18 Funny Out-of-Office Messages to Inspire Your Own [+ ...

Two executives on vacation after leaving an OOO message ... Watch for me in the upcoming out-of-office message, It's Not a Hangover, ... Logo-Full(Color) Skiptocontent English 日本語 Deutsch English Español Português Français ContactSales Login CustomerSupport About AboutUs Careers ContactUs InvestorRelations ManagementTeam Home Software Software TheHubSpotCRMPlatform AllofHubSpot’smarketing,salesCRM,customerservice,CMS,andoperationssoftwareononeplatform. FreeHubSpotCRM Overviewofallproducts MarketingHub Marketingautomationsoftware.Freeandpremiumplans SalesHub SalesCRMsoftware.Freeandpremiumplans ServiceHub Customerservicesoftware.Freeandpremiumplans CMSHub Contentmanagementsystemsoftware.Premiumplans OperationsHub Operationssoftware.Freeandpremiumplans AppMarketplace ConnectyourfavoriteappstoHubSpot.Seeallintegrations Pricing Resources Resources Education Blog Ebooks,Guides&More FreeCourses&Certifications InboundMethodology WhyHubSpot? CaseStudies WhyChooseHubSpot? 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Startfreeorgetademo Marketing|14minread 18FunnyOut-of-OfficeMessagestoInspireYourOwn[+Templates] WrittenbyBradenBecker @BradenBecker BradenalsorecommendsusingHubSpot'sout-of-officeemailgeneratortocreateyourOOOmessage.CreateYourOOOEmail Whenitcomestothefinaldaysbeforevacation,peopletendtofallintooneoftwocamps:1)thosewhowatchtheclockincessantly,and2)thosewhoaresobusybeforetheyleave,theymightevenforgettoputupanout-of-office(OOO)emailmessage. Ifyou'reanythinglikeIam,youprobablyfallintoteamtwo.Thatdoesn'tleavealotoftimetogetcreative.Butifyouplanahead,youmightbeabletocraftsomehilarity. Inthispost,I’llgooverwhatanOOOmessageisandsharesomeofthebestexamplesI’vefoundonGoogle,aswellasafewfrommycoworkers. Out-of-OfficeMessage Anout-of-officemessageisanautomaticemailsentbyanemailaccountthatistemporarilynotbeingcheckedbyitsowner.Everynewemailtothisaccountwilltriggertheout-of-officemessage,whichissentdirectlytotheoriginalemail'ssender.Mostemailserviceprovidersallowyoutoactivatethisoptionandcustomizeyourmessage. Alsoknownas"autoresponderemails,"out-of-officemessagesrunthegamut.Fromfunny,toclever,tosnarky,thismessagecanbothshowyourpersonalityandletsendersknowthat,well,you’reoutofoffice. Whileyoucankeepitsimple,youcanalsohavesomefunwithit. WhatshouldIputonmyout-of-officemessage? Firstthingsfirst:let’sgooverthebasicsofanOOOemail.Inyourawaymessage,youtypicallyincludethefollowing: Aquick“I’moutoftheoffice”phrase. Thedateortimerangeyou’llbeout. Whotoreachouttoincasethesenderneedsimmediateattention. Asign-off. Puttingitalltogether,yourautoresponderwouldreadsomethinglike: “Hithere, Thanksforyouremail.I’mcurrentlyoutofofficeuntilmm/dd/yyyy.Ifyouneedhelp,[email protected]. Best, [Name]” Butthatsoundsboring,right?Luckily,therearewaystospiceupyourOOOmessagebyaddinghumorinjusttherightplaces. Ifyou’refeelingstuck,tryourfreeOOOemailgeneratortodraftamessagethatperfectlycaptureswhoyouareandwhereyou'regoing. FeaturedResource:OOOEmailGenerator CreateyourOOOemailbyclickinghere. FunnyOut-of-OfficeMessages