How to write good canned emails for Dubsado

How to write good canned email templates

How to write good emails for Dubsado

A guide to write emails professionally for your client workflows

Hey, friends! I’m Jill of @wordsbyjill. I’m Charlotte’s copywriter (I fill that role for a lot of other entrepreneurs too). Because she knows many of her clients and Dubsado DIY students struggle with writing canned email templates for their workflows, she asked if I’d pop into the blog here with some tips for you to make this process a whole lot easier. Of course, I’m always happy to help a fellow entrepreneur succeed. So here we are!

If you’re new to Dubsado, you probably noticed that they have a whole host of canned email templates ready for you, as well as space to add your own canned emails to that list based on your workflows.

Although, some of those preset templates are pretty lackluster and they don’t cover all the emails you will want in your workflow. For an exceptional client experience, we need to make sure these emails read super naturally, as if they were written for your client specifically. We also want to be able to set it and forget it with these canned emails, so you can save time on admin and spend more time serving your clients.

How do you write good emails for Dubsado? Here’s my best tips for you!

Rules for email etiquette

The rules for email etiquette have changed over the years, and if you’re coming from the corporate world to small business land, then you might need a bit of a refresher on how people communicate with people behind their screens.

I say people for a reasonbusiness is about people; about relationships. When communicating with your clients you want to speak to them clearly, but in a way that doesn’t sound robotic or fake. Which leads to my top 3 rules for email etiquette.

Write emails professionally, but add personality

Before writing any canned emails, consider who will receive these? I already told you to think of your clients as individual people, but you also need to think that for your own brand.

Part of my work as a copywriter is developing brand personality and voice outlines for clients (a component of the larger brand strategy). If you have a brand voice and style guide document for your brand already, you should refer to this when writing your canned emails too because everything should be cohesive for your clients. You want their experience of finding you online, choosing you, and working with you to be seamless, and that includes the personality of the business.

If you haven’t done this type of brand strategy work before, that’s okay! It’s definitely something that will help you level up, so should be on your radar for the future, but for now just try to ditch the corporate sounding emails and write these in a way that shows who you really are, while maintaining clarity.

Format emails for clarity

Claritythe most important thing. You want to write in a way that is clear, otherwise… what’s the point in writing anything at all? Clarity comes from both an understanding of your own messaging, but also what you need each email to accomplish.

When writing your canned emails, consider the action items. What do you want your client to do at each stage? What information do they need to complete that task for you? Break it down super simple for them.

Pro tip: Actually format your emails a little bit. If you have a list of items to note, use bullet points. Bold font for subtitles. Underline important reminders. Even if the email is short, you can probably play with the formatting to increase clarity for your clients.

How many canned emails do you need?

When you sit down to your workflow content planning list, you might notice something… You need a lot of content. It’s overwhelming, at best. When you work with Charlotte, she guides you through this process so you know exactly what you need to create and when, which definitely minimizes the overwhelm (seriously, she’s the best!). However, your to-do list might feel long still.

One way to save time would be to purchase a canned email template pack that you can plug-and-play with little to no adjusting on your part (or Charlotte’s). Fortunately for you, I created a canned email template pack that includes 38 ready to go templates, plus an e-guide that shows you exactly how to write emails professionally on your own. It also covers tons of those tough conversations like scope creep, “can I pick your brain?” requests, and the “you’re too expensive” comment from leads. At the same time, they’re super customizable, so you can add your own personality as you see fit!

If you like saving time and want to use professional emails in your workflow, grab a copy of yours here.

Jill Wise, sitting behind her laptop. How to write good emails.

How to write emails properly in Dubsado

You could write your own canned emails in Dubsado using the above tips. Or you could save yourself a ton of time and stress by snagging a copy of that email template pack. Whatever you choose, Dubsado has a few tricks to remember if you want to write emails properly for your workflow.

Don’t forget the smart fields!

When using canned email templates in Dubsado, you need to triple check your work to ensure that you’ve inputted the correct smart fields for each email template. If you purchase the template guide, this is easy because I’ve noted those smart fields for you within the templates (just highlight + replace each). If you write your own emails, make sure you choose the appropriate smart field unless you want to awkwardly explain to your clients why it says Hey client first name instead of their name!

Make a list of all the emails you need

If you’re just browsing here and are going to DIY your Dubsado without any help, you’ll need to start by making a list of all the emails you need in your workflow. What checkpoints do you have with clients? Leads? Onboarding? Throughout the project? List them all then start chipping away at the list.

Add the emails to your workflow

After you’ve written all these emails, you need to add each to the corresponding spot in your workflow. The upfront investment of time to do this is counteracted by the time you will save when Dubsado is up and running for you!

Remember the email etiquette rules

I hope you found this overview helpful! Whether we’re talking about writing canned emails, using the templates, or just writing day-to-day emails with your clients, always remember the rules for email etiquette.

It’s easy to get caught up in the zone of answering emails and make small mistakes that lead to confusion. It’s also easy to freeze up when it’s time to talk to your clients because you aren’t sure what to say in a specific instance. At these times, pause, take a breath, and remember: personality, clarity, and stick to the goal of the email.

And if you want to go for the canned email templates, you can learn more about those here. If you just want to be friends and soak up all the copy tips, join me over on Instagram.

who's charlotte?

FIND THE FREEDOM TO GROW.

I like to drink my flat white while it’s hot—it’s the little things, right? You can enjoy your morning coffee too by creating systems that work for you. Client experience is my specialty and through automation with Dubsado, I help you find the freedom to actually enjoy your business.

Hi! I'm Charlotte!