How to Write a Letter of Appreciation

Appreciation letter is more than a business letter. It is a also creative expression of your thankfulness. Such letters express your gratitude to another person for his/her good work, charitable gestures, excellent service, kindness or it could be anything that requires admiration. Find some time out of your busy schedule to thank people for their efforts and contributions in your business, organization or to you personally.

A Letter of Appreciation can also be considered as a method to reward a person for doing well or going beyond the call of duty. It acts as the base to construct strong relationships and nurture prospective collaborations.

A few words of appreciation not only encourage the person but also build the confidence and enthusiasm to work harder. Use these below given notes on how to write an ingenious letter that will express your gratitude better.

Guidelines to write an Appreciation Letter

• Your letter should be appealing and readable. Connect with the reader to make your message more real and genuine. A short and sweet thank you message can express the right sentiment. Hence it is okay to cut it short.

• Send it typewritten in business format. Highlight the place you want with subheads, bullets, centering, and other layout tools.

• Do not hesitate to thank the recipient directly. Say thank you quickly, personally and accurately.

• Express your enthusiasm and personalize your thank you letter by directly addressing to the individual.

• Try to be specific and include a personal touch that will help your letter stand out. With a sincere tone and few well-chosen words of appreciation you can express exactly what you want to.

• Start your letter with proper salutation. A thank you letter of appreciation should start with the name of the person to whom you want to express appreciation.

• Specifically state the reason the letter in the first sentence. The question why you are sending a letter of appreciation should be clear to the reader in the first sentence.

• A good opening sentence can do more than half of your job, so always chose the opening sentence of your letter very carefully. You can add two or three following lines about what the gift or gesture mean to you.

• To make a precise note of appreciation. Use of phrases instead of complete sentences is a good tool, they dramatize, underscore your admiration and convey emotions and sometimes one sentence can be a paragraph if it makes your point.

• Do not forget to explain the reason or contribution that forced you to write the letter. You can also underline or bold face to highlight the key points of the letter.

• You can also add a P.S. to reiterate briefly the most important point.

• Close with an appropriate closing phrase, such as “With appreciation” or “In gratitude, if it is a formal letter of thank you, “Sincerely” is advisable.

• Always sign your letter personally after proofreading.