Generally, thank you notes should be written on cards and sent with a lick and a stamp, rather than a click and ‘publish.’ But - today we’re making an exception. So in the future, try to do as I say, not as I do.

When should you send a ‘Thank You’ note?

• You receive a gift
• You win an awesome brand new Nintendo Wii
• After a job interview
• You are on the receiving end of a random or unexpected act of kindness
  • Your neighbor shovels your drive
  • A friend offers to babysit for free
  • The girl at the Jack In The Box drive thru hooks you up with a free Christmas Jack Antenna Ball! (Yup, it’s okay to be jealous)

What are the seven elements of a Thank You Note?

1. The Salutation - Dear TrueBlueTitan,
2. The Thank You - Thank you so much for randomly drawing my name as the winner of your super duper contest featuring the Nintendo Wii.
3. Highlight the appropriateness of the gift or favor - I don’t know if you know this, but my mother is Korean, and Japan (where Nintendo is from) is not very far from Korea. In fact I looked on a map today and it’s like half an inch away. How perfect!
4. Tie the appropriateness of the gift with the gift giver -Your internet entrepreneurship blog is really rad, just like the Wii.
5. If the gift was money, talk about how you will spend it. Or write about how you are going to use the gift - Hopefully my blog won’t suffer too much as I plan on spending many hours this holiday season at the Wii bowling lanes.
6. Write a line to update the gift giver on your life - Timmy got his leg out of the cast and I’m no longer suffering from that nasty head cold so things are looking better.
7. Sign the Thank You Note - With Thanks, How2Blogger.

Don’t be sad if you didn’t win a Wii yourself. Not all of us can be winners. Well, actually you still can be, lucky for you. If you want a Wii - you could still win a Wii over at Contest Beat or if you’d rather just have some stinking cash, say $100 bucks, well I’m giving that away in my own little contest!