What if you could replace the mental load of drafting emails on the fly with pre-prepared messaging based on your own brand voice? And what if this eliminated overthinking about client communication forever?
We have greatly underestimated the amount of time it takes to type out every client email individually. The mistake we’re making is this: we approach each email as a one-off, even though most emails are a repetition of the same (with slight variations.)
Mental load, decision fatigue, and overthinking are common struggles for solo entrepreneurs, and the stress of having to send many emails can make this feel even worse. The reason why we spend significant effort by bringing Goldilocks energy (has to be * just right *) to the task at hand?
Because we’ve never felt certain enough of our brand voice to create a branded email template…
... so we’ve never availed ourselves of the simplicity and ease that comes from less time spent in our outbox.
I propose finding your voice in email, then pre-writing a few branded email templates so that you can replace a lot of ‘type.delete.type.delete’ time that wastes your workday as a solo entrepreneur. (Time you can then repurpose to resting, learning, connecting, or whatever brings you energy.)
This is made possible by infusing the voice of your brand into more of your client emails and creating templates. If you've ever wished for a clear, step-by-step way to define your brand voice before tackling your emails, my book Beyond Brand Voice walks you through exactly that.
But even if you're still refining your voice, today's exercises will help you make immediate progress—starting with two areas of pre-work you can fit in today. Then, we’ll finish by writing three emails one last time that you can re-use forever!
Let’s get started…
1. Translate Tone into Text To Prepare for Branded Email Templates
Most of us default to certain phrases when communicating with clients. They’re the email equivalents of autopilot:
“Let me know if you have any questions.”
“Looking forward to working with you!”
“Thanks for reaching out!”
These functional phrases are a good place to infuse voice so that your client emails stand out from the rest. (Keep these handy for later, when you can add them directly to your branded email templates.) This process works best when we work from a starting point of our values.
Exercise: Rewrite the Same Message x3 in Your Brand Voice, Based On Your Values
Time: 15–30 minutes
Basic Supplies: Notebook or Google Doc
Process:
Start with a basic, neutral sentence – Use a common client email phrase, like: “I just wanted to follow up on this and see if you had any questions.”
Recall your brand values - Add your guiding words to your doc so they are front of mind.
Rewrite it in three different ways – Try writing a few different versions that match each of your values and/or the tone you’re looking for.
Compare and refine – Which version feels most aligned with your brand? Does it sound like you? Could you add even more voice elements?
Example: One Sentence, Three Values
💬 Generic: “I just wanted to follow up on this and see if you had any questions.”
✨ Refined for my character Grace’s upholstery brand (sophisticated): “Is there anything I can clarify as you decide?”
✨ Refined for another of Grace’s brand values (warm): “Happy to help if anything’s unclear, just say the word”
✨ Refined for Grace once more (thoughtful): “Making sure you feel confident moving forward. Is there anything on your mind?”
Over time, these refined phrases become your default. The result? Emails that are both easier to write and feel effortlessly in tune with your brand.
2. Finding Your Most-Used Phrases and Infusing Even More Voice
Time: 15–30 minutes
Supplies: Past client emails (search your inbox or sent folder), a notebook or digital document
Process:
Gather your data – Scroll through past emails and highlight words or phrases you repeat often.
Analyze for alignment – Do these phrases align with the tone you want to project? Are they too formal? Too boring? Too vague?
Make edits as needed - If you chose this phrase because it’s a great example of your voice, file it away for email-writing time. If you chose it because you use it often but it could be more voice-y, now’s the time to lean on what you learned in the first exercise. Add voice based on your values to your most-used phrases and set them aside for the next step.
This exercise isn’t about overhauling everything: it’s about finding the words you already use that work well.
Email Phrase Examples
✨ From my character Zarya’s physiotherapy brand (progressive, approachable, educational): “Excited to support you - your body will thank you for this!”
✨ From my character Imani’s lactation consultant brand (trustworthy, empathetic, supportive): “Breathe in a bit of relief; we’re on this journey together now.”
Now that you’ve refined your brand voice and identified key phrases, it’s time to put it into action. Instead of typing every email from scratch, we’ll create a system where your voice shines through effortlessly—starting with three templates.
If you want a full walkthrough of how to define your brand voice before diving into these templates, my book Beyond Brand Voice gives you a step-by-step guide. But even if you're still clarifying your voice, this exercise will help you gain momentum!