I’llemailyoubackonceI’vedefrosted. Iffound,contactsomeoneotherthanme. I’llgetbacktoyouwhenIreturntocivilization. Ifyouneedtoreachme,traveltomyhomelandofFlorida. IknowI’msupposedtosaythatI’llhavelimitedaccesstoemail,but... Hi,I’mTroyMcClure. ThebadnewsisthatI’moutofoffice.ThegoodnewsisthatI’moutofoffice. Iamcurrentlyoutoftheofficeandprobablychillingonthebeach.Enjoyyourworkweek. CanyouguesswhereIam? Holidayrevelryanddebaucheryahead.Proceedwithcaution(ifyoudare). Thankyousomuchforyouremail.Iloveitalready. DieHardQuiz. Hereare10thingsI’mthankfulfor. I’mbusywatchingChristmasmovies.Catchyalater. Thankyouforyourconsiderationduringthisfestiveornot-festivetime. I’llgetbacktoyouonceI’mbackfrommylong-awaitedtriptothefridge. Alexa,playVacationbyDirtyHeads. Thedoorbelljustrang.It’stheUPSdriver.He’sloadingmeontothetruck. Out-of-OfficeMessagesforVacation 1.“I’llemailyoubackonceI’vedefrosted.” Mosttimes,whenpeoplegoonvacation,theytraveltoawarm,tropicalplace… Butsomeofusjustaren’taslucky.Orifwe’retravelingduringthewinterandheadingupnorth—well,we’regoingtorunintosomesnow,aren’twe? Whilethismaynotprovesofortunateforus,wecanusethepoorweatherforcomedicrelief.Youcanevenincludeascreenshotoftheweatherforecastforasenseofrealism.Notonlywillitgivesendersachuckle,butit’llalsogenerateacertainamountofempathy—whichisoftenthekeytogoodcontent. Example Thanksforyourmessage!I’mcurrentlyburiedinsnowandwillgetbacktoyouonceI’vedefrostedonJanuary2nd. AndifyouthinkI’mlying... ImageSource Gottago,myfingersarefrostbitten.Ifyoureallyneedme,eithergetashovelanddigmeoutofhere,orreachouttomycolleagueAnna—who’snotfrozenundersnowwithfrostbittenfingers—[email protected] 2.“Iffound,contactsomeoneotherthanme.” Ifyouremailclientallowsit,youcouldalwaysjustuseanimagetoexpressyourout-officesentiment,likethisone.Afterall,theysaythatapictureisworthathousandwords—andvisualcontentisstillessentialtosuccessfulmarketing. Inthisimage,you'relettingpeopleknowyou'reOOOwitha"Missing"noticeonamilkcarton.Genius.Justbecareful—thissortofautoresponderisbestforinternalemails,notforautorespondersthatgetsenttoprospectsandclients. 3.“I’llgetbacktoyouwhenIreturntocivilization.” Ifyou’retravelingtoaremote,mountainousarea,whynotjabsomefunatyourlackofWiFiinyourautoresponder?Plus,thatmakesitlesslikelythatpeoplewillexpectanimmediateresponseorcontinuetoemailyouafterthefirsttry. Example Hithere, SorryImissedyou—I’munabletogettomyemailrightthissecond.Why?I’monabackpackingtrip,survivingonSpam,reallygoodwater,andtrailmix.Youshouldseethestarsouthere. I’llgetbacktoyouwhenIreturntocivilization.OrtoanareawithWiFi.OrtotheofficeonMay10th.Whichevercomesfirst. Ifyouneedhelprightnow,[email protected]. 4.