Get The Word Out:29. The Art of the Thank You Note

It’s amazing how many people don’t send thank you notes. But that’s okay – it just means the handwritten thank you note that you send will have that much more impact.

And don’t just send thank you notes to people who have done something for you, or written up your project, or linked to your website. Send notes to people who inspire you, that you admire, that have done something you respect. That means if you see a writer who has written a particularly good story, send a note along telling them so. If someone has published a book that you dig, let them know that. And so on and so forth.

Obviously, you cannot and should not expect a response. It’s not about selling your project, or asking for something. It certainly doesn’t hurt to briefly mention who you are and what you are doing, but again, this is not a press release… You can’t expect a return on sending a thank you note, and if you do, that sort of defeats the purpose of doing so in the first place, and pretty much guarantees that nothing will happen. This is principally about letting someone know you appreciate their work.

But sometimes these notes open up dialogues that lead to awareness of who you are and possible interaction, and down the line, you never know what that might lead to – a write up, a website link, collaboration on a project, an invitation to participate in an event, conversation at a party, an introduction to someone. Goodwill has a way of coming back to you, and there’s nothing wrong with that.