Copy Paste-able Brand Email Templates To Write Today
We know that task-switching decreases our attentional focus, makes us less productive, and saps our energy. Having to type an email from scratch each time is a task-switch that’s totally avoidable. As a bonus, using emails you’ve template-ified yourself also provides your clients with a more consistent, on-brand experience - especially as you add in your own values-matched voice.
1. Read through this list of email types and make note of which ones you actually send.
This isn’t about adding to the email burden, it’s about simplifying...
Inquiry Response – Answering initial questions and providing next steps.
Discovery Call Invitation – Scheduling a consultation or intro call.
Proposal or Service Overview – Outlining what’s included and your pricing.
Booking Confirmation – Sending details after a client grabs a spot.
Welcome & Onboarding – Sharing expectations, policies, and next steps.
Pre-Session Prep – Sending reminders, intake forms, or how to prepare.
Check-In Between Sessions – Following up to see how things are going.
Sharing Resources or Homework – Sending guides, recommendations, or assignments.
Session Recap & Next Steps – Summarizing key takeaways and action items.
Final Session / Project Wrap-Up – Reflecting on progress and closing things out.
Request for Feedback or Testimonial – Asking for a review or testimonial.
Rescheduling or Cancellation Policy – Reinforcing expectations around changes.
Late Payment Reminder – Gently nudging clients about overdue invoices.
Follow-Up After Time Away – Checking in with past clients to encourage rebooking.
Special Offer or Invitation – Letting past clients know about a new service, promotion, or event.
2. Choose 3 emails you’ll add voice to and template-ify today.
You may find it easiest to work from an example email in your outbox. Look for ones you’ve already written that you can repurpose for your templates.
3. Recall the phrases from the brand email exercises.
Use the phrases from the exercises and your newfound brand voice perspective to edit or write the emails, making edits as it makes sense.
4. Save the branded emails as templates.
In Gmail, this is as easy as pretending you’re about to send a new email… Click Compose, then paste your email into the body text. At the bottom right, click the stacked dots, hover over Templates, then click Save draft as template.
5. Use your branded email templates to reduce mental load.
Next time you need to send a similar message, instead of starting from scratch, insert the template instead. Make any small tweaks necessary and press send, enjoying the time and attention you’ve gained and feeling secure in the knowledge that your communication was on-brand and in your voice.
Branded Email Template Questions That May Come Up
“What if I don’t feel confident in my brand voice yet?”
Even without a brand voice guide of your own, you can still benefit from the exercises in this post and the action of working on some of your more commonly sent emails. If you’re drawn to the idea of communicating in voice and want to go deeper into the process, Beyond Brand Voice is a resource available to you anytime that will help you develop the confidence you’re seeking.
“How many email templates should I have?”
Most entrepreneurs have at least three emails that they send on a recurring basis to their clients. That’s why I’ve chosen three as a starting point for this exercise. There is no ideal number of templates for a well-functioning business, however. Only your outbox can tell you how many emails you send routinely. Focus your attention on this in the next week and notice when you’re writing an email that feels very familiar. Once you’ve trained your awareness on this, it will get easier. You can add templates anytime and also tweak them when necessary.
“How do I personalize templates without making them robotic?”
I agree with you completely that some templates can feel AI-written even if they aren’t. One thing to keep in mind is that from a client perspective, they’re receiving these emails once, whereas you’re sending them over and over to many clients. Part of why it feels like they’re repetitive is in response to that. Feel free to leave space in your templates to add your client’s name, reference past conversations, and make a personal connection if this eases your concern.
“What if my brand voice varies slightly between clients?”
Having a slightly different tone for separate services or client types is absolutely reasonable. If the difference is significant, just make separate templates. If the difference feels more slight, maybe make small tweaks from the same template instead.
Applying brand voice to your email templates is about reducing cognitive load and practicing alignment.
You’ve just reclaimed hours of mental energy by creating templates infused with your unique brand voice. Now, imagine a workday where client emails feel seamless, instead of draining. What will you do with that extra time?
Take a moment to recognize the relief this brings—then hit save on your templates and enjoy the ease you’ve created.
Beyond saving time, this is about clarity and confidence. The less energy spent second-guessing emails, the more space you have for what truly matters in your business.
