Stop Typing the Same Email Over and Over! Use Templates Instead

If you’re reading this on the day it’s posted, it’s Wednesday. How often have you had to rewrite the same messages, over and over, in your internal reporting and client interactions so far this week? Probably quite a bit, and certainly more than you’d prefer.

The trouble is, this is all wasteful. Not only does replicating this message over and over spend valuable time, but it also uses up mental energy… plus, simply copy-pasting can easily lead to errors and oversights. Fortunately, modern email platforms offer templates that can be used to generate consistent and quality messages. Let’s review how.

What a Template Can Accomplish

There are multiple benefits that a template offers. For instance:

  • Boosted efficiency, as time-consuming tasks are taken off your agenda.
  • Stable consistency, as messaging and branding can be established and used across the board, regardless of how many people interface with your customers.
  • Professional accuracy, as using a template that has already been extensively proofread and edited will help you minimize the chance that errors or typos will be made.

So, how can you effectively use templates?

How to Enable, Create, and Use Email Templates 

Step One: Enabling Templates

Before anything else, you may need to activate the capability to save templates, as it isn’t turned on by default.

In Gmail, for instance, you’ll need to access your Settings, and from there, See all settings. Once there, access the Advanced tab and, in the Templates section, select Enable. Don’t forget to select Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

Step Two: Creating Templates

Once you’ve enabled templates, you’re ready to make some. This is literally as easy as drafting an email.

Select Compose, and draft your email to match exactly what you want the template to contain. Use placeholders for any details that will need changing later, like a client’s name or specific project name.

Once you’re satisfied, access the three-dot menu at the bottom of your compose window and hover your cursor over Templates, then Save draft as a template. Finally, select Save as new template and give it an appropriate name to remind you what the template is for. Click Save, and you have a new template to use.

Step Three: Using Templates

To actively use these templates, start a new message (whether a fresh email or a reply) and select the three-dot menu again. Hover over Templates, select the correct one, and it will populate your draft immediately. Fill in any pertinent details, and you’re ready to send it to the recipient.

How to Use These Templates to Your Business’ Advantage

Let’s go over a few ways that an email template can help your business accomplish more.

Sales and Marketing Purposes

  • Scheduling and confirming meetings and appointments with clients and prospects
  • Sharing consistent proposals
  • Providing information to businesses working with yours

Customer Support

  • Providing answers to frequently asked questions
  • Delivering status updates
  • Confirming tickets and transactions

Project Management

  • Providing project updates
  • Collaborating with team members
  • Sharing meeting agendas

Human Resources

  • Fielding and responding to job applications
  • Scheduling interviews and follow-ups
  • Distributing onboarding materials and documents

Naturally, this is just a small sample of what you can use a template to simplify and consolidate.

This is Just One Example of How IT Can Boost Efficiency

Email templates are just a single, simple example of how the right technology can make all the difference to your business’ operations. We can help you implement IT to experience these benefits across all aspects of your work.

So, we have a challenge for you: consider one email you consistently have to type up and turn it into a template. Then, use the time that saves you to give us a call and learn more about how White Mountain IT Services can help you optimize your business’ technology. Contact us at (603) 889-0800 to get started.

White Mountain IT

Related Posts

Tip of the Week: Putting Google Alerts to Work for You

First, what are Google Alerts? Google Alerts is a Tool Offered By Google to Deliver Content to You Basically, you can sign up to receive an email if a topic you?ve specified is searched for and new content comes up as a result, specifying how often you want to receive this report. What You Can Be Alerted To: If you?re not sure what you might want these insights into, here are some examples of ...

3 Tips to Use AI More Effectively

Now that AI has entered the mainstream, more businesses are implementing these tools into their daily operations. Tasks like drafting emails, brainstorming for a new project, or debugging code have all been made easier. Here’s the secret to making the most out of AI: you get out what you put in. What do we mean by this? Let’s find out. Mastering Prompt Creation First, it’s important to acknowl...

Why “Have You Tried Turning It Off and On Again?” is a Valuable Question

We’ve all heard it, perhaps even rolled our eyes at it: “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” This seemingly simplistic question has become a running gag in the world of IT support. But beneath the humor lies a fundamental truth: rebooting a device is often the most effective first step in resolving a surprising number of technical glitches. We understand that, although it might sound ele...

Tip of the Week: Making Your Network VoIP-Friendly

We could go on and on about the benefits of using Voice over Internet Protocol (also known as VoIP) for your business telephone needs. However, it is important that you do everything you can to prepare your network for this kind of utilization. Let’s review a few tips to help make sure your network is properly optimized for VoIP. How to Prepare Your Network for a VoIP Implementation Ensure You...