“Ifyouneedtoreachme,traveltomyhomelandofFlorida.” Whenoneofmycolleagueswentonvacation,hesentanout-of-officemessagethatwasbothcleverandsmart.First,hesenttherecipientonanimaginaryscavengerhuntto"thehighestpeakofthetallestmountain."Heusedhumorousabsurditytomakeitclearthathewouldnotbecheckingemailwhilehewasaway. Plus,heincorporatedadelightfultechniquetoletpeopleknowthatiftheyreallywantedhimtoreadtheiremails,theyshouldprobablysendthemagainafterhisreturn.Notonlydoesthatkeepthesenderaccountablebysaying,"Ifthisisreallyimportant,youknowwhentoreachme,"butitalsohelpshimtrulyvacatehisworkwhilehe'saway.Andthat'shardtodo. Belowisanexampleyoucanuseforyourself. Example Hey! I’monvacationuntilJuly18th.Ifyouneedtoreachme,here’swhatyou’llneedtodo: First,traveltomyhomelandofFlorida. Climbtothehighestpeakofthetallestmountain. Findarareflower(nospecifics,ofcourse...It’dbecheating). Puttheflowerback,becauseastheoldhikingrulegoes,“Leaveeverythingasyoufoundit.” Whenyouunderstandthatflower,you’llknowtoreachme.Trustme.You’llknow. Ifyourmessagerequiresaresponsefasterthanthat,[email protected]. IfyouwanttomakesureyourmessagegetsaresponseASAPwhenIreturn,pleasesenditonJuly18th.Irecommendusingoneofoursalesautomationtoolstoscheduleitnow,whileyou’rethinkingaboutit. 5.“IknowI’msupposedtosaythatI’llhavelimitedaccesstoemail,but...” JoshKopelman’svacationemailisaclassicexampleoftakingabluntapproachatOOOmessages. NotonlydidKopelmanmanagetoturnhisout-of-officemessageintoanepicpoemofsorts,butalso,heactuallywentthroughthetroubleofcreatingadelightfullysnarky,vacation-specificemailaddressforhisrecipients. Givingtheoptiontocontactanemailaddresscontaining"interruptyourvacation"providestwothings—1)Adoseofhumor,and2)discouragementfromactuallydoingwhatthenamesuggests.Plus,heprefacesitwitharequestforempathy,byexplainingthathepromisedqualitytimetohisfamily. Sure,Kopelmanistruthfulaboutthefactthathe'sonvacation,buthealsoletstherecipientknowthatheorshewouldbeinterruptingimportantfamilytimeifthefirstoptionischosen.Itstatesapointsimplyanduseshumortoavoidmakingitsoundlikehewantsthereadertofeelguilty. Belowisanexampleyoucanuseforyourself. Example Hithere, Yougotthisemailimmediately(classicautoresponderbehavior),whichmeansI’moutofofficeonvacation. WhileIhypotheticallycouldreachmyemail,whileIhypotheticallydohavemyphoneonhand,andwhileIhypotheticallydohaveaccesstoWiFi,I’dratherenjoytimewithmyfamily.Mykidsaregrowingupatthespeedofasupersonicjet,andifIblinkonemoretime,they’llbe35.AndI’llbe73.AndIdon’twantthat. Ifyoustillneedtoreachme,youcanemailinterruptingfamilytime@example.com.Oryoucanemailmyassistantatassistant@example.com.Theycanpointyouintherightdirection. LookingforwardtoreconnectingonceI’mback. 6.“Hi,I’mTroyMcClure.” Whenoneofmycolleaguesisoutoftheoffice,hedoesn'tmessaround.Infact,he'sturnedhisauto-responsesintoarunningseriesofcommentaryfromfictionalcartooncharacterTroyMcClure. EachtimeMcCluremakesanappearanceintheseout-of-officemessages,he"speaks"onbehalfofmycolleagueandalludestothepreviousauto-responsesinwhichhestarred.It'samildformofself-deprecatinghumor—asiftosay,"Iknow,I'moutoftheofficeagain"—madeonlyfunnierbythemade-upteasertitleincludedinthelastline. Don'tbeafraidtouseapopculturalreferencethattheaudiencewouldrecognize.Insteadofbemoaningyourabsence,they'llhavesomethingfunandfamiliartolaughat. Example ImageSource Hi,I’mTroyMcClure.Youmightremembermefromsuchout-of-officemessagesasAvengeMyDeathifIDon’tReturnfromDMEXCOandByeNow,I’monanAbsurdlyLongCyclingTrip. I’mheretotalktoyouaboutsomeoneyouknow.CatalinaWongisoutofofficeuntilSeptember27.Shewantedmetoletyouknowthatshe’llgetbacktoyouafterherreturn. That’sallfornow.Watchformeintheupcomingout-of-officemessage,It’sNotaHangover,It’sFoodPoisoning—ISwear!Andbesafeoutthere. 