The average person receives over 100 emails every day. While some of these messages can be archived, many require a thoughtful—and timely—response.
What does “timely” mean? Ideally within an hour or less, according to a 2020 survey.
Even if such a fast turnaround isn’t possible for you, it does show you need to take response time seriously.
To keep those you serve (and those you work with!) happy, you should aim to respond within a few hours, 24 hours at the most.
Reasons to get better at email
Improving response time won’t just help your customers and coworkers—it will likely you make you better at your job.
“There’s a growing body of evidence that if you care about being good at your job, your inbox should be a priority,” organizational psychologist Adam Grant wrote.
It makes sense: sending timely replies requires you to be conscientious and organized.
Templates to the rescue
But tackling your inbox can feel overwhelming. If you’re like most people, you have way too many emails to process and more than enough on your plate without trying to reach inbox zero.
Also, replying to emails can send you into overthink mode—Am I being clear? Is this too direct? Will they think I’m rude?—making it harder for you to hit Send.
That’s where email templates come in. Email templates are a great way to send speedy, but thoughtful, replies. In this post, we’ll share eight email templates turned TextExpander snippets to help you improve your response time.
Why use TextExpander snippets to reply
Often, we get the same types of emails and send the same types of replies. By turning these replies into snippets, we save time, provide faster support to our coworkers and clients, and keep our inboxes manageable.
Best of all, using snippets doesn’t mean being impersonal. With TextExpander, you can create email templates that come with fill-in-the-blank form fields (or multiple text options) so you can personalize messages on the spot.
The result is just as good (likely even better) than if you were writing your messages from scratch.
8 TextExpander snippets for email replies
The “Let’s set up a meeting” email
Goal of the email: Share a link to your calendar without sounding rude.
What it says: Please share your availability or pick a time that works for you.
TextExpander snippet:
Hi <first name>,
Let me know when you’re available to meet. Or, if that’s easier, feel free to pick a time that works for you here:
<calendar link>
Thanks!
<your name>
Tip: For faster results, create a snippet for your calendar URL ,too.
The “Let’s turn this meeting into an email” email
Goal of the email: Turn a meeting into an email.
What it says: I’m busy, but interested.
TextExpander snippet:
Hi <first name>,
Thanks for bringing this up. / Thanks for getting back to me. / It’s good to hear from you.
My schedule is fully booked this week/month, but I’m happy to start the conversation over email if that works for you.
Let me know what you think. If you’d prefer to meet in real time, I’m available from <date> and would be happy to chat then.
Thanks for understanding,
<Your name>
The “Decline a pitch” email
Goal of the email: Politely decline a pitch or proposal.
What it says: Thanks, but no thanks.
TextExpander snippet:
Hi <name>,
Thank you for your email. We are not in the market for <service or subject pitched> at the moment, but I will let you know if that changes.
Have a good day!
<Your name>
The “Forwarded to support” email
Goal of the email: Let the customer know you’ve read their email and forwarded it to support.
What it says: I received your email and have personally made sure your issue will be taken care of.
TextExpander snippet:
Hi <first name>,
I’m not sure what went wrong there, but I’m forwarding your message to our support team so they can investigate.
Rest assured we’ll get to the bottom of it and follow up ASAP.
<Your name>
The “Turn down work” email
Goal of the email: Turn down a work opportunity but keep the doors open for working together in the future.
What it says: I’m too busy to take this, but I know someone who can help.
TextExpander snippet:
Hi <first name>,
Thanks for thinking of me for this project. Unfortunately, my schedule is completely full for the next few weeks/until the end of the month.
I do know someone who might be able to help. Here is their email address / a link to their website / a link to their Upwork page: <link>
I hope this helps!
Thanks again for contacting me, and do keep me in mind for future projects. I look forward to working together in the future.
<Your name>
Alternative: if it came from a coworker
Goal: Let them down gently.
What it says: I have too much on my plate—sorry!
TextExpander snippet:
Hello <name>,
Thanks for thinking of me for <project>. I currently have these projects on my plate:
If this is a higher priority, let me know and I can speak with <team member> about moving things around.
<Your name>
The “Sharing helpful resources email” email
Goal of the email: Point the sender to helpful resources you’ve already created.
What it says: You’ll find answers to your questions through these links.
TextExpander snippet:
Hello <first name>,
Thanks for reaching out!
I’ve put together a few links / posts / resources / articles that should help answer your questions. Have a look and let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with.
[Links]
<Your name>
The “Meeting agenda” email
Goal of the email: Get everyone on the same page about an upcoming meeting.
What it says: Here’s what we’ll discuss, what our goal is, how to participate, and the questions we need to address.
TextExpander snippet:
Hi <name>,
I’m looking forward to our meeting tomorrow/on <date>. Please take a few minutes to go over our meeting details below:
Topic: <What is being discussed>
Goal: <Objective of the meeting>
Dial-in: <Where is it taking place? Delete if unnecessary.>
Questions to address:
<Item 1>
<Item 2>
<Item 3>
Thanks! See you then.
<Your name>
Use TextExpander snippets to reply to emails faster
When customers and coworkers email us, they expect to get a reply within a few hours. To meet their expectations, we need to get better at sending quick replies.
TextExpander snippets help us do that. They eliminate the need to think on our feet about what to say and how to say it, and they make it possible to have a message ready to send within seconds.
Get ready-made snippets for email replies
Liked the email reply snippets we listed here? We added them to a Public Group so you can 1) use them as they are or 2) make a copy and customize them to your needs.
