Startiger.com is a great resource for collecting celebrity addresses.   Startiger.com 

• has over 160,000 addresses for contacting celebrities.   
• Has the most comprehensive celebrity address database on the web
• Allows you to keep a personal page with a blog and gallery
• Contains over 380,000 test results allowing you to see what others have received
• Has a very neat collection management section so you can keep track of what you have sent off for and how long you have waited
• Also contains a very useful forum to talk with similar people.

The first tip is research: you need to know some basic information about the person whose autograph you are requesting. Presumably, the people you want to write too you will already know a lot about, but it may occur you just want to enlarge your collection, or there’s someone who has just come on the scene and will be a big star, and you know little about them. Whatever the case, you need information.

So where do you get it, and how much? Well, the best thing to do is probably to ask your friends, to see if they can help you out, or failing that, you can search for the person(s) in questions via search engines, and visit fan sites. You could try posting to relevant autograph-collecting newsgroups. It needn’t be a hit-and-miss case though, as there are resources available to help you.

Now, how much research should you do: well, there’s no need to spend ages learning every detail: for a start, you’ll never fit them into a letter of one page’s length (never longer: they don’t get read normally, so there’s no point). Incidentally, if sending an e-mail, then again don’t make it too long, since the same as the above applies. Also, whilst it may seem a good idea to use a background and all different colours etc., and sending it in HTML format, this is not recommended: not all e-mail clients will support HTML attachments and sending a background image takes longer to download: you want what you send to be read so, in this instance, plain text is your best bet.

Returning to how much research you should do, whilst there is no point in doing exhaustive research, if you just know the name of one movie that a movie star’s been in and nothing else about them, this is not enough. You need to know a little bit about their careers; because you need to be able to make some relevant or original comment about the person, so that they feel you really want their autograph

Be original! Most celebs you write to will get tonnes of mail every day, and when they make the effort to read them and reply to as many as possible, if they read something for the first time, as opposed to something which they’ve read 100 times already that day, you’re much more likely to receive what you want: the autograph.

Of course if the mail is read even by the secretary or some jobsworth - which they probably are in most cases - then even they might be moved to pass on your letter to a celeb if it is really refreshing and contains some interesting stuff other than the usual “I loved your performance in A N Other film” or “I’m your greatest fan”…yawn…

You may be wondering what to send: well, as a general rule, I think there is little point in sending a photo yourself, as it is costly, and I believe there no evidence that this increases your chances of getting a signed photo.

The only advantage is that, should it be returned, you have chosen your favourite photo of that person to be personalised. If there’s no return, it’s just more frustrating.

Now, you need to send a SASE, preferably about 10×8 in size to cover 99% of possible returns. Whilst you may be anxious that what comes back will be protected and not bent out of shape, unfortunately whatever you do, you are unlikely to be able to get away with writing ‘PHOTOS ENCLOSED’ on the SASE, as this looks arrogant: it implies you are assuming that you will get a reply, and hence some people will make a point of NOT responding to your letter.

If you have cards of some sort, especially relating to sports, then there is no reason why you should not send them. in fact, one key tip is to be creative; if you have, for instance, a first day cover relating to the person or topic for which they are well-known, for instance if you are writing to a scientist, then you can include that; and say how you’d love to have it personalised.

After all, if the person is going to make the effort of replying, it’s nice to see you’ve taken the time to send something of value to yourself. Oh, and the right postage on both envelopes is a must: the worst thing possible is that there’s not enough postage on the envelopes! This is highly embarrassing.

Bluff can be pretty important: don’t make serious lies or false claims (for instance pretending to be ill when you’re not to get sympathy), but there’s no harm in being creative with the truth, especially if it helps secure the autograph.

People like to think you are interested in what they do, and the same sort of thing as them: so if you are writing to a tennis player, but yourself have only ever played once, and badly, it doesn’t matter. You can say: ‘those great shots (especially your topspin lob!) and athleticism of yours have inspired me to get back on the court again’ or something like that, and ‘It’s certainly improved my fitness!’; it doesn’t particularly matter whether you intend to ever pick a racquet up again: the point is that they feel they have had an influence on you in some way: and this is the sort of thing you want them to believe: if they’ve helped you somehow, or think they have, you may just find they are more than happy to respond to your requests!

  Ask questions!. This shows a real interest, and if you can ask good questions, then it shows you know your stuff, right?

Lots of people like nothing better than to tell you it took a million hours to get into costume and shoot just one five second scene, the one where they crawl through a tunnel in the rain with a massive fire burning behind them whilst ten thousand people shoot at them from one metre, and miss, and, all by themself, save the world from a meteor and impending alien invasion and that bad dictator of another country! (Or something like that; not everyone’s been in a James Bond film!)

A ‘deeper’ knowledge of the person is also useful - for instance, if an actor has featured in a classic film, or a series which has been done lots of time, refer to their predecessors, and tell them “You’re better” whilst not insulting others!

So, to take up the Bond theme again, should you be writing to Timothy Dalton, tell him how you thought Sean Connery couldn’t be bettered, especially as the ‘original’ Bond….until you saw him.

And he played the role so convincingly, and there must have been a lot of pressure on him, what with the fact that so many famous and revered actors had played the part before.

Still, it must have been worth it as he got to work with the latest Bond girl….and you can adapt this sort of thing to the specific situation, if applicable. With a sportsman, you can use this comparison trick as well: tell Tiger Woods how you thought so-and-so could hit a golf ball the furthest distance possible, and how you couldn’t believe it when he started hitting it miles for fun.

Collecting autographs through the mail is a fine art, and many people have employed a variety of different methods to build an extensive autograph collection.

The truth is that there is no one ‘right’ way to write to every celebrity and receive their autograph. For one thing, many celebrities have a ‘no sign’ policy for a variety of reasons (usually they can’t be bothered it seems!)

That said, there are simple things you can do that make it much more likely you will receive a reply and an autograph.

For instance, you should consider:

• Including a photo of the celebrity you want signed
• Include a personalised letter, showing an interest in the celebrity
• A bit of flattery and praise will go down well
• Consider using paper or colours that stand out
• Always include a stamped, self-addressed envelope when writing
• If you hand write your letter, ensure it is neat and legible!

Some people also swear by other quirks, for instance using a luminous or garish envelope in the hope that this will stand out more. Others add praise and flattery even to the name on the envelope in the hope this would help, e.g. Sean “best Bond ever” Connery.

Over time you will develop your own style and method that works best for you.

Collecting in person is more straightforward - go to a lot of events, get there early, be pushy, and have long arms, a pen and paper ready to shove the pad in front of their faces. You need to be dedicated, prepared to wait in the cold for ages doing nothing, and often walk away disappointed!

Well done! you found my site! This will be where im I will record my exploits, breaking into the world of autograph collecting!  No idea where it will lead me! So here it goes! Wish me luck