What is a fan mail address?

What is a fan mail address?

Madonna fandom of Brazil created the world's biggest fan letter (pictured) in 2012[1]

Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or "fans". In return for a fan's support and admiration, public figures may send an autographed poster, photo, reply letter or note thanking their fans for their encouragement, gifts, and support. Fan mail sent to public figures can be through postal mail, email, social media, and other platforms that allow fans and users to communicate with their favorite public figures.

Overview[edit]

What is a fan mail address?

Australian actress Betty Bryant reads letters from fans, 1941

Fan mail may be in the form of letters, cards, artworks, gifts, comments on social media accounts, and so on. People send fan mail to various public entertainers and public figures such as politicians, athletes, actors, artists, writers, singers, bands, coaches of sport teams, bloggers, and social media stars seem to be the main target. Responses can take a great deal of time to come or never come at all. Since a major celebrity or public figure may receive thousands of pieces of fan mail every day, it is usually impossible for him/her to reply to or read them all and as a result his/her or management team, often have the duty of canvassing the incoming mail.[2] Directly after the 2001 anthrax attacks, some studios and agencies have refused to further take fan mail for safety and security reasons, and referred fans to alternate forms of contact.[3]

Entertainment portrayal of fan mail[edit]

This gimmick has also been used with fictional characters; special episodes of Beavis and Butt-head featured mail sent to the two, and the Homestar Runner website regularly features emails sent to and answered by the cartoon's main antagonist, Strong Bad. Public reading and answering of fan mail was a common recurring element of the cult television program Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the TechTV/G4 game review program X-Play often featured hosts Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb answering fan mail at the end of episodes, often in a scornful and satirical manner due to respondents deeply disagreeing with the show's video game reviews. TLC's third studio album was named FanMail, and was a tribute to fans, with the names of many fans that had sent them fan mail over the years included in the album's insert.

In Puerto Rico, popular television children's show host, the Spaniard Pacheco was known for personally reading fan-mails, which usually in his case included drawings by children dedicated to him, on his weekdays television show Cine Recreo.[4]

Responses[edit]

Many fan mail responses started off as autographed photos but has slowly evolved to communication through social media. Many celebrities and public figures such as Taylor Swift and J. K. Rowling have been known to respond to fans, and sometimes haters, through Tumblr and Twitter. There have been many occasions in which J. K. Rowling has interacted with fans through her Twitter account.[5] Taylor Swift has also been known to go out of her way to respond to her fans and admirers and even send fans gift packages, a form of fan mail, to selected fans who she had learned about through their social media accounts.[6] While some public figures have responded to fans via social media, it is often known that responses via postal mail by public figures are scarce or nonexistent and often not personal responses but responses by a public figure's management team.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Lojas Renner audacious Marketing action results in giant Brazilian fan letter to Madonna". PR Newswire. 4 December 2012. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  2. ^ "What should celebrities do with fan mail? - BBC News". BBC News. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  3. ^ Carter, Chelsea (21 October 2001). "Celebrities Cautious With Fan Mail". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Programa clasico para niños "Cine Recreo con Pacheco", Canal 4, P.R." – via www.youtube.com.
  5. ^ Rhodan, Maya. "J.K. Rowling Had the Best Response to a Harry Potter Fan Who Is Fasting for Ramadan". Time. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Watch one fan's surprise when she opens a gift from Taylor Swift". WTHR. Retrieved 4 April 2016.

How do I get fan mail addresses?

There are a number of ways to find fan mail addresses for celebrities, actors, authors, artists, and more. A good place to start would be to google their name + “agency” to find out which agency represents them. Then it's as simple as going to that agency's contact page to find their mailing address.

Do you put your address on fan mail?

Sending your address will increase the chances of you getting a response, autograph, or fan club gift. Also avoid sending any personal items that you want to get back. For example, you would not send your only copy of a picture or item that you wanted the person to sign.

How do you send fan mail to celebrities?

Most celebrities have a professional email listed on their official website. If they don't have a public email address, try sending the email to their agent or management company. Simply copy your fan letter into the email, and send it to the email address listed for them. Try to avoid asking for autographs over email.

What's a fan mail?

fan mail. noun. Britannica Dictionary definition of FAN MAIL. [noncount] : letters that are sent to a famous person by fans : fan letters.