7.“ThebadnewsisthatI’moutofoffice.ThegoodnewsisthatI’moutofoffice.” Youcanshowjusthowthrilledyouareaboutyourvacationwhilestillprovidinganapology(ofsorts...notreally). Example Heythere—I’vegotgoodandbadnewsforyou.Let’sgowiththebadfirst. ThebadnewsisthatI’moutofoffice.ThegoodnewsisthatI’moutofofficeandenjoyingelotesinCancún. Ifyoucan’twaitforaresponse,mycolleaguewillbehappytotakecareofyou.Justemailthematsomeone@example.com. I’llbebackonFebruary7th. 8."Iamcurrentlyoutoftheofficeandprobablychillingonthebeach.Enjoyyourworkweek." That’sit.That’sall.Simpleandtothepoint,thismessagewillletpeopleknowthatyoucan’trespondtomessages. Thatsaid,becarefulwithmessagesthatarethiscurt.Makesureyou'refamiliarenoughwithyouraudience—andyourboss,forthatmatter—toknowthatthissortofout-of-officemessagewillbemetwithasnicker,andnotwithannoyance. 9.“CanyouguesswhereIam?” There'satermthatweliketousearoundherecalled"snowbirds,"whichisusedtodescribethosewhoonceresidedinthenorthernpartoftheU.S.,onlytofleetowarmerpartsofthecountryduringthewinter. AndalthoughmycolleaguehadmixedfeelingsaboutherownparentsjoiningthatpopulationinFlorida,shecouldn'tbetooupsetwhenherdadsuggestedflyingdownfromBostonforaRedSoxspringtraininggame. Naturally,shehadtotakethedayoff—andcouldn'tletfolksknowwithanyoldgenericauto-response.Instead,shemadeaguessinggameofitinherout-of-officeemail,whichyoucanuseforyourself,below. Example Hellothere, I’mcurrentlyoutoftheoffice,enjoyingsomepeanutsandCrackerJackswithmyfamily.CanyouguesswhereIam?That’sokay,you’rebusy. Ifyourmessageisurgent,fearnot—we’llgetitaddressed.Trydoingoneoftwothings: [email protected]. Justkidding.That’snotarealemailaddress. [email protected]. I’llbebackintheofficeon7/19andwillhappilyrespondthen.Haveagreatweekend! HolidayOut-of-OfficeMessages 10.“Holidayrevelryanddebaucheryahead.Proceedwithcaution(ifyoudare).” Whenyou’reoutfortheholidays,howcanyouexpressyourthrillfortheseasonwithoutsounding,well,cheesy? Howaboutwarningpeopleofwhat’stocome?Takealookatanexampleyoucanusebelow. Example Heythere, Careful.Holidayrevelryanddebaucheryahead.Proceedwithcaution(ifyoudare). BywhichImeantosay:I’monholiday,I’mdefinitelysunburnt,andI’msorryImissedyouremail. Don’tyouworry:whileIpretendtobeSantainfrontofmykids,mycolleague,Hannah,willcoverforme.Justemailherathannah@example.comifyouneedurgentassistance. Takecare,anddon’tgettoocarriedawaywiththesunbathing! 11.“Thankyousomuchforyouremail.Iloveitalready.” Thisholidayout-of-officeemailisdefinitelyontheme,ifnotalittlepassiveaggressive.Ifyou'regettingemailsduringtheholidays,whynottreateverythingyoureceivethatseasonlikethepresentitis,andsendathankyounote? Mysnarkycolleaguesuredidinhisout-of-officemessagebelow.Wesendthank-youlettersinresponsetoholidaygifts,soit'sonlynaturaltoexpectthesamegestureinourworkinboxes… Example Heythere, Thankyousomuchforyouremail.Iloveitalready.It’swrappedsonicelyinitscharmingsubjectlinethatIjustknewthismessagewasgoingtobesomethingspecial.Giftslikethesejustdon’tcomearoundeveryday. Unfortunately,I’mgoingtohavetoreturnyourmessage.Asit’stheholidayseason,I’mcurrentlyawayfromtheoffice.WhenIreturn,I’llgiveyouremailagoodsolidreadandfindthatyourrequestisexactlywhatIneededafterall!Butuntilthen,I’mgoingtokeepitintheinboxsoitdoesn’tgetdamagedandrevisititaftertheholidaysareover. Happyholidays! 