Have you ever heard of Canned Responses in Gmail? Don’t worry if you haven’t because today I’m going to teach you how to use this easy to set up and easy to use Gmail feature to help you save time and become more efficient when replying to emails related to one topic.
How many emails do you receive per day? How many of them are related to the same topic? How frequently do you copy and paste an old text for a new inquiry?
If you answered “a lot,” having a template, you could reuse later isn’t a bad idea.
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Why use email templates
When you reply to an email, you put some thought into writing it.
Depending on the context, you may even need to do some research and collect data.
Besides, you don’t just type something and hope that the auto-correct will catch slip-ups. You think things over and review the text a couple of times before hitting send.
That takes time!
One option is creating a standard template for recurring inquiries and reusing it.
While such a draft is already a time-saver, if you use Gmail, you can make things much easier.
Have you ever heard of Canned Responses in Gmail?
If not, let’s get started right away because you don’t know what you’re missing!
Getting to know Gmail
Most bloggers use Gmail nowadays.
Whether it’s the free version or Gmail For Work, it has become the weapon of choice for most solopreneurs and small businesses.
Gmail is flexible and connects with all Goggle products, like Google Drive, Google Calendar, etc.
When you sign up for G Suite, you can even create accounts with your domain, which is excellent to reinforce your brand.
With a memory of 15 GB free, you can store plenty of emails, as well.
And don’t forget about other features such as:
- Email signature
- Vacation Responder
- Filters and labels
Yet, there’s more!
One frequently overlooked feature is Canned Responses in Gmail.
Not only is it efficient, but it’s also super easy to set up and use.
Why you need Canned Responses in Gmail
Depending on your niche and on the quantities of emails you receive on a daily basis, you may want to automatize your inbox somehow.
As I mentioned before, one way to do this is by creating templates you can store in Google Drive, Evernote, or even on your computer.
You can use them for:
- Guest blogging requests.
- Campaign inquiries.
- Information on products and services.
- FAQs.
If you haven’t thought about it, it’s an excellent opportunity to save some time in your calendar.
Using a draft doesn’t make correspondence impersonal as it might look at first.
On the other hand, you’ll be able to provide more detailed and relevant information every single time.
And whenever you consider it appropriate, you can always add your personal touch to the message.
For those who use Gmail (For Work), it can be easily done.
Instead of saving a draft somewhere you may not find when you need it, just create Canned Responses. You can access them anywhere, anytime, in your Gmail account.
Canned Responses in Gmail
Canned responses are predetermined responses to common questions.
For example, in my case, I sometimes open my blog for guest blogging. However, it doesn’t happen all year round.
I add a message on the top of my post on guest blogging announcing open/closed seasons. Yet, I’m contacted daily by writers offering their content.
To make sure they all get the same feedback, I use Gmail’s Canned Responses.
Setting up Canned Responses in Gmail
Before starting to create Canned Responses, you need to add the feature to your Gmail account.
- Click on the gear icon in the top right corner of the Inbox. You’ll find it under your picture.
- Then, click on “Settings.”
- On the tab “Labs,” look for “Canned Responses by Chad P.”
- Select “Enable” and click on “Save changes.”
Creating Canned Responses
Now it’s time to start creating your templates.
- For that, click on “Compose” as if you were creating a standard new email.
- If you have an automatic email signature set, delete it from the new message.
- Type the text, or copy it if you already have a saved template, and click on “More options” (triangle at the bottom right of the message).
- Select “Canned responses.”
- Then, click on “New canned response…”.
- You’ll see a prompt in which you can write the title of the canned response.
- Keep it simple and easy to remember.
- Click “OK, options, ” and that’s it!
You set up your very first Canned Response in Gmail.
Inserting a Canned Response into a message
The next time you need to use one of your saved Canned Responses, all you have to do is create a new message.
It works for new email messages as well as for replies.
- Click on Options” followed by “Canned responses.”
- You’ll see your template listed under “Insert.”
- Click on its title and there you are!
- You can now personalize your Canned Response as much as you want.
- Now hit “Send” and you’re done.
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Save time with Gmail’s Canned Responses
As you can see, Canned Responses in Gmail is easy to use, and it’s a huge time saver.
You can create as many Canned Responses as you want to cover all your needs.
Whenever you write a message you think you mind need again in the future, make sure to save it as Canned Responses.
With just a few clicks, you can engage with readers, clients, and business partners in an efficient and effective way.
Have you ever used Canned Responses before? If yes, for what type of messages? If not, how can they make your work more efficient?