Writing a follow-up email is hard. 

Your instincts tell us that if someone hasn’t replied to our previous email, they’re not interested and that they’re not going to like it if we bother them again. Unfortunately, in this case, our instincts are often wrong. Very few prospects say “yes” to the first ask – or, for that matter, to the second, third or fourth. Emails with real value tend to slip through the cracks. 

How Long Should You Wait Before Following Up?

The short answer here is “not long.”

The vast majority of emails are opened the day they’re sent. It’s pretty safe to assume that if someone doesn’t reply the day you send your original email, they’re not going to reply at all.

As a general rule, two or three days is a good amount of time to wait before sending your first follow-up email. You should then extend the waiting period by a few days for each subsequent email following your first message, especially depending on the number of follow-ups you’re planning to send. You can and should experiment with the timing for subsequent follow-ups, but that schedule is as good as any until proven otherwise. 

Tips To Write A Follow Up Email:

Know your audience

Do a little research on who you’re dealing with in your email. Understand your persona so you can figure out how best to relate to them in your follow-up email. This will help you gauge what tone you can use to approach someone without offending them.

Nail the subject line

Approximately, 33 percent of email recipients decide whether or not to open an email based on the subject line alone. It might seem like a tiny afterthought for your follow-up email, but the subject line is the first impression you have on your recipients.

Make the prospect appealing

Stop making you follow up email all about you. I know you can help solve a pain point and add value. You’re just trying to make an impact. But if you can’t get their attention, you’ll end up with a fate no different than any of your competitors. 

Get to the point Faster

Skip the open-ended questions and be proactively specific in your messaging. If your goal is to schedule a meeting, then ask for it. Don’t waste the time of your recipient by beating around the bush. People skim emails looking for the main highlights. Short paragraphs and bullets are great ways to make sure your key points are front and center. 

Be human

Most follow-up email messages are straightforward and serious but generate leads for your business. Mix in a little twist to craft the unexpected and get noticed. If you’ve done your research on the prospect and think they can handle it, throw in a little humor to mix things up.

When to send a follow-up email?

A potential sale

The main reason most salespeople fail is that they never follow up with their prospective clients. Although they will make sales from those who are ready to buy straight away, they miss out on future sales from those who are looking to wait.

Organizing a meeting

If you’ve requested a meeting with a supervisor, a client, or a colleague and they haven’t responded, send them a follow-up to find out if they’re able to attend. You could recommend rescheduling if they can’t make the first date.

After a pitch

If you’re a contractor or a freelancer and you’ve recently pitched a project idea on spec, send a quick follow-up email if you haven’t heard back after a few days. The publication or company you have pitched to may be genuinely interested, but if your email had dropped to the bottom of their inbox, they may need a reminder to get back in touch. 

You can also watch: Unlock Secrets Of Email Marketing Campaign With MailGaze

Final Words:

Now that you know how important it is to write a follow up email, and how long (give or take) you should wait before sending each email, you can go ahead and write great emails to get your desired clients.