12.“DieHardQuiz.” CheckoutthismessagefromaHubSpotemployeethatcertainlyturnsthetablesontheemailsender.Rightwhenyouthoughtyouweretheonerequestingaction,therecipientsentbackanassignment—afunone,atleast. Whilethesenderwaitsforyourresponsetotheiremail,takethestingoutofyourabsencebyinvolvingtheminaholidaysurvey,liketheonebelow. Example SorryImissedyou.I’llbeoutoftheofficeandslowtoresponduntilafterthebreak.WhileIhaveyou,though,helpsettleanargumentamongmycolleaguesandme: DieHardQuiz WhatwasthebestDieHardmovie? DieHard1:TheOfficeChristmasPartyGoneWrong. DieHard2:AirportConspiracy. DieHard3:SamuelL.Jackson.Enoughsaid. DieHard4:Cyberthreat. DieHard5:Youshouldprobablynotpickthisone. Impossible!It’slikechoosingafavoritechild! Submit 13.“Hereare10thingsI’mthankfulfor.” Thisemailcomesfromanotheroneofmycolleagues.ThepurposeofthisemailistointerceptmessagesduringThanksgiving,andthewayinwhichitdoessois,well,withthankfulness. Thefunnyandcharmingemailtemplatebelowkeepstheconfidenceofyourcolleagueswithalistofthingsanyonewhoworksinanofficeisthankfulfor.Ofcourse,feelfreetocustomizethislistaccordingtothequirksofyourownworkplace.Thanksgivingistheperfecttimetorevealthem. Example SinceI’moutoftheofficefortheThanksgivingweekend,I’llrespondtoyouremailwithalistof10thingsI’mthankfulfor: Copiersthatcollate Co-workersthatbrewmorecoffeewhentheyemptythepot DonutsonMondaysANDFridays WhenITsurprisedmewithanewlaptopANDrememberedtotransfermyfiles WhenYou-Know-Whodiedattheendofbook7 Dry-eraseboardsthatactuallyerase Thebravesoulwhocleanedouttherefrigerator WhenI’mearlytoanall-staffmeetingandscoreatablenearthedoor HRfinallysentamemotellingpeopletoSTOPclippingtheirnailsattheirdesk OOOautoresponders HaveagreatThanksgiving,andI’llgetbacktoyouMonday. 14.“I’mbusywatchingChristmasmovies.Catchyalater.” There'snoshameinusingChristmastoindulgeinyourchildhoodmovietastes,butthereisshameinnotsharingthatadorablesideofyourselfwhenpeoplearetryingtoreachyouduringtheholidays. So,takealessonfrom@courtwhip,editoratPEDESTRIAN.TV,whowrotetheabovehilariousout-of-officeemail,fullystockedwithmentionsofthebestmoviesfromthe1990s.(Bytheway,"Splinter"isfromTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles,andasweallknow,helovespizza.) Belowisanexampleyoucoulduseforyourself.Well,it’sthesameemail. Example Ohhey,it’sChristmas,whatareyoudoingemailingme? I’mextremelybusywatchingHomeAlone,DieHard,andthe1994NinjaTeenageMutantNinjaTurtleChristmasSpecialonrepeatuntilthenewyear. Imightstopforfoodandtoiletbreaks,Ialsomightnot. Regardlessofmygeneralhealthandhygieneoverthesillyseason,I’llbebackintheofficeonJanuary2. Catchyathen,don’tforgettobuyapepperonipizzaforSplinter. 