Build a reply library for common emails

If you answer the same questions about prices, availability, booking, directions and refunds every week, you are writing the same emails over and over. This guide helps you write the right answer once, turn it into a short, friendly reply that sounds like you, and save it where you can paste it in seconds. By the end you’ll have ready-made replies for your ten most common emails.

Before you start

• Access to the inbox where customer emails arrive.
• Your current prices, opening hours, booking steps, address and refund policy, or wherever you keep them (your website, a price list, a note).
• The AI tool you write with (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or similar).
• About 45 minutes for the first ten replies. Updating them later takes a few minutes.

Want to do it yourself?

Difficulty

4 out of 10

Estimated completion time

1–2 hours

Skills you’ll need: Write accurate answers to common questions, edit AI drafts, and save reusable replies in your email tool.

I’ll do it myselfI’d rather get help

How this helps your brand

Consistent answers make your business easier to deal with after a website enquiry. The questions that keep recurring can also improve your service pages and FAQs, helping future visitors find answers for themselves.

1. 1

   Step 1: Find the ten questions you answer most

   Open your inbox and skim the last month or two of customer emails. Look at what people ask, not how they word it. “How much is it?” and “What do you charge?” are the same question.

   Write each question down as a short line, and put a tick next to it every time it comes up again. After 20 minutes, your top ten will be obvious. Most businesses find they include things like:

   • How much does it cost?
   • Are you free on a certain date, or how soon can you start?
   • How do I book or change a booking?
   • Where are you, and where do I park?
   • Can I get a refund or swap it?

   Tip: Searching your inbox for words like “price”, “book”, “refund” or “open” is a quick way to pull up the common ones. Your sent folder works too: look for answers you typed more than once.

   Illustrated exampleCount the question, however it is worded

   Different words

   “How much is a full groom?”

   “What do you charge for grooming?”

   One topic: pricingCount both toward the same question.

   Example inbox tally

   Questions found in 20 emails

   Pricing

   9 emails

   Availability

   6 emails

   Booking

   3 emails

   Parking

   2 emails

   Write your pricing reply first.

2. 2

   Step 2: Write the correct answer to each, once

   For each question, write the facts in plain notes. Don’t worry about wording yet. Get the details right: exact prices, what’s included, how far ahead people need to book, your address and parking, and the real terms of your refund policy.

   Copy the facts from your website or price list rather than from memory, so your replies match what customers see elsewhere. If an answer depends on something, like the size of the job or the day of the week, write that down too.

   Tip: If you find your website says something different from what you actually tell people, fix one of them now. Customers notice when the two don’t match.

3. 3

   Step 3: Turn the answers into short replies with AI

   Copy the prompt at the end of this guide, fill in the [brackets] with your list of questions and answers, and paste it into your AI tool. It asks for one short, warm reply per question, written the way you write, with a gap at the top for a personal first line.

   Before you paste anything, take out private details. Use your notes about your business, not real customer emails with names, phone numbers, addresses or order details in them. Only paste customer information into tools your business controls and trusts.

   Read every reply. Check each price, date and policy against your notes, and fix anything the AI added that you don’t actually offer.

   Tip: If a reply sounds stiff, ask in the same chat: “Shorter and more casual, like I’m talking to a regular.” If you made a voice guide with the “Teach AI your brand voice” guide, paste it in with the prompt.

4. 4

   Step 4: Save the replies where you answer email

   Keep the replies in the place you already work, so they are one or two clicks away. Pick whichever of these fits:

   • Your email program’s templates. Most email programs, including Gmail and Outlook, let you save a message and insert it into a reply. The feature may be called templates, saved replies or quick parts, and you may need to switch it on first.
   • Your booking, shop or help desk tool. Many of these have “canned responses” or “saved replies” built in, which is handy if customer emails arrive there.
   • A notes app on your phone and computer. One note with all ten replies, each under a clear heading, works anywhere. Copy, paste, done.

   Tip: Menus change, so the quickest way to set up templates is to search your email program’s official help pages for “templates” or “saved replies” and follow the current steps there.

5. 5

   Step 5: Personalise the first line every time

   A saved reply should never go out exactly as saved. Before you send, change the first line to answer the person in front of you: use their name, mention what they asked about, and thank them if it fits.

   Then read the rest once. Delete anything that doesn’t apply to them and add any detail they asked for. This takes seconds and stops your replies feeling like a form letter.

   Tip: Keep a [name] or [their question] marker at the top of each saved reply. If you forget to fill it in, you’ll spot it before you press send.

   Illustrated exampleTurn a saved answer into a personal reply

   Saved reply · pricing[Personal first line]Replace this before sending ↓

   Example replyRe: Full groom for Milo

   1

   Hi Sam, thanks for asking about a full groom for Milo!

   2

   A full groom for a small dog is $65, including a bath, brush and trim.

   3

   Reply with your preferred day and I’ll check the available times.

   1. 1
      Make it personal

      Use their name and the detail they asked about.

   2. 2
      Keep the verified facts

      Check the price and what’s included against your current price list.

   3. 3
      Give one next step

      Explain how to continue. Don’t promise an unconfirmed time.

6. 6

   Step 6: Update the replies when things change

   A saved reply with an old price is worse than no reply at all. Whenever you change prices, hours, booking steps or your refund policy, update your saved replies the same day.

   Put a reminder in your calendar every three months to read through all ten. Add a new reply when a question keeps coming up, and delete ones you no longer use.

   Use repeated questions to improve the website too. If customers keep asking about service areas, prices, or booking steps, add the approved answer to the matching page or FAQ, then link it from the relevant reply. Check the page and template together when facts change. The website can answer the routine part while you personalise the response to the person who enquired.

Help me build a library of ready-to-use email replies for my business. I answer the same customer questions every week and want a short reply for each one that sounds like me.

My business: [what you do, for example a dog grooming salon or a plumbing company]
How I want replies to feel: [for example, friendly and down-to-earth, calm and professional]

The questions and the correct answers:
[list each common question, then the exact facts for the answer: prices, times, booking steps, address and parking, refund policy. Leave out any customer names or private details]

How I write (optional):
[paste one or two emails you wrote, or your voice guide]

Please:
1. Write one reply for each question, with the question as a heading.
2. Start each reply with [Personal first line] so I remember to add the customer’s name and what they asked.
3. Keep each reply short: three to five sentences, plain English, warm but not over the top.
4. Use only the facts I gave you. Don’t invent prices, dates, offers or promises.
5. End each reply with one clear next step, like how to book or who to call.
6. After the replies, list anything you weren’t sure about or any question where my answer looked incomplete.