By default, FreshBooks uses some pretty dry text for the e-mails your clients receive notifying them of new invoices and such.
You’ll probably want to spice these up, give them a bit of a personal touch. Here’s how!
Changing your e-mails
- Choose the Settings link at the top-right of your FreshBooks account — you’ll need to be logged in as the account administrator, of course.
- Under Step 2 on the page that follows, choose Customize Emails.
- Here’s the list of every e-mail FreshBooks sends out on your behalf. Select the one you’d like to change, and you’ll see this dialog pop up.
See those buttons on the right? Those will insert variables into your e-mails. For instance, clicking First Name will insert ::first name:: which, when the e-mail is sent, will be replaced with your client’s first name. - When you’re finished, you can Preview what you’ve written, Restore Defaults if you don’t like what you’ve written, or just go ahead and Save.
Writing effective e-mails
- Your e-mails should include an obvious call to action. Make sure it’s clear what you’d like your client to do, whether it’s reviewing an estimate or paying an invoice.
- Spam filters have grown a lot smarter over the years, but they’re still not perfect! So avoid writing anything that could come across as spammy. FreshBooks sends out large volumes of e-mail, so the messages generated by our system are judged a little more strictly than your regular messages. So just think about all the spam messages you’ve received over the years, and don’t do what they do. Some good rules of thumb:
- Don’t use ALL-CAPS (that’s a good rule in general)
- Keep your links to a minimum
- Don’t use phrases like “free” or “buy now”
- Get to the point! Don’t write too much. Keep things short and sweet and your clients will continue to pay quickly and on time.
Copyright © 2000-2009