15.“Thankyouforyourconsiderationduringthisfestiveornot-festivetime.” Scaredofoffendingacoworkerwhomayormaynotcelebratetheholidays?Worrynot—I’vegottheperfectemailforyou.IfthisOOOmessagedoesanythingparticularlywell,it'sthatitrespectsthedifferingviews,religions,traditions,andopinionsofyourcoworkers—whileamusingsomanyothers. It’salsoagreatimpersonationofarobot.Soifthat’supyouralley... Example Hello, You’vereachedMichaelAbioye’sinbox.ThisisageneralnoticeinformingyouofMichaelAbioye’sabsenceuntilJanuary2nd,20XX.Heiscurrentlypartakinginthetraditionsofacertainholiday,whichmayormaynotbedenominationalornon-denominational.ExampleCompanyisinnowayendorsingornotendorsingsaidholiday,norencouragingordiscouragingemployeesofalldemographicstoengageincelebratoryactivities.Thankyouforyourconsiderationduringthisfestiveornot-festivetime. Sincerely, Management Out-of-OfficeMessagesWhenWorkingfromHome Workingfromhome?TrytheseOOOmessagestoletpeopleknowyou’retakingabreak. 16.“I’llgetbacktoyouonceI’mbackfrommylong-awaitedtriptothefridge.” Ifyou’retakingavacationandstayinghome,yourclientsorcoworkersmaystillexpectyoutopopintotheofficeandanswertheiremail.Usethisautorespondertoletthemknowyou’rereallynotavailable—evenifyou’rebummingaroundonthecouch. Example Hey, Thanksforyouremail.I’monvacation.Onthecouch.Eatingchips.AndbingeingStrangerThingsfortheeighthtime(don’ttellanyone). Unfortunately,Ican’tansweryouremail(eventhoughmyofficeisthreefeetaway).I’llgetbacktoyouonceI’mbackfrommylong-awaitedtriptothefridge.BoughtticketsonTripAdvisorandeverything. I’llbebackintheofficeonthethirdandwillgetbacktoyouthen. 17.“Alexa,playVacationbyDirtyHeads.” DoyouownanAlexa?Thismightbetheemailforyou. Example “Alexa,playVacationbyDirtyHeads.” And…it’splayinginthebackgroundasIwritethisemail.Guesswhat?I’monvacation!AndIdolovemyoccupation. YouremailhasbeenreceivedandI’llgetbacktoyouassoonasIgetbacktomyhomeoffice.Now,howdoIturnoffthisAlexathing? 18.“Thedoorbelljustrang.It’stheUPSdriver.He’sloadingmeontothetruck.” Inthisemail,you’reaUPSpackagegettingdeliveredtoyourvacationdestination.Ah,IwishUPSofferedthisservice. Example Hey—you’vereachedmyinbox,butholdon,thedoorbelljustrang.It’stheUPSdriver.He’sloadingmeontothetruck.Dang,it’sstuffyinthistruckwithalltheseboxes.He’stakingmedownto…Oh!Florida!AndnowI’monthebeach.Thanks,UPSdriver! TheUPSdriverisscheduledtopickmebackupontheeighth.Heshoulddelivermebacktotheofficebytheninth(assuminghe’snotlatelikehewasthistime). Don’tworry—I’llwrapmyselfinbubblewrapsonothingbreaks. FunnyOOOMessagesNeverFail Areyoufullyinspiredbythecreativeout-of-officemessagesabove?It'stimetowriteyourown—yourupcomingvacationdependsonit.TryHubSpot'sOOOEmailGeneratorifyou’refeelingstuck,andremember,anout-of-officeemaildoesn’tneedtobeboring.Onthecontrary,itshouldinformandentertain.Youdon’twantpeoplehatingonyoubecauseyoutookamuch-neededbreak. Editor'snote:ThispostwasoriginallypublishedinDecember2018andhasbeenupdatedforcomprehensiveness. OriginallypublishedMay11,20219:07:00AM,updatedMay132021 Don'tforgettosharethispost! 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