Business letters are always treated as written documents that are important to a business deal or situation. There are several parts to a business letter, but one of the more versatile business letter elements is the carbon copy, or CC, feature. With this feature, you can make sure all interested parties get a copy of an important letter, and you can also keep your own files updated at all times. The term “carbon copy” refers to the old carbon paper method of making copies that was popular before copying machines.
How Does CC Work?
The CC section of a written business letter is found at the bottom of the page. When you use email, the CC section is found in the address header. But even in emails, official business letters will often include the CC section at the bottom of the body of the letter. The CC section in written letters appears after the signature.
Who Is Put In The CC Section?
The CC section is used to make sure any interested party receives a copy of the letter and who the sender wants to be seen by all other recipients. If the sender want to send a copy of the letter to a recipient who remains unseen by the others, then the sender would use the blind carbon copy (BCC) feature.
Some business professionals put themselves in the CC section to make sure that they are included in the official documentation of the conversation. This is a common practice that has been going on for years/
Two Ways To Format A CC Entry
Entries in the CC section can either include full addresses, company names and phone numbers, or they can just include the recipients’ names. If the sender understands that contact addresses are sensitive information, then they might choose to leave the addresses out of the CC section. More informal business letters also often choose to leave out addresses in the CC section.
Potential CC Problems
One clerical error could include CC entries on a letter that were not meant to be included. If this occurs, then the integrity of the information on the letter can be called into question and that could affect the entire business deal.
If the sender chooses to include addresses in the CC entries and one CC recipient did not want their address revealed, then this can also cause problems. This is why business professionals should always ask business associates how they prefer to have their names show up in CC entries. It is not uncommon to have a CC section that is a mix of entries with and without addresses.
If you are writing a business letter that has to be seen by several people, then you will need to use the CC feature. But remember to find out what kind of format your recipients prefer to avoid giving out contact information that was supposed to remain confidential.
Jim Treebold is a North Carolina based writer. He lives by the mantra of “Learn 1 new thing each day”! Jim loves to write, read, pedal around on his electric bike and dream of big things. Drop him a line if you like his writing, he loves hearing from his readers!