TL;DR:
Template the parts that never change and mark the parts that do with obvious placeholders.
Write each template at the tone you would use for a stranger who is busy: clear, short and friendly.
Skip the template when the message is sensitive or the reader expects a personal reply.
If you type nearly the same email every Monday, you are spending time on typing instead of thinking. A template keeps the repeated words fixed and leaves blanks for what is new. Done well, nobody can tell it is a template. Done badly, it reads like a form letter with a wrong name in it.
Which emails deserve a template
A good candidate is something you send at least a few times a month, where the structure stays the same. Status requests, meeting scheduling and invoice reminders all fit. Anything where the reader needs to feel heard, such as an apology, does not.
Where to keep templates
Your mail app may have a built-in way to save a reply. Names and menus differ between apps and change over time, so look in its help pages for "templates" or "saved replies" rather than trusting a menu path from an article. If the app has nothing, a plain note or document works: copy, paste, edit.
Name each template by its purpose: "Status request" is better than "Template 3".
Put the placeholders in square brackets and capitals, such as [NAME], so you cannot miss one.
Keep the subject line inside the template, too.
Making a template from a message that worked
Find a real message that got a good reply: Start from something that worked, not from an imagined ideal.
Replace what changes with placeholders: Names, dates, project names, amounts and links become brackets.
Cut anything that only made sense that once: Remove side comments and references to earlier events.
Read it aloud: If it sounds like a person, keep it. If it sounds like a notice, rewrite it.
Test it on a real send: Fill it in for a real request and check every bracket was replaced.
Worked example: three templates for status, scheduling and invoices
These are examples you can adapt. The names and numbers are made up.
Template 1: Status request
Subject: [PROJECT] status for [DATE]
Hi [NAME],
Could you send a two-line update on [PROJECT]: what is done, and what is blocking you? I am putting the summary together on [DATE].
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]
Template 2: Scheduling
Subject: 30 minutes on [TOPIC]?
Hi [NAME],
Could we meet for 30 minutes about [TOPIC] this week? I am free [OPTION 1] or [OPTION 2]. If neither works, send me two times that do.
[YOUR NAME]
Template 3: Invoice reminder
Subject: Invoice [NUMBER] due [DATE]
Hi [NAME],
A quick reminder that invoice [NUMBER] for [AMOUNT] is due on [DATE]. It is attached again here. Let me know if anything is unclear.
[YOUR NAME]Fill in the scheduling one for a real case: "Could we meet for 30 minutes about the Q3 budget this week? I am free Tuesday at 10 or Wednesday at 3." Every bracket is replaced, and the reader has two concrete options plus an easy fallback.
Check the invoice template with an example: invoice 1042 for 480 dollars due on 30 June. All three details (number, amount, date) are in the message and in the subject, so the reader does not have to open the attachment just to know what it is about.
Tone
Tone is the part people forget. The same template can feel curt to one reader and warm to another. Write it at the middle: polite, direct, no jargon. Then adjust one line for each person, such as a greeting or a thanks for last time. That small edit is what makes a template feel personal.
When not to use a template
The message carries bad news or a complaint. See replying to a customer complaint.
The reader has written something personal that deserves a real answer.
Facts differ enough that most of the template would need rewriting.
You are writing to someone for the first time and the relationship matters.
Keeping the library small and findable
A template library only helps if you can find the right one quickly. Start with the three or four emails you send most often and build only those. Add another when you notice yourself typing the same email a third time. If you reach for the same file or saved reply every week, that is the signal to polish it.
Give every template a one-line note at the top that is not part of the message: when to use it, and what to change. For example, "Use for weekly project updates; change the date and the project name; never send to clients." That note saves you from reusing a template in the wrong situation, which is the most common way templates cause embarrassment.
Review the library every few months. Work changes: a process is renamed, a deadline moves, a tool is replaced. An out-of-date template that mentions an old process is worse than none, because the reader may think you did not read their last message. Delete templates you have not used in a long time.
Finally, treat a template as a first draft. Read the filled-in version once before sending, and change one sentence to fit the person. That ten seconds is the difference between a message that feels written for them and one that feels sent to a list.
Mistakes to avoid
Leaving a placeholder in. Search for "[" before you hit send.
Keeping dozens of templates. If you cannot find one in a few seconds, you will write from scratch anyway.
Never updating them. Review your templates every few months.
If you use DuckyHelper, you can ask out loud while you work how to find the saved replies in your mail app. It will answer by voice and can point at your screen. It is just one way to find a menu quickly.
Frequently asked questions
Do templates make me sound robotic?
Only if you send them unedited. Change the greeting and one sentence to fit the person.
How many placeholders is too many?
If you fill in more than five or six, the template is probably two different emails.
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