Here's a simple example of what you would do:
var text = 'Widget World';
var textElements = text.split("").map(function(c) {
return $('' + c + '');
});
var el = $('#letters');
var delay = 50; // Tune this for different letter delays.
textElements.forEach(function(e, i) {
el.append(e);
e.hide();
setTimeout(function() {
e.fadeIn(300)
}, 100 + i * delay)
})