Appreciation Letter: Definition, Types, and How To Write it

Appreciation comes in various forms and sizes, and letters are a sweet version of that. In this age of instant messaging at your fingertips, writing a letter of appreciation for someone whose help was angelic (or earthly, in the least) to you is as sweet as it can get. It also helps to create value and express it, handwritten or printed.

What is an Appreciation Letter?

A letter of appreciation is a letter written by one party to another to thank the former at a personal level. This letter is a valuable one to master writing, and often consider a skillful piece in professional life, acting as a bridge of stronger future connections.        

Types of Appreciation Letter:

There are 2 major types of appreciation letters. These are:

1. Personal Appreciation Letters (sample) 
2. Business Appreciation Letters (sample)

Examples of personal appreciation letters include:

1. Appreciation letter to a friend
2. Appreciation letter to a neighbor, etc.

Examples of business appreciation letters:

1. Appreciation letter to a boss
2. Appreciation letter to an employee
3. Appreciation letter to a colleague
4. Appreciation letter to a team member
5. Retirement appreciation letter
6. Appreciation letter to the speaker of a seminar, etc.

See More: Apology Letter

Steps in How to Writing an Appreciation Letter:

An appreciation letter should be long enough to make the person feel acknowledged and short enough to not drift away from the topic. You should immediately write the letter whenever the act to be appreciated has been done.

Here is what appreciation letters should contain:

1. Your name, address and contact information.
2. The date.
3. Name and contact details of the recipient. Make sure to address the letter to a specific person. Appreciating the company or organization as a whole isn’t as effective, but yes it is to some extent, than not appreciating at all. You should be aware of who helped you; so there will be lesser hard work in searching for him and hence addressing it to that kind soul should be easy.
4. A friendly greeting. In most cases, a ‘Hello…...’ does the job. But in more formal correspondence, ‘Dear……….’ is a better option.
5. An introductory line stating that you are writing to thank the recipient for so-and-so task or help of his. To this, you can add the details of exactly how he put you out of the mess or how his presence and advice motivated you or influenced you and how much you enjoyed it. General appreciation for the regular, routine things they do are okay, but being specific makes them feel better of themselves, and will probably be a reason for them to help others in a similar manner.
6. Be sincere in your appraisal and say what to intend to do further for that help of his. If he was an advisor to you or the speaker at a seminar, you can express your wish to work on or further study on topics the spoke about. But remember, appreciation doesn’t mean flattery. Find out the fine line and steer clear of that.
7. Be grateful for the time the gave r for his consideration and help. With a call for contact in the future to meet up again, or with the wish to get the opportunity to help him in the future, close and sign off.
8. Include your signature and typed name.

Tips to Remember:

1. Write a handwritten letter for personal purposes.
2. When writing to a higher official of your company try to use the company letterhead.
3. Appreciation, not flattery.
4. Be sure to proofread and edit the letter lest there are grammatical and spelling errors.
5. Don’t thank the person beforehand.
6. Be brief but include necessary information. For example, don’t just say thanks for that day, but say thanks for helping me with so and so task on the day. Again while mentioning this, don't say things like how troubled you felt with help from nowhere and how depressed it got you. Keep the letter focused on your recipient and his work., and obviously, the appreciation.