4-H Buyer Thank You Tutorial
A well crafted thank you letter can be a thing of beauty! Just like writing a nice buyer marketing letter is important so is thanking the buyer once they have purchased your animal. At our auction local businesses and community members spend thousands and thousands of dollars buying the kid’s project animals. Not to mention the trophies, belt buckles, and extra incentives. They deserve a nice thank you!
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The basic outline should be:
– Greeting:
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith, or Dear Local Business,
– Thank you:
Thank them for their generosity and support
- I want to thank you for buying my hog at the auction and for supporting the 4-H program.
- Thank you for purchasing the Grand Champion Rabbit trophy…
- I really appreciate your generosity in buying my goat. Thank you!
– Information on what was learned during the animal project:
Tell them what you enjoyed learning
- I learned all about pig nutrition this year.
- This year I learned how to groom my goat all by myself.
– How they grew as a person or what 4-H means to them
- 4-H has been so much fun because of the new friends I’ve met.
- I’ve had many opportunities to lead this year at 4-H meetings.
- 4-H has taught me about working hard this summer.
– What they plan on doing with the money
- I plan to put the money from the sale of my hog into my college fund.
- I am going to use the money to buy a good breeding doe for my new herd.
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– Thanks
- Thanks again for buying my goat at auction!
- I really do appreciate your support!
– Closing
- Thanks, Sincerely, Yours Truly
Here are two examples:
Which letter would you rather receive?
For more tips and how to guides check out my post “4-H Program|An Overview”.
Now comes the challenging part of having your child actually write the thank you note.
I am going to try something new this year. In our goat project we are going to have the members practice writing the notes. Our county 4-H leader gave us permission to write our notes ahead of time and just plug in the buyers name after the auction.
In past years the kid’s thank you cards were due on Sunday at the end of fair. It was agonizing trying to get them to write a good note. By the time Sunday rolled around they were exhausted and just wanted to have fun with their friends. More than one of their thank you cards had teardrop marks on them (anyone else or is that just my kids?).
A side note:
I recently was shocked when I found out my kids didn’t know how to address an envelope. Even the 15-year-old! After all, they’ve been writing Thank Yous since they could put pen to paper.
I’ve always addressed the envelopes for them because it was easier that way. It never dawned on me that by doing it myself I was keeping them from learning how. I know they cover writing letters in school but when the kids don’t put into practice what they learn they forget how to do it. So I am making them address their own envelopes now. I guess the kids are not the only ones who are still learning!
Good luck selling your project animal!
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10 Comments
Betty Zenk
Our fair require the 4H kids to write thank you, and show proof before they are given their checks. Most of the kids also give buyers a gift basket as a way to show appreciation . Last year, for the sale of my daughters chickens, we did a basket with chicken noodle soup, a dish towel with chickens on it and a gift certificate to chick filet,
Any
It’s nice for the kids to write their thank you letters. I’ve made my daughter after the show to thank them in person and also send a pic of her animal and another thank you card. In the last few years kids aren’t sending them and I think it should be part of the project. You want the buyers to come back so a small thank you isn’t very hard work..
rachel
i like to put pictures of my kids with thier pigs. I take pictures from the time we get them to the time we sell them. from them just sitting and playing to them walking them and then from them showing and selling
Sara
My boys show and seek market hogs at county fair. A few years ago we ordered soft sided can koozies that said thank you one one side with th 4H clover and said 4H supporter on the other side with the clover. We had them at the sale and handed them to the buyer right away.
Jennifer
That is a great idea! I love having something for the kids to hand to the buyers right away. Thanks for commenting
Jessica Brandon
As a 4H buyer I can say that I absolutely love reading the thank you’s! I like to hear about what you learned from taking your project and how the money is going to be spent. It doesn’t have to be long just sincere! Keep up the good work kids!
Lynnlea Johnson
Do you have any ideas for thank you notes. I raised 4 rabbits but I did not make the sale but people still gave me money my mom wanted me to write a thank you note to who ever gave me mony but l do not now what to write any ideas
Jennifer
Hi there, I think the general principles still apply even if you didn’t sell your animals. If you feel you need to write thanks you’s give a sincere thank you, tell them about your project and your experiences. What you like the most about 4-H and raising rabbits. Thank them for supporting the program.
Jenny Goebel
Thank you for the fantastic ideas for thank you notes. Do you put anything with the notes like baked goods or another gift? Any ideas would be much appreciated! Thanks again!
Jennifer
Hi Jenny! We’ve included a little gift with our thank you notes before. Last year we took some cookies (rabbit-shaped) to the office that bought my son’s rabbits about a month after the fair. I think it’s nice to go back after all the hubbub of fair and let the companies know how much you appreciate their generosity. Some people will send out letters at Christmas and in the spring just to say hello. I like to give gifts that go along with the animal they bought. BBQ sauce for swine purchasers, goat milk soap to goat buyers, rabbit-shaped cookies to rabbit buyers etc… Although I think any small token of thanks is appropriate. If you come up with any great ideas let me know!