Ann Handley is one of the renowned digital marketers who is also known for her sense of humor. In the below auto-response, she has sprinkled some clever creativity, personalization, and warmth instead of the two-line cold replies that we see almost everywhere. This can surely be an inspiration for anyone willing to catch the reader’s attention and make them smile even while away.
I’ve used language like “I’m out of the office at a conference” before and that doesn’t mean I’m not checking email.
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I no longer work at this company due to the misalignment with advertised company values and actual practice.
YOU CAN PLAN A PRODUCTIVE DAY ON ONE SHEET OF PAPER.This sheet of paper is called The Daily Driver. And I want you to have it.Get The Daily Driver for FREE now!
Hi, I will be away from my desk [MM/DD] until [MM/DD]. For urgent matters, you can contact [name] at [email] or [phone]
For immediate assistance, please contact me on my cell phone at (your cell phone number).
That 15minute breaktime message screams “past experience with a toxic company” to me.
I also tend to check my email 2-3x per day while I’m out for my own sanity and will respond to important* ones if not doing so would hold something big* up. Not using OOO avoids some of the self-righteous nonsense from people with nothing better to do than try to micromanage my personal time.
If you don’t see the Automatic Replies button, follow the steps to use rules to send an out of office message.
Student emails at 3am Saturday morning, then is sends an email Sunday night, miffed you didn’t reply.
To spend time with our families this holiday season, our offices will be closed on Friday, December 23rd through Monday, December 26th, 2016. We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, December 27th.
Careful. Holiday revelry and debauchery ahead. Proceed with caution (if you dare).
While creating auto responding emails it is vital to focus on the tone and language. It means:
I’ll add “with limited access to email and voicemail” if I’m out because of work-related stuff (back when we used to have offsite meetings!), and “with no access to email and voicemail” if I’m truly on PTO.
Part of me would really appreciate an OOO that says, “I can’t get back to you today because I’m out robbing a bank.” Part of me would dread that, because I’d probably become that person’s court-appointed attorney.
Thank you for being part of our family. Happy holidays!From our family to yours, wishing you a joyful and warm holiday season!We appreciate you continuing to choose us. Here’s to a wonderful next year, too!We love working with you. Hoping you have a fantastic holiday season with plenty of festivities!Making the dream work requires clients like you who believe in us. Happy holidays!We appreciate your business. May you have a happy holiday season!Thank you for believing in us. Let’s look forward to an even better new year. Happy holidays!A big thank you for helping us reach new heights this year. Wishing you a warm holiday greeting!Thank you for choosing us! Happy holidays to you and your family.We value every customer. Happy holidays, and thank you for choosing us!Final Thoughts
This would go over like a lead balloon at my company, and, were that person on my team, I’d tell them to change it. It does have a connotation of “when I feel like it” about it, and most of my team is not high enough up the food chain to take that sort of stance (and the ones who are high enough up are client-facing and have the good sense not to do so).