The Power of the Thank-You Note

I was listening to the radio show Here and Now, which is co-produced by NPR and WBUR in Boston.  They were interviewing the actor John Lloyd Young (see photo), who starred in both the Broadway production and the recent film version of "Jersey Boys," directed by Clint Eastwood.

At the end of the interview, the other co-host of the show, Robin Young (no relation to the actor) joined in. She mentioned that she had interviewed the actor some eight years ago, when the play version of "Jersey Boys" first hit Broadway.  Here's the important part:

Robin Young mentioned that, in all her years of interviewing people, she has received only two beautiful, hand-written thank-you notes.  One was from the film actress Ashley Judd, and the other was from...John Lloyd Young.

Here and Now is a two-hour show, which is on five days a week.  Even if Robin Young only interviews one person  per show, she must interview some 250 people per year.  In her 25-year career, she's interviewed thousands of people.  And in all that time, she's received only two nice notes!!

(You can hear Robin Young's comments here.  The interview is long; pick it up at the 12-minute mark.)

This is the power of the written thank-you note in our world of email and social media.  Most people will remember and appreciate an actual, hand-written note or letter.

If you want to make an impression, when you are interviewed while promoting something, get the address of the interviewer and write them a thank-you note.  And if your handwriting is poor (like mine), have your thank-you notes pre-printed with your own name and address.  You can do that at a print shop or online.  After all, there's no point sending a thank-you note if the recipient doesn't know who it's from!