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Writing
the Letter of Invitation
1.
PLAN AHEAD!
It
may take you a few weeks to get a response to an invitation
so invite the potential speakers well ahead of the date
of your event. In most cases, unless you know the speaker
very well, you should send a letter to her office first
and then do a follow up call to her office.
2. BE SPECIFIC AND GIVE THE LOGISTICS
Your
first paragraph should contain the essential information
- the invitation, date, time and location. Don't force
your potential speaker to go searching through the letter.
These are busy women who need the specifics right away.
3. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Who
is doing the asking? If it's an organization, give some
history on it - its mission, how long its been in existence,
how many members - anything pertinent you think will
help make a case as to why she fits with the event.
Why are you doing the event? What is the goal/mission
of the event?
4. WHY HER?
Make
your case for why you are asking her -- what will she
bring to the event that some one else can't bring. If
you have a personal tie, or if the potential speaker
has been recommended by someone she knows, you should
include that information. Be sure to get their permission
to use their name in the letter. This should help persuade
the speaker into saying yes to your invitation. Remember
these are very busy women with major time constraints
so making a strong argument for why they should say
yes to you will help them make their decision.
5.
MORE SPECIFICS
What
do you want her to do? If you would like her to give
a speech, what specifically would you like her to talk
about? For how long? (Remember, people's attention spans
are short - no matter how spectacular a speaker she
may be. Also, it's important to allow the audience to
interact with the speaker, so allow for a question and
answer period, if possible.) What is the speaking arrangement
- is she on a panel, is she the keynote speaker, how
large of an audience, who is her audience? (If there
is an honorarium involved and if you are covering any
other expenses, such as travel and/or lodging, include
that information here as well.)
6. ABOUT MONEY
What
to offer a potential speaker will vary depending on
who you are asking. Oftentimes women representing local
women's organizations and public officials won't require
an honorarium. (Public officials usually enjoy the opportunity
to get their name and face out to the community!) Nationally
recognized scholars, writers, political analysts, etc.
may require thousands of dollars. If you have a small
budget, be realistic about who to invite. Remember,
less well-known speakers don't necessarily mean lower
quality programs. It's the personality and character
of the speaker that matters most. Also, more well known
speakers may seem less approachable/accessible and thus,
your audience may get less out of the event.
If
you think the speaker will require an honorarium that
you can't quite afford, you may be able to talk them
into a reduced fee. Make the point in your letter that
you are a student organization/publicly funded organization,
etc. with a limited budget and tell her what you can
afford. Plant the idea that is important for women leaders
to invest in the next generation of women leaders and
so you hope she can make an exception.
Example:
We
are offering an honorarium of $750 as well as covering
your food, lodging and travel. We realize this is far
below your normal fee and hope you will consider this
invitation because of the importance of this program's
work. If today's women leaders don't encourage young
woman, who will?
7. WHAT'S NEXT?
Tell
her she should expect a follow up call from you (or
some one from your organization) soon, but also provide
a phone number in case she has questions and would like
to call you. Tell her you look forward to speaking with
her soon and sign off!
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Sample
Invitation Letter
Dear
Ms. Sanchez:
I
am writing to invite you to participate in a panel discussion
on Young Women and Political Organizations, Friday,
September 25, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. at Miller University
in Glendale, Pennsylvania. This event is part of a political
education program for Pennsylvania college women, called
Women's Political Growth, offered by the Pennsylvania
Women's Organization.
In
June, 30 young women from throughout Pennsylvania participated
in a week-long residential institute, learning about
the impact of women in politics and gaining political
skills from a faculty of practitioners and scholars
working in the field of politics. This September, we
will reconvene with this group for a retreat to learn
more about women in politics.
The
Young Women and Political Organizations panel will feature
women who are currently working around politics and/or
mobilizing college students. The goal of this session
is to illustrate what mobilization involves and to show
students that public leadership roles exist beyond elected
office. Some students may come to our program believing
the only way to "make a difference" on policy
issues is to be a politician in the traditional sense.
