Personally, I am really bad at sending thank you cards.
Or any card. I never get around to sending Christmas cards. I never remember birthdays in time to send a birthday card. Even when I give a present, I usually do without a card. Yet, I feel guilty when I do not send a thank you card. If someone has cared enough to give something to you or do something for you, the least they deserve is a free thank you card.
Before our current era of email and telephones, the humble letter was the only way to communicate over long distances.
We now give the letter a certain amount of romanticism since it represents a bygone era. However, in the past few years we’ve seen a slight renaissance in letter writing; stationary stores and specialty papermakers have reported that they’ve seen more people interested in designer papers and wax seals than they’ve seen in years. It’s tough to completely revive letter writing though, since after all, writing an email or dialing up someone on the phone takes a lot less time than it takes to sit down and write a letter. The cost of sending a thank you card in the mail seems to have gone up also.
Though there’s a good chance you won’t turn off your computer and start writing letters to everyone you know instead of jotting them an email, there is one artifact of the times of letter writing that should find its way back into everyone’s life: the simple thank you card.
Thank you cards are appropriate for a large number of occasions, from receiving a birthday or Christmas gift to thanking someone for a dinner or concert invitation. An actual, physical thank you card will mean a lot more to your hosts or your gift-givers than a phone call or email will, even if you don’t say a whole lot on the card. The card itself doesn’t have to be very fancy either; most gift or holiday-card stores sell packs of thank you cards that are quite nice. You don’t necessarialy have to go to a specialty stationary store or printmaker to get your thank you cards, though these establishments, without a doubt, make the highest quality cards around. If you do go the custom route your options are almost limitless; embossing, ribbons, wax seals, personalization, or specialty papers and envelopes are all popular options.
Thank you cards are especially helpful if you’ve been given a gift or invited to an event by someone you don’t know particularly well, since your card will imbed yourself in their memory.
Being remembered is particularly nice if you’re sending the thank you card to a superior or a business investor, since it’s always good to be remembered by these sorts of people in the future.
When writing the thank you card, remember to be both cordial and specific.
Be sure to let your reader know why exactly you enjoyed the gift or invitation or what, exactly, you’re thankful for. It shoud be clear your are sending a thank you card because you are thankful, not becuse you feel you need to.
Sending a business thank you card is a great way to improve the relationship with your clients if you run a business.
Sending a business thank you card lets the customer know you appreciate the business they gave you. A business thank you card is also an excellent way to bring the client back for more business.
If you are on a budget, send a free thank you card.
A free thank you card does not even need to be a card. Just a hand written note of thanks can be your free thank you greeting card. If the card is for a friend, a photograph is also a great way to improve the importance of the note to them. You can even get free stamps.
Sending a thank you card is important.
I plan to make sending thank you cards something I practice. Maybe one of those wax seals or a fountain pen encourage me to send a thank you greeting card more often.
