4 ways to jazz up your out-of-office email reply

4 ways to jazz up your out-of-office email reply4 ways to jazz up your out-of-office email replyWhen youre on vacation or taking a rolleal day, the last thing you want to do is worry about responding to emails. To help relay that message, you probably schedule an automated out-of-office response. However, gone are the days of the boring old message telling your contacts that youre simply out of the office. Its time to get a little more creative so you can still leave a lasting impression even when youre away from your inbox. Here are four out-of-office email tips to consider the next time youre absent from your desk for an extended period of time.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more1. Have some fun with the subject line.Its so easy to write, Thanks for your email, or, Sorry I missed you in the subject line of your automated response. Instead, have some fun with it. If youre sitting on the beach somewhere, try a subject line like Soaking up the sun. If youre out for the Christmas holiday, consider using a line from a carol like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer We bet the person who emailed you will definitely open your automated response. The key is to get them to open it so that they can read what youve written (and figure out who to email instead, of course). Just skip the traditional subject lines of workplaces past and have some fun - after all, youareout of the office.2. Tell a little story.There are thousands of ways you could tell a story in your out-of-office email, so take some time to think about what works best for you. Maybe you want to paint a picture of the beautiful island youre on to evoke a little envy in the person emailing you. You could also consider a blunt approach where you tell the emailer exactly where you are and that youll probably answer emails since your phone is most likely in your hand even though youre on the beach (and youresuppo sedto be out of the office). There areso many fun ways to tell your contacts that youre out of the officeso, like with your subject line, get creative.3. Be specific.At the end of the day, your out-of-office email response is still meant to be effective. Give the reader as much or as little information as they may need to understand what is happening. Be sure to include the who, what, where, when and why, so that they know youre out of the office on vacation with your family because its summer and youll be back by next Friday. The five Ws will help ensure your automated response gets the job done.4. Give the emailer something to do.Besides directing your contacts to email Stacy while youre away, consider giving them something else to do. Maybe you direct them tosign up for your companys newslettersso they can stay up to date with whats happening while youre away. You could also give them a fun poll to take, such as selecting which Friends character is the best or whether Starbucks o r Dunkin has better coffee. Itll not only give the emailer something todo,but also give you something to look forward to when you return to work.This article originally appeared on Swirled.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people4 ways to jazz up your out-of-office email replyWhen youre on vacation or taking a personal day, the last thing you want to do is worry about responding to emails. To help relay that message, you probably schedule an automated out-of-office response. However, gone are the days of the boring old message telling your contacts that youre simply out of the office. Its time to get a little more creative so you can still leave a lasting impression even when youre a way from your inbox. Here are four out-of-office email tips to consider the next time youre absent from your desk for an extended period of time.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more1. Have some fun with the subject line.Its so easy to write, Thanks for your email, or, Sorry I missed you in the subject line of your automated response. Instead, have some fun with it. If youre sitting on the beach somewhere, try a subject line like Soaking up the sun. If youre out for the Christmas holiday, consider using a line from a carol like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer We bet the person who emailed you will definitely open your automated response. The key is to get them to open it so that they can read what youve written (and figure out who to email instead, of course). Just skip the traditional subject lines of workplaces past and have some fun - after all, youareout of the office.2. Tell a little story.There are thousands of ways you could tell a story in your out-of-office email, so take some time to think about what works best for you. Maybe you want to paint a picture of the beautiful island youre on to evoke a little envy in the person emailing you. You could also consider a blunt approach where you tell the emailer exactly where you are and that youll probably answer emails since your phone is most likely in your hand even though youre on the beach (and youresupposedto be out of the office). There areso many fun ways to tell your contacts that youre out of the officeso, like with your subject line, get creative.3. Be specific.At the end of the day, your out-of-office email response is still meant to be effective. Give the reader as much or as little information as they may need to understand what is happening. Be sure to include the who, what, where, when and why, so that they know youre out of the office on vacation with your family because its summer and youll be back by next Friday. The five Ws will help ensure your automated response gets the job done.4. Give the emailer something to do.Besides directing your contacts to email Stacy while youre away, consider giving them something else to do. Maybe you direct them tosign up for your companys newslettersso they can stay up to date with whats happening while youre away. You could also give them a fun poll to take, such as selecting which Friends character is the best or whether Starbucks or Dunkin has better coffee. Itll not only give the emailer something todo,but also give you something to look forward to when you return to work.This article originally appeared on Swirled.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people