How Does an Appreciation Letter Work?

Appreciation letters are important because they show that you are thankful for what has been given to you or what has been performed on your behalf. This article will show you the best way to compose an appreciation letter.

Purpose

An appreciation letter is much more than just a common thank-you letter. A thank-you letter is sent as a courtesy for a present received or when someone has done something that has touched you deeply. It could be someone who came and gave of their time to help you through a serious illness or someone who organized a fundraiser to benefit your son's little league team. An appreciation letter is usually given to someone who has gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Timing

An appreciation letter should be written as soon as the act that you are appreciating is complete. If you wait too long you are likely to forget and never get the letter out. If by any chance you do remember after a significant time has passed you should still send the letter out. When it comes to thank you and appreciation letters it is better late then never at all.

Format

An appreciation letter should start out by retelling what the person did. Don't thank them just yet, just stick to telling the story and don't forget to mention things like how selfless they were or how generously they gave of their time. Adding compliments throughout the story is important. Then start a new paragraph that describes how that act of kindness benefited you or your family. Let them know how much it meant to you that they did what they did. Close the letter with warm thoughts and then sign your name.

Template

If you are going to write your appreciation letter by hand you will want to use a fun stationary set. If you don't have a stationary set you can use a plain piece of typing paper and then decorate the edges with some stamps. If you choose to write your appreciation letter by typing you can use the templates available on your computer. If you don't have any you can buy typing paper with designs around the edges. Giving your appreciation letter a little bit of color will make it look more original and like you put some effort in to it.

Length

Appreciation letters don't have to be very long. One hundred words or less is fine. This goes for business or personal appreciation letters. The important thing is that your one hundred words express why you are grateful for the present or act of kindness you received. Talk about how you are going to use that present and how it is going to make life better for you. If a service was performed talk about how it made a difference in your life. It is okay to get personal or emotional when writing an appreciation letter. It lets the recipient know that you really were thankful.