We want to send a clear message that activism is public
leadership as well.
We
would like each panelist to speak for approximately
8-10 minutes, describing the work your organization
does and issues of activism -- why is activism important,
why is an interest in the political world important,
how do you mobilize students? Also, the students will
want to know more about your personal background --
how did you get involved in public leadership, what
advice would you give to students to get involved? This
will then leave plenty of time for the students to ask
questions and discussion.
We
can cover your travel costs to and from Pennsylvania.
I will call you shortly to answer any questions you
might have and see if you will be able to join us. I
hope your answer is yes!
Sincerely,
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Invitation
Follow-Up
Don’t expect to talk with the potential speaker
directly. Many invitations are handled by an assistant
so you may speak only to that person. This fact makes
very specific information in your letters important
to convey your needs for the event as clearly as possible.
Call
within a week or two of sending the invitation. Remember,
political women get asked to speak at many different
events, so you won’t want too much time to pass
between her receiving the letter and your call. It is
common for the letter to get lost in the shuffle of
papers so don’t be discouraged if they don’t
immediately remember your invitation, or have it on
hand.
Remind
the assistant or potential speaker who you are, when
you sent the invitation, what you are inviting them
for, and that you are now following up with them to
see if they can make it.
Ex:
"This is Lisa Collins. I’m with the Pennsylvania
Women’s Organization at Miller University. I recently
sent Teresa Sanchez a letter of invitation to participate
in an upcoming event and I’m calling to see if
she had any questions and if she will be able to join
us."
The
office may need to call you back. Be sure your answering
machine sounds professional.
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When you get a Yes!
Writing the Letter of Confirmation
Write the speaker to confirm her participation at your
event. Restate the time, place, name of event, and the
sponsor of the event. Thank them for agreeing to speak.
Include
directions and maps to the event location if she isn’t
familiar with the area and will be getting herself there.
If she is coming from a long distance and you are arranging
her travel and lodging, include that information then,
or make it available to her as soon as possible. Give
her the name of the hotel and its phone and fax number
so that she can plan ahead to take care of business.
If
she is appearing on a panel, it is nice to let her know
who she will be sitting on the panel with. It may help
her tailor her talk so she doesn’t repeat information
that may overlap with another panelist’s.
Always
be prepared for the worst! What happens if your speaker
gets lost on the way to your event? If at all possible,
give the speaker a name and phone number to contact
on the day of the event in case of an emergency.
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Sample
Confirmation Letter
Dear
Ms. Sanchez:
This
is to confirm your participation in Young Women and
Political Organizations, Friday, September 25, 3:30
- 5:00 p.m. at Miller University, in Glendale, Pennsylvania.
This event is part of a political education program
for Pennsylvania college women, called Women’s
Political Growth, offered by the Pennsylvania Women’s
Organization. We are happy you can join us!
The
panel will be informal to promote dialogue between the
speakers and students. A moderator will ask each panelist
to begin by telling the students a bit about herself,
the work her organization is doing and her role within
the organization. Each panelist will have 8-10 minutes
to talk. Then the moderator will begin the conversation
by asking the panelists why they think an interest in
politics is important. After responses, the students
will be able to ask questions.
I
have enclosed a map and directions to Miller University
and the Academic Building Auditorium where the event
will take place. A reserved sign will be posted on a
parking space by the main entrance of the building for
you to use. Please save your receipts so that we may
reimburse you for your travel expenses.
I
look forward to meeting you and having you participate
in the program. Thank you for agreeing to speak!
Sincerely,
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At the
Event
Make sure some one coordinating the event is put in
charge of greeting speakers before their session. It
is incredibly irritating to get to a place you’ve
never been before and wander around wondering where
you are supposed to be – especially if you are
doing it for free!
Once
the speaker has arrived provide her with anything she
may need during her talk such as bottled water or a
microphone.
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