Best Practices and Techniques on How to Write a Thank You Email

What is a thank you email and when to send it

A thank you email is a short message that shows gratitude or appreciation to someone for something they’ve done for the sender. Whether it’s saying thank you for the ongoing collaboration or a job interview, thank you emails show that you are interested in pursuing or continuing the partnership.

There are many situations where showing gratitude with a message like this would be appropriate — let’s take a look at some examples.

Event participation

Contacting the people who attended your events and showing that you value their interest in your business is a great outreach strategy that can make an impact on their decisions in the future. Here, thank you emails essentially function as a little helping hand that offers the next stage of a marketing funnel to your leads.

Sending thank you emails to, for example, webinar attendees also gives you a nice opportunity to offer your products and services more directly.

Job interviews

If you’re looking for a job, you may assume that a very good cover letter in your job application, or interview performance will go a much longer way than just sending more emails. While a thank you email won’t save you from rejection after a botched interview, a poorly filled application, or an internship that went wrong, contacting the HR to show gratitude is still not a bad idea. If you write a good thank you email, you will reaffirm your interest in the position and it’s a great chance to reassure your potential employer that you’re qualified enough.

It works the other way around too, by the way! Sending a thank you email after an interview or an internship to prospective employees creates a better HR brand and increases the candidates’ interest in working for your company.

After a sales call

If you had a product demo or pitch call after cold outreach, contacting your lead to say thank you is a wise decision. By doing so, you’ll show how much you appreciate your prospect’s time they spent on learning about your company.

A personalized thank you email allows you to highlight specific points discussed during the meeting and demonstrate how your business aligns with the customer’s needs and goals. By emphasizing the potential benefits of working together, you will create and enforce the connection with your customer and increase the chances of a long-term partnership with them.

Why sending a thank you email is important

Thank you emails are not salesy or persuasive in any other way, so you may think of them as an unimportant email etiquette ritual. However, while it doesn’t directly move you towards the goal, it increases the probability of achieving it — here’s how:

• They act as a reminder. Imagine the workload of an average HR — it’s probably at least a couple interviews per day, excluding the internal stuff. In this situation, it’s easy to forget some of the past and future meetings. So, a thank you email goes beyond “I’m grateful for an interview” — it’s also “You interviewed me recently”.
• They show you in a good light. If you don’t write a thank you email, it won’t cause you problems in most situations. However, sending one is a polite gesture that will make a good impression — prospects will think that you’re a nice person and working with you is pleasant. It can also contribute to your workplace relationships — sending a thank you email to a colleague can help both you and your team.
• They may be your “last chance”. Consider a thank you email another chance to reinforce certain points like your product’s unique value or your qualifications for the job. It can work as a great promotion tactic. Don’t be too pushy though — gratitude first!

So, do you have to send thank you emails? The world won’t collapse if you don’t but sending such messages can turn out useful in some cases.

Best words and phrases to use

There are many ways to say thank you that differ in formality. Let’s take a look at some examples of useful phrases for general, formal, and informal thank you emails.

General

Struggle with the appropriate tone-of-voice for a thank you message? Stick to the neutral one. Here are some alternative expressions of gratitude for a general thank you email.

Formal

In a more formal environment, a simple “thank you” might be a little inappropriate. However, there are alternative ways to make thank you sound more professional. Here are the phrases to use in formal communication with a business partner, a customer, or a potential employer.

Informal

Informal thank you emails provide a more casual and friendly tone. They’re suitable for situations where you have a close or personal relationship with the recipient. For example, writing an email to a colleague to express your gratitude or thanking someone for a small, informal favor or assistance.

Here are some informal phrases to use in a thank you email, if appropriate.

How to write a professional thank you email

Let’s break down the structure of a thank you email and discuss what should be in each element from a subject line to a sign-off.

Subject line

Subject line is an important element in your email, which affects whether your email will be opened or not. The subject line should state a clear reason for why you are writing. It’s better to keep it simple and say why you’re thanking the recipient. 

Here are some examples of subject lines for professional thank you emails: 

• Thank you for your purchase. 
• Thank you for your support. 
• Thank you for choosing us.

Greeting

The greeting of your thank you email sets the tone for your message. Choose an appropriate greeting based on your relationship with the recipient. 

Here are some examples of greetings:

• Dear [First name]: a formal greeting suitable for both professional and casual emails.
• Dear Mr./Ms. [Last name]: can be used if you want to maintain a high level of formality and respect.
• Hello/Hi [First name]: suitable for professional and casual emails you may send to a colleague.
• Dear [Company name] team: good for situations when, for example, you’ve had a job interview with several people at once and you’re sending a thank you email to a company’s address like [email protected].
• Hello/Hi/Hey [Company name] team: same as above but informal, use if appropriate.

