Create Outlook e-mail templates for sales letters

To convert prospects into sales, you need to communicate with customers — and potential customers — every day. Typically, you'll type or paste the same text or form letter into a lot of e-mail messages. Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003 offers you an easy, quick, and accurate way to create and send these letters.

1. Setting up an e-mail template
   In Outlook, you can create templates that contain text you send over and over again to different recipients. You can compose and save a message as a template, and then use that template whenever you need it. Just add any new or personalized text before you send the message.
   Thank-you letters
   Every time you meet with a potential customer, you send a follow-up e-mail message thanking them for their time and giving them additional information about your company. Because you send this message to every customer, it's a good candidate for an Outlook template.
   Important You cannot create an Outlook template if you are using Microsoft Office Word as your e-mail editor. To make sure you are not using Word as your e-mail editor, follow these steps:
   In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
   Clear the check box next to Use Microsoft Office Word 2003 to edit e-mail messages.
   Click Apply, and then click OK.
2. Create a mail template
   In Outlook, on the File menu, point to New, and then click Mail Message.
   Note You can also start a new message by clicking the New Mail Message button on the Standard toolbar.
   When the new message opens, give it an appropriate subject and compose your content. Leave space for personalized information that you'll add when you send the message to a particular recipient.
   On the File menu, click Save As.
   In the Save as type list, select Outlook Template, and then click Save
   Close the message that you used to create your template. If you are prompted to save the message, click No.
   Now that you've created your e-mail template, you can restore Word as your message editor:
   On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
   Select the check box next to Use Microsoft Office Word 2003 to edit e-mail messages.
   Click Apply, and then click OK.
3. Preparing the message
   Now that you've set up the message template, you're ready to send the potential customer a follow-up letter. The template already contains most of the information you need to send, so you’ll just add current data and personalized comments before adding the e-mail address on the To line and sending the message.
4. Send a message using your template
   From the Inbox, click the Tools menu, click Forms, and then click Choose Form.
   Click the Look in box, and select User Templates in the File System from the drop-down list.
   Select your template, and then click Open.
   Personalize the message if you want to, add the recipient's e-mail address to the To line, and click Send.