Today’s memorandums may be sent via email, but the basic format remains the same.

As a letter, a memorandum has four basic parts in its heading. These are:

• To: This line states who the recipient is, and it can be a group of people instead of an individual
• From: This line states who the sender is
• Date: This is the date the memorandum gets sent
• RE: This is the subject line that indicates the main subject of the memo

The sample memorandum shows these four lines. After this introduction, you will craft the letter itself.

In business, there are many times when sending a memorandum to employees or clients is acceptable. This includes:

• When changing fee structures
• When adding or taking away policies
• When addressing a problem
• When posting meeting schedules
• As reminders for teams
• To summarize terms and agreements
• When making procedural changes

Any time you need to alert a large group of people to a change or addition, a memorandum makes it easy to do.

To write an effective memo, make sure your writing is focused and brief. You need to address the topic at hand thoroughly while avoiding lengthy sentences and verbose writing styles.

Memos should have a professional tone. They also should not include any sensitive information, because they tend to get sent to many people all at once.

The opening paragraph or sentence needs to state the purpose of the memo and what you want the reader to know or do. Follow this with the details, and conclude with a restatement of the purpose or action.

Use short sentences and paragraphs, so the reader can skim the memo without missing information. If the memo is long, use bullet points to ensure the reader can easily skim it.

Finally, make sure the memo gives the reader an actionable step to take. This will make it effective. Check out the sample memorandum to see how this is done.

To ensure that a memo gets to all the appropriate people, you need to send it securely. Nitro Sign allows you to send documents securely to anyone you wish. You can even collect signatures to verify that the recipients have read the memo and received the information. Start your free trial of Nitro Sign to explore how it can help you distribute memos more effectively.