Body

In the body of the email, personalize your message and tell the recipient why exactly you’re thanking them. If you only write in generic expressions of gratitude with no detail, it won’t look genuine. Here’s an example:

But what if you’re sending a thank you email to a customer? For example, someone who’s been loyal to your company for many years. A good period to do that is at the start of a new year for the business. For instance, your Happy New Year email could also include words of appreciation. Should you go into heavy detail here? Here’s how to do it:

Sign-off

The closing part of your email should leave a lasting impression on your recipient. To achieve this, add a polite closing that reinforces your gratitude and ends the email on a positive note. Here are some examples:

• Thanks again. Looking forward to our future collaboration.
• Thank you for your consideration. I would be excited to continue our partnership.
• Thanks for your consideration in advance. I’d be happy to hear any feedback from you.
• Thanks for your dedication. It was pleasure to discuss this project with you.
• Thanks again. Cheers to more projects together!

Then, you can sign off the email using one of the following phrases:

• Sincerely
• Kind regards
• Many thanks
• Best wishes
• With sincere thanks
• With gratitude
• Warm regards
• Many thanks
• Regards

Note that the sign-offs vary in formality — for example, “Sincerely” and “Regards” are on the more formal side, while “Best wishes“ are more informal. Choose the sign-off that corresponds to a general tone-of-voice you use in the email. 

Signature

Your email signature should include your contact information for further outreach via different means of communication. 

If you’re sending a message from your personal email account, your signature should include your full name and contact information such as phone number.

If you’re sending a message from your business email account, your signature can include the following details for further outreach:

• Your full name
• Job title
• Company name
• Contact information such as your phone number, email address, and the physical address of the business.

Here’s an example of a basic email signature:

Many email clients and software platforms offer the option to set up an automated signature to be attached to your outgoing emails. This feature helps to achieve consistency in your email communications and save time by not having to manually type your signature each time you send an email. You can also use third-party email signature generators like MySignature.

Tips on writing a thank you email

Now that you know the importance of thank you emails and got a whole thesaurus of gratitude in your head, let’s learn some tips that will help you write a meaningful thank you email.

Send an email promptly

The best time to send a thank you email is to do it straight after the interaction with the recipient — it’s usually done within 24 hours after a business call, an interview, or any other event.

For example, you had a meeting with a potential business partner to discuss your future work collaboration. Aim to send a thank you email on the same day after that meeting took place while the details of the things discussed are still fresh in their minds. Sending a thank you email will show your appreciation for their time and help to emphasize the importance of your collaboration for your business. 

Keep a positive tone

Thank you email should have a positive and friendly tone throughout the email. Use professional language that reflects your brand’s personality and aligns with the overall customer experience.

It’s easier to explain this with some examples — have a look:

Express genuine gratitude

Clearly express your gratitude in a genuine manner. Be specific about what you’re thankful for and how it has positively impacted your organization or benefited you personally. This will also make your message stand out in the recipient’s inbox — for example, imagine how many emails HRs get during the hiring process!

Here’s a ✔️good example of a post-event thank you email that describes the event in great detail:

Here’s a ✔️good example of a post-event thank you email that describes the event in great detail:In comparison, here’s a ❌bad example of a body text of a thank you email, giving general information and not being specific about particular aspects of the event:

Thank you email samples and templates to use

Still can’t write a good thank you email that doesn’t look clumsy? Can only think of vague “thanks for everything” phrases? Take a look at some of these thank you email templates that can act as a good baseline for your message.

For customers

This template can be used to thank a client for choosing your company, to express appreciation for the partnership, and more.

Post-interview

This template can be used to express appreciation for the opportunity and reiterate your interest after a job interview.

Post-event

This email template can be used to express appreciation to the event attendee for their participation.

After a sales call

This template can be used to thank the recipient for their time and reiterate your intention to collaborate together after you had a sales call.

Final thoughts

To conclude, sending thank you emails is essential in today’s world of communication. It’s a thoughtful way to express your gratitude and leave a positive impression on your clients or business partners.

An effective professional thank you email should be:

• Sent promptly after the interaction with a recipient took place.
• Personalized and mentioning the specific action, event, or aspect you’re thankful for.
• Maintaining a friendly tone and focusing on the positive sides of the interaction.

The impact of a genuine thank you goes far beyond the emails. It helps to maintain lasting relationships with your clients and build foundation for future collaboration.