What is a follow-up email?
A follow-up electronic mail is an e-mail to a recipient role you ‘ve already contacted once earlier. There are many reasons why you may want to send a follow-up e-mail, including :
- Alert a recipient to a previously sent email
- Request information, a reply, or response
- Remind someone of an important time or date (for an event, for example)
The purpose of a follow-up electronic mail is to act as a reminder or prompt for a previous electronic mail you ‘ve sent. It ‘s not to initiate a conversation but to reinvigorate it and generate a reply. The most effective follow-up mails are short circuit, sweet, professional, and ( most importantly ) to the point. Do n’t waste time or words ; advise the experts : The US-based team of researchers analyzed over 2 billion emails and found that readers tend to skim over-long emails. While they found that half ( 50 % ) of emails receive a response within an hour, others could be left for long periods. The worst offenders ? Older adults take the longest clock to respond and write the lengthiest emails. Researchers besides found that e-mail sent during the dawn of the working workweek were most likely to receive a reply. however, those sent in the good afternoon and over the weekends were less probable to receive a reaction. Why ? Researchers may have discovered the answer…
Why don’t people respond to emails?
ever wondered why people do n’t respond to your emails immediately ? We receive then many emails that we “ triage ” them, say researchers. This involves quickly checking them and then deferring them until a time when they can be appropriately handled. Recipients may mark or tag emails, file them away or just leave them unopened in their inboxes. Workers spend up to 28 % of their time reading and responding to emails, so we understandably develop strategies to speed up the process. Academics found that 16 % of us deferred responding to emails at least once a sidereal day. What type of emails are we ignoring ? “ Users are more probably to defer emails when handling them involves replying, reading cautiously, or clicking on links and attachments, ” say the authors. The all-important learn point is : if your e-mail has been delivered, it has been seen. Researchers in the report identified five core reasons why emails go ignored :
- The time or effort involved in handling the email
- The identity of the sender;
- The number of recipients on the thread
- The user’s workload and context
- The urgency of the email message
Before sketching out a answer, try to understand these pressures facing the recipient. For exercise, sending a follow-up electronic mail ( however civilized ) can put extra press on the recipient, suggest Adaira Landry and Resa E. Lewiss writing in the Harvard Business Review .
The perfect follow up email format
so, we ‘ve explored the reasons why you might need to send a follow-up electronic mail ( and why you may not have already received a answer ). It ‘s clock time to get into the details of how to draft a follow-up electronic mail .
- Email subject
- Greeting
- Body
- Closing
- Sign-off/signature
We ‘ve covered how to create master clientele question emails in previous web log posts, so we ‘ll follow our advice and keep this segment focused .
Subject Line
Keeping the discipline lineage shortstop, sweet, and elementary is all-important, advises Rebecca Zucker in the Harvard Business Review. She suggests that 47 % of all emails are discarded by having dirty discipline lines. Do n’t make that mistake ! Should you forward the original e-mail ? We recommend you do n’t .
Greeting
In the professional earth, concenter on the formality. That means always using professional greetings unless you are on first-name terms with the recipient. Want to learn how to start an e-mail professionally and adequately ? Check out our feature on how to start an electronic mail .
Body
A admonisher electronic mail is a fast and formal way of raising awareness of an e-mail you have previously sent. You need to provide some context with the opening line of your electronic mail, something we approach in our section on how to start a follow-up electronic mail. We ‘ll assume that the previous e-mail contained crucial information that you want the recipient to see. There are several ways you can approach this :
- Forward the original email (see reasons above why this isn’t a great idea)
- Provide the initial email (as an attachment, or pasted below your follow-up email)
- Provide a reminder of the crucial points (meeting details, for example)
- Give an external link to the essential information (an event website or invite)
The option of how to relay the e-mail or information is up to you. How you choose to do this will affect the structure, stress, and duration of your e-mail .
Closing
You ‘ve politely requested a reply, but you should besides let the person know how you will use the information and what you will do if no reception is forthcoming. If you ‘re requesting their attendance at a meet, for example, will you contact them on the telephone, or is this the last correspondence you will have ? In another case, if you ‘re requesting person react to an invoice request, for example, will you then take further natural process if you receive no response ? Leave your lector in no confusion about your future steps .
Sign-off/signature
A civil and professional sign-off is essential. Do n’t know how to end an e-mail properly ? Please read our guide on how to end an electronic mail .
How to start a follow-up email
The opening phrase is arguably one of the most essential parts of your electronic mail. So let ‘s count at some of the most coarse e-mail openers and see whether they ‘re suitable or not :
Formal email introductory lines:
- I would like to follow up on my previous email.
- I would like to follow up on my meeting request.
These are formal-sounding approaches. We ‘ll assume here you do n’t know the person and are writing in a professional context. These are standard lines suitable for all context ( e-mail answer reminders, meeting reminders, and indeed away ) .
Informal email introductory lines:
- I wanted to follow up…
- I’m just following up…
These are less formal approaches and suggest that you know the person you ‘re writing to. We would caution against using these when contacting person that you have never met or have spoken with .
Suitable introductory lines when you include the email:
- I’m following up on the email below.
- I’m following up on my previous email.
These examples are desirable for requesting a reaction when you have provided the master correspondence, either by forwarding the response, pasting it below a new e-mail or as an attachment. Looking for more creative e-mail opening sentences for your follow-up mail ? You ‘ll find ten more examples in our feature of 100 best electronic mail unfold lines .
How to write a follow-up email subject line
How to write a follow-up electronic mail submit trace that gets results is challenging. If we follow the advice previously, we should aim ( where potential ) to contain it to five words and under. The reason is that 56 % of emails are read on a mobile, where the fewer words, the better. You can either be explicit about your request or not. here are few follow-up e-mail subject lineage examples :
- Follow up: Email sent on XXX – This is a super formal subject line to a serious email.
- Response required: Email sent XXX
Again, a serious subject line for a dangerous electronic mