Erin Ollila is a content strategist and writer who believes in the power of words and how a message can inform — and even transform — its intended audience. Reach out to her on Instagram at @ErinOllila, or visit her website erinollila.com.
I once emailed someone I barely knew to check on some materials he was supposed to send my boss and I received an auto-reply letting the world know that he was away in Vegas with his “boyz” to celebrate his divorce. I still don’t know why he felt this was important to share with business contacts. “I’m away for the week” was all the information I needed.
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Don’t beat around the bush! This is an expression that means you should get to the point. That is, you should make your message direct and brief. This will let the recipient quickly know that you’re not available and who they can contact instead. You can start with a simple greeting and then proceed to the message like in the following examples:
Engineering and IT recruiting are competitive. It's easy to miss out on top talent to get crucial projects done. Work with Apollo Technical and we'll bring the best IT and Engineering talent right to you.
An out-of-office auto-reply serves to inform people that you aren’t available to respond to their emails. These are mainly used during the holidays.
I think in an industry/company culture where that kind of responsiveness is expected/normal, that makes a lot of sense!
If that’s the case, feel free to text me at [PHONE NUMBER], and we can have a blast while sharing knowledge about WordPress over a cup of coffee.
I thought it was funny but could never get away with using something like that at my org. I loved the “competent people who work for me” part – I make this joke all the time. We have some people who feel that they should have a manager personally attend to them and, at least in my case, my highly competent team is in the weeds of that work a lot more and are not rusty (like I am).
However, some people may have inboxes that require a week to manage after vacation. Others do not read all the emails sent in this period. In these special cases, indicate when the reader should actually expect a response or request they re-send their email on the return date.
Education Details: I will be checking my voicemail messages periodically, so please leave me a message and I will return your call as soon as possible. If you need immediate assistance, please contact my assistant, Suzy Jones at 1-800-555-1212 extension 6336. Hi, this is Jim Smith. I will be out of the office and returning Monday, April 21.
Hi, I’m out of the office until [MM/DD] with limited access to email. But don’t worry! I’ve left you with some helpful article to read and share in the meantime. I look forward to connecting with you when I return.
Seconded, with one exception: I got one once from a distant coworker which said “I have broken my arm in a kitten-related fall and will be out for (…)”. Everyone else uses boilerplate language so that one definitely stood out, but I thought it was the right level of mildly amusing.
While I am out of the office, here’s our awesome e-book on “How To Choose The Right CRM For Your Business”. It’s free; enjoy it!
Thanks for your note! I’ll be OOO from [date] to [date] and will not have access to email during that time. If this is an urgent matter, please contact [Contact Name] at [contact email].
It might feel strange to include happy client testimonials in your out-of-office responder, but doing so is easier than you think. A quick note that suggests they read the testimonials if they’re interested in a product or service you offer is an easy inclusion or postscript to your email. Just limit the amount you share to one or two.
For immediate assistance, please contact me on my cell phone at (your cell phone number).
We are encouraged to put up messages that say we have “limited access to email” and alternative contact for things like travel between offices and conferences. We’re technically working those days, but it may be hard to reach us.