The Power of “Thank You”

Written by Ben Z @WI608

Being an independent artist is difficult. Not only do you have to keep your creative juices flowing with potency, but you also have to do everything from artist promotion to your own accounting. With such a vast amount of tasks required daily just to be heard, it can be easy to miss the simple things. However, those simple things are often the most important things.

Saying "Thank You" takes less than 1 second.

The single simple thing that I think is most powerful is remembering to say “thank you”. This is because the words “thank you” or “thanks” take less than 1 second to utter, type, or text but can potentially yield years in return. Saying “thanks” shows

that you value someone else's time and energy enough to speak it directly to them. This makes them feel valued and appreciated, and almost everyone on the planet wants to feel that way. Not many people enjoy helping others who will not appreciate them.

Saying "Thank You" makes people feel appreciated.

Additionally, thanking people for their help reinforces your professionalism. As you go deeper into your craft and career, it will become obvious that people rarely enjoy working with amateurs. If you show up to a studio session on time, well prepared, and drama-free, you'll be remembered as an ideal person to work with. Now, if you follow that up by thanking them professionally they will know you take both their career and your own seriously.

Try to remember a time when you really went out of your way to help someone. Maybe you even gave up eating a meal or sleeping for a day to help them finish their project on time. Did they thank you afterward? Or did they act like an ungrateful child only asking for more? How did the response they gave affect your desire to help them in the future?

Saying "Thank You" is professional.

A simple message of thanks is standard. However in my experience, the more honest and direct someone is with their thanks, the more willing and generous I am in the future. When I've gone way out of my way to help and don't hear a single thing back, I'm like, “F*** it. Either have fun on your own next time or you're paying me double”. I simply don't have time for anything less than the best, and that certainly includes professionalism. Yet I've had many go out of their way to send a personal thank you and shout me out on their social media beyond what I expected. Those people are still reaping my assistance, some even free of charge.

In summary, remember to say thank you as it is a part of the golden rule of entertainment business: Don't be a dick.