Free template · how to say no to a client

How to turn down work without burning the bridge

Someone you like has offered you work you don't want — wrong fit, wrong budget, wrong month — and you've been sitting on the reply for four days.

The email

Subject: Re: [PROJECT]

Hi [NAME],

Thanks for thinking of me on this — I'm going to pass.

[REASON], and you'd get a better result from someone who does this
day in, day out.

[REFERRAL]

If something comes up after [DATE], send it over. I'd like to work
with you on the right one.

[YOU]

Replace everything in [BRACKETS] before you send it. A stray [NAME] is the most expensive typo in freelancing.

Why it works

It answers in the first line, which is the kindest thing you can do to somebody waiting on a decision. It gives one reason and stops, because a pile of reasons reads as negotiable. And it ends with a referral and a door, so declining this project actively strengthens the relationship instead of quietly ending it.

What most people send instead

Going quiet, or inventing a scheduling excuse that traps you. The excuse version guarantees they come back in March with the same project, and now you have to say no twice.