By Caroline Forsey

When there’s a significant shift in the business landscape or an important win, it’s important to spread the word. A memo is the best way to get the job done. Unlike an email, your memo will go out to your entire department or everyone at the company. No pressure. (Well, maybe some pressure…)

Before writing a memo, I take some time to hype myself up. This bit of internal communication will be read by my peers, my boss, and likely my boss’ boss. Getting the language right is essential, and every word counts.

In this post, I’ll share my experience writing memos along with tips from my peers at HubSpot. From there, I’ll showcase stellar memo examples and a template to help you create your own. Let’s dive in!

Memos are shared to inform readers about new information and have applications for different communities and businesses.

Communities can use memos to tell people within it about public safety guidelines, promote various events, and raise awareness on subjects that affect their lives.

Businesses can use memos to relay information involving newly updated policies, changes in procedure, important milestones, or necessary employee actions, such as attending an upcoming meeting or convention.

I often find myself writing memos when there are significant changes to my program at HubSpot. Perhaps we’re implementing a new workflow, reorganizing the structure of our team, or sharing insights from a project we just completed. Memos denote importance, so I only write them when I have important updates to share that impact multiple stakeholders.

We’ll explore more about when memos are necessary below. But first, let’s discuss how to write a memo.

You can put together a memo in a few short steps. All memos should include the following.

1. Write a heading.

No matter what kind of memo you’re writing, you’ll need to include a heading. This section should include who the memo is for (whether an individual or department), the date, who the memo is from, and a subject line.

Your subject line should be short, attention-grabbing, and give readers a general idea of what the memo is about.

I often pair a main, eye-catching title with a deck below the headline that has more information. For example, if I were writing a post about A.I. in content marketing, I might title it “The Robot Revolution: How A.I. Shapes the Search Landscape.”

Make sure the tone of your title matches the seriousness of the subject matter and your organization’s communication style. A witty opener won’t be right for every memo.

2. Write an introduction.

Remember, you want your memo to be brief and information-packed. Your introduction should be an efficient use of space. It should highlight the issue or problem and the solution you decided to move forward with.

That’s a reality that I personally struggle with. As a writer, I want to include those eloquent phrases and thoughtful transitions that sound great when read aloud. However, I need to take a …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron