Vacation season is here—time to kick back, relax, and reply to client emails from a new and exotic location. Wait—what? No! Cut the proverbial cord with your work email account during your next getaway. A thoughtful autoresponder can give you peace of mind while you’re miles from your desk! Follow these guidelines to keep your clients happy and informed when you can’t reply right away:
Make it warm. You may not be able to email your clients while you’re snorkeling or or trekking a mountain trail, but you still care about them. Show it with your tone! Use a friendly greeting and closing to ensure the tone of your auto-reply is top-notch. A general greeting like “Hello!” does the trick for starters, and a closing like “I look forward to getting in touch with you soon!“ is a nice way to wrap things up.
Let ’em know when you’ll be back. Don’t leave your clients hanging—let them know when you’ll be getting in touch with them. If you suspect you’ll be swamped when you return to your inbox, factor in a bit of a buffer time. If you’re back Tuesday, for example, you might say you’ll be happy to get in touch Thursday. Replying a little earlier than expected is always better than keeping correspondents waiting.
Point ’em in the right direction. Is there someone who can help while you’re out? Including that person’s contact information will put your autoreply recipients at ease, even if they don’t use it. Everyone likes to know they’re taken care of! If you don’t have a back-up buddy, consider including emergency contact information, or giving those who have it the okay to use it (“If you need anything urgently, please don’t hesitate to call my cell phone.”)
Altogether, your autoresponder might look a little something like this:
Hello!
Thank you for your email. I am out of the office on vacation, and I’ll be back Wednesday, August 12. I look forward to catching up with you then! If you need anything while I’m out, feel free to email Kendra at hello@callruby.com.
Best regards,
Ruby
And remember: When you’re back to business as usual, be sure your auto reply is no longer active. You may be able to create a schedule for your autoresponder ahead of time, but if not, set a reminder to turn off your autoresponder.
Now for the best part—enjoying your vacation!
