HOW TO WRITE A MEMO

[TEMPLATE & EXAMPLES]

MEMO
 A memo (also known as a memorandum, or "reminder")
is used for internal communications regarding
procedures or official business within an organization.
MEMO
 Unlike an email, a memo is a message you send to a
large group of employees, like your entire department or
everyone at the company. You might need to write a
memo to inform staff of upcoming events or broadcast
internal changes.
MEMO
 A memorandum, or memo, is a document shared with a
group of people to disperse information on a task,
project, event, or other. The purpose of a memo is to
bring immediate attention to that information in a quick
and brief manner.
 Memorandums are shared to inform readers about new
information and have applications for different
communities and businesses.
COMMUNITIES
 Communities can use memos to tell people within it
about public safety guidelines, promote various events,
raise awareness on subjects that affect their lives.
BUSINESSES
 Businesses can use memos to relay information
involving newly updated policy, changes in procedure, or
persuade employees to take an action, such as attend an
upcoming meeting, convention, or a celebration for
organizational milestones.
 Next, we'll walk you through writing a memo of your
own.
HOW TO WRITE A MEMO

 Write a heading.
 Write an introduction.

 Provide background on the issue

 Outline action items and timeline.

 Include a closing statement.

 Review and proofread before sending.

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.
2. WRITE AN INTRODUCTION.

 Your introduction should summarize the purpose of your

memo in two to three sentences. It should highlight the
issue or problem and the solution you decided to move
forward with.
3. PROVIDE BACKGROUND ON THE ISSUE.

 In this section, explain the reasoning behind the memo.

For example, it could be changes in the budget, a
company restructuring, or a new rollout of procedures.
This explanation should provide justification for the
changes being implemented.
4. OUTLINE ACTION ITEMS AND TIMELINE (OPTIONAL).

 Depending on the purpose of your memo, you may have action

items for employees to complete or provide a timeline of when
changes will take place. For example, they may need to
complete a task or provide information by a certain deadline.
This section should include the following:
OUTLINE
 When employees can expect changes to go into effect
 What changes have already been made and what to
expect in the future
 Deadlines they need to adhere to

 If no action is needed on the employee’s behalf, you can

leave this section out.
5. INCLUDE A CLOSING STATEMENT.

 Your closing statement will include any information

you’d like to reinforce. Are there any specific contacts
readers should reach out to for questions? If so, include
them here.
6. REVIEW AND PROOFREAD BEFORE SENDING.

 This step may seem like a no-brainer but it's important to

review your document before sending it out. Memos are
meant to inform readers of upcoming changes and relay
important information. You don't want to risk causing
confusion with a typo or misstatement.
 Business Memo Template
 MEMORANDUM

 TO:

 FROM:

 DATE:

 SUBJECT:

 I'm writing to inform you that [reason for writing memo].

 As our company continues to grow … [evidence or reason to

support your opening paragraph].
 Please let me know if you have any questions. In the meantime,
I'd appreciate your cooperation as [official business
information] takes place.