When it comes to ways of expressing your gratitude, there is perhaps no medium more effective than a well written thank-you letter. Being able to write thank-you letters that convey your feelings properly is an essential skill in multiple aspects of life, so learning to write them well is a skill worth cultivating. In today’s day and age, oftentimes many of us are overwhelmed and can’t find the time to write a simple letter of thanks. Because of this, receiving a letter of gratitude can be a very heartwarming and appreciated gesture. 

With this in mind, we’ve decided to collect and showcase these tried-and-true methods for writing thoughtful and effective thank-you letters. 

Consider the Timing

When it comes to thank-you letters, the conventional thinking is that the quicker the response the better. However, don’t let timing impede you in writing and sending a thank-you letter, because any letter of thanks will be more appreciated than none at all. Writing a thank-you letter will always be touching for the recipient regardless of timing, because it means that you had them in your thoughts. 

Send Something Physical

Taking the time to write a thank-you letter alone is a nice gesture to do for someone. However, the medium of your writing is also an important consideration to think about. 

In this world of instant messaging, emails, and various other forms of communication, delivering a physical and tangible letter of gratitude has never been more impactful. Plenty of people feel as though they do not have the time to afford such gestures, and typically opt to sending a thank-you email instead. 

If you send a tangible letter of thanks to someone, it shows how much you care for that person, because you took the time out of your busy schedule to arrange for a physical letter to be sent to them, and that often appreciated by your recipient. 

Tips on Structuring a Gratitude Letter

Thank Early, and Use Details

When writing any message, getting to the point of the message is important for proper communication. Try to place your message of gratitude and the reason you’re sending the letter early in the text of your note. This helps to establish the tone of the content, and frames the rest of the note in a logical fashion. To put it simply, get to the point, and get to it early! 

Furthermore, when thanking, try referencing specific occasions and acts that you’re grateful for. Sending general messages of gratitude is adequate sometimes, but including specific details will always make your message of thanks come across as more genuine. Establishing that genuine feeling to your message will make it much more effective as a letter of thanks for your reader. 

When thanking, try to steer the focus of your writing to the individual that you’re sending thanks to. This will allow your message to be more personal, creating a greater connection with your reader through proper acknowledgement. If you speak too much about your feelings in the message, the overall feeling of the writing will be more about you, and less about the person it should be about! 

Finish with a Proper Closing

It’s often said that the most memorable parts of any message are the beginning and the ending, so landing on a proper closing for your letter of gratitude is extremely important. 

We recommend reiterating the points that you’ve made in the body of the message regarding your gratitude. Having a “thanks again” message in the closing of your letter is an effective way to really hammer home just how grateful you are for the reader and the gestures they’ve done to deserve thanks. 

Additionally, you may want to add an offer of assistance in the future. Nothing says “I appreciate what you’ve done for me” like offering assistance in return. Maintaining good relationships is an important aspect of life, so offering help to the person who has helped you is a great way of keeping that relationship healthy and strong. 

It may be obvious, but also include your signature at the bottom of the message. Including a handwritten signature is a nice personal touch to add to your letter of gratitude. 

Putting it All Together 

To sum it up, here are all of our tips we recommend in writing an effective and personal thank-you letter. 

• Respond to the kind gesture with your letter in a timely manner 
• Handwrite your letter for a more personal touch 
• Include your message of thanks early in your letter 
• Reference specific occasions and acts when thanking 
• Focus on the person you’re thanking in your letter
• Add an extra thanks at the end of your note
• Offer assistance in the future at the end of your note 

All of these points in combination are sure to produce a letter of thanks that will resonate with the person you’re sending it to, which is always the intention of an effective letter of gratitude.