scope_creep_response_email
Respond to out-of-scope client requests with a professional email offering to quote, politely decline, or absorb the request once while protecting your business relationship.
Instructions
Write a professional email responding to a client who has requested work that falls outside the agreed project scope. The most common and most mishandled situation in freelancing — most people either give the work away for free (damages business) or say a flat no (damages relationship). Three routes: quote (acknowledge the request, confirm it's outside scope, offer to do it at additional cost — the default), decline (politely decline and redirect to the agreed deliverables), include_once (absorb this one time but set clear expectations going forward). Keeps the relationship intact while protecting your scope. Does not count against your monthly draft limit.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| client_name | Yes | The client's first name | |
| scope_item | Yes | The specific thing the client asked for that is outside scope — be concrete (e.g. 'a social media graphics pack', 'SEO copywriting for the blog', 'a third round of revisions', 'a mobile version of the site') | |
| project_name | No | Optional: the project name or description — helps situate the response (e.g. 'the brand identity project', 'the website build', 'the Q2 content retainer') | |
| agreed_scope | No | Optional: what IS included in the agreed scope — helps frame what's outside it (e.g. 'three page designs', 'the logo and brand guidelines', 'four blog posts per month'). If omitted, the email references 'the agreed scope' generically. | |
| quote_amount | No | Optional (used with route=quote): the additional cost to include the out-of-scope item (e.g. '$400', '$200–$350', 'an additional day's rate'). If omitted, the email offers to send a separate quote. | |
| route | No | How to handle the request: quote (offer to do it at additional cost — default), decline (politely decline and stay on scope), include_once (absorb it this time but set expectations it's out of scope going forward). | |
| your_name | No | Optional: your name for the sign-off |