Thank You Notes Should Really Be Thank You Notes

Not long ago, I visited a popular furniture store and filled out a form with my contact information. A few days later I received a thank you note in the mail from the sales associate. Nice touch, I thought to myself…until I read it.

Here’s what the note said:

Thank you for shopping at (NAME OF STORE).

I’m sure you found our selection, quality, and great values to be outstanding.

Please ask for me the next time you stop in.

Thanks,
Neal

Does that make you want to go back and ask for Neal? Me neither. Let’s just highlight a few thank you note faux paus Neal made.

1. No Personalization – My name was on the envelope address, but wasn’t used in the note itself. Surely a sales associate would know how important using a client’s name is! A hand-written note should feel like it’s coming from a friend, not a stranger who doesn’t know your name.
2. Self-Focus – The note goes straight into talking about how great this furniture store is and how sure they are that I probably am still falling all over myself at the outstanding selection they had. What about me? What did you think of me? Do you even remember the couch I looked at or the particular situation I had with an extremely small living room and awkward floor plan?
3. Selfish Intentions – And to top it all off, a pathetic plea to give the sale to him and not one of his nasty co-workers. A soft reminder to ask for him would have been fine if it had a benefit statement for me, the client, but I have zero incentive to ask for Neal with a blatant statement like that.

As an author, thank you notes are a wonderful way to stay in touch with agents, editors, book reviewers, book store managers, etc. A well written thank you note will remind a contact of you and create a feeling of closeness. They’ll also feel appreciated and appreciation goes a long way in how hard they are willing to work for you. But, a poorly written thank you note can leave someone feeling bitter.

Let a thank you note be just that, a thank you note.

Use Names. Marketers know that using a person’s name makes them feel special and known by the sender. It’s also practical in companies where one person may open the mail for several people in a department. If the envelope gets thrown away, it may not ever make it to the right person.

Mention details that remind them that you really notice them. If they mention that their daughter is sick, say you hope their daughter is feeling better. If they put out cookies at your book signing, tell them how much you appreciated that special touch that was above and beyond.

Tell them why you are thankful. This is an old graduation and wedding note trick. “Thank you for the blender. We’ve been making healthy smoothies every morning for breakfast. It’s really going to help us achieve our fitness goals this year.” For writer’s: “Thank you for your edits on the first three chapters of my book. You really brought the opening scene to a whole new level by changing the sequence of events and helping me build the suspense.”

Provide a Benefit With Any Self-Focused Call to Action: Why should someone invite you back for a book signing or work with you on another project? “Thank you again for representing my latest book. Now that we have a system that works so well between us, future projects with you will surely be a breeze. I really hope I can crank out another proposal that you would be proud to represent.”

By the way, I know people in this business who have chosen not to work with someone again based solely on the lack of a proper thank you after a project was completed. So send thank you notes and make sure that they actually say THANK YOU!

How do you thank the people who work hard to represent you? Hand-written notes? Email? Tweets? Personal Phone Calls? Gifts?

Tagged as: author networking, author relationship marketing, book marketing, thank you notes