Invitation Letter Basics

There are two main types of invitation letter: those with regards tovisas, and the other for social occasions. It is important to know the difference so that when you are writing your invitation letter you are sure on what to include and the tone of voice to use.

An invitation letter can be a formal or informal invite sent by anyone for numerous reasons. All invitations will involverequesting the presence of a person, or group of people, to attend an event or some sort of visit. Invitation letters will usually be sent in advance in order to give the recipient time to plan ahead.

Invitation letters can be separated into two main groups: invitation letters for a visa and social invitation letters. The two are quite different and will require different formalities due to the different purposes. They will also have different layouts and tones of voices.

Typically, invitation letters can come from anyone and it all depends on the purpose that they are writing. When sending an invitation letter, it can be done in person, over the phone, online or in the post. Here are some suggestions on where an invitation letter could come from:

• Businesses or companies inviting you to an event or opening/closing ceremony

• Conference organisers inviting you to be a speaker or give a presentation

• Friends inviting you to social gatherings

Invitation Letters for a Visa

This type of invitation letter is one of the most common and popular requests. As a whole, people want to travel more freelyaround the world either to visit countriesand family members or to go and work in new places. Due to this, getting permission from the host country has become increasingly more important.

Your Company Brand

When your company is hosting any kind of a special event, choose an invitation that reflects your company brand. Simply buying blank invitations at a stationery store and filling in the blanks will not have the same impact as having the invitations custom made.

Here are some suggestions to make it easier to choose the right formal business invitation for your needs:

• Keep it simple.

You want the type to be large enough to be easy-to-read. If you have the choice between a plain script and a more elaborate one, choose the plain one. You want the reader to be able to understand the purpose of your invitation.

• Put the title at the top of the invitation.

The first thing you want the reader to see is what type of event you are hosting. The other details, including your company name, are secondary to what the purpose of the celebration is.

• Don't be afraid to center the text.

Whereas in normal correspondence the eye naturally reverts to the left-hand-side, this is not true of formal business invitations. You can center the text and use different sizes of type to draw the reader's eye to the important details.

• Choose a particular type and stick to it.

You don't want your invitation to look jumbled up by trying to include too many different styles of type. With the variety of different type faces available, you won't have a problem choosing something that reflects the mood you are trying to convey. In fact, you may actually have trouble choosing just one.

• Make sure you include the Five W's in the invitation.

When you issue a formal invitation, you want to make sure that you include Who is hosting the evening, What the event is, Where it is being held, When the event will be taking place, and Why you are it. You will also want to let your invitees know how and when to indicate whether they plan to attend the event.

• Write it out first.

Take some time to organize your thoughts. Write out the event details first. Look at how many lines of type you have. As a general rule, the invitation should be limited to no more than 14 lines of copy.