Why a thank-you letter?
Say thank you like you mean it. On paper.
A text gets a thumbs-up. A letter gets read at the kitchen table and kept in the drawer. Write it on your phone and we print it and mail it for you, from $3.
People love real mail.
Not a hunch. Here’s what the research says.
More than 90% of Americans say they have a very positive or positive reaction when they get personal cards and letters, and among 18- to 29-year-olds it’s 95%, according to a 2015 Gallup poll.
Gallup, 2015 [1]
60% of Americans say a card or letter in the mail means more to them than an email, and 62% say it makes them feel more connected, according to a 2020 U.S. Postal Service survey.
U.S. Postal Service, 2020 [2]
The average U.S. household gets fewer than 20 personal letters or cards a year (19.5 in 2025), according to the U.S. Postal Service’s 2025 Household Mail Survey. Yours stands out.
U.S. Postal Service, 2026 [3]
About 73% of Gen Z say they’d mail more cards and letters if they didn’t have to put a stamp on the envelope, according to a 2020 USPS Office of Inspector General report. Good news: there’s no stamp here.
USPS Office of Inspector General, 2020 [4]
53% of U.S. adults say they spend too much time on their smartphone, according to Pew Research Center. A letter is time off the screen.
Pew Research Center, 2026 [5]
People who write thank-you letters underestimate how surprised and happy the recipient will be, and overestimate how awkward it will feel, according to research by Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley in Psychological Science.
Kumar and Epley, 2018 [6]
The thank-you you meant to send.
You meant to write it. Then the stamps were nowhere, the good stationery was in a box somewhere, and the moment passed. Everybody has one of those.
Now it takes a phone. Write the letter, pick designed stationery and a handwriting-style font, see it exactly as it will print, and tap send. We print it and mail it for you. Your words, on paper, in their hands.
Easy for you. Real for them.
Write it anywhere
On sentinstantly.com or in the Sent Instantly app for iPhone and Android. Start from an occasion.
Make it yours
Pick the stationery and the handwriting-style font, and preview the page exactly as it prints.
We mail it
$3 folded and mailed First-Class, $11 Certified with a tracking number, or from $15 mailed flat in a rigid mailer with a free tracking number. Postage included.
Good to know.
Is a thank-you letter better than a text or an email?
For anything you really mean, a letter lands differently: 60% of Americans say a card or letter in the mail means more to them than an email, according to a 2020 U.S. Postal Service survey. A text is fine for quick thanks; a letter is the one people keep.
Do younger people like getting letters?
Yes. In a 2015 Gallup poll, 95% of 18- to 29-year-olds said they have a very positive or positive reaction when they get personal cards and letters.
How much does it cost to mail a thank-you letter?
$3 folded and mailed First-Class, $11 Certified with a tracking number, or from $15 mailed flat in a rigid mailer with a free tracking number. Paper and postage are included, and sales tax is added where it applies.
Can I send it from my phone?
Yes. Write it on sentinstantly.com or in the Sent Instantly app for iPhone and Android, and we print it in a handwriting-style font and mail it for you.
Your turn.
Say it on paper.
Write your letter from $3From $3 a letter plus sales tax where it applies: $3 First-Class, $11 Certified, from $15 flat with tracking. Paper and postage are included.
Sources
Every number on this page comes from the source named next to it. We checked each one against the publisher on October 20, 2026.
- Gallup, “Four in 10 Americans Look Forward to Checking Mail,” April 2, 2015 (1,010 U.S. adults). news.gallup.com
- U.S. Postal Service, “Mail Helps Americans Feel Connected During COVID-19,” survey of 1,000+ U.S. adults, April 15 to 17, 2020. about.usps.com
- U.S. Postal Service, “The Household Mail Survey: Mail Use & Attitudes 2025” (formerly the Household Diary Study), released March 2026, Table 3.3 and Table E.5. about.usps.com
- USPS Office of Inspector General, “Generation Z and the Mail” (RISC-WP-20-009), September 21, 2020, p. 8. www.uspsoig.gov
- Pew Research Center, “About half of Americans say they spend too much time on their smartphone,” September 1, 2026. www.pewresearch.org
- Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley, “Undervaluing Gratitude: Expressers Misunderstand the Consequences of Showing Appreciation,” Psychological Science 29(9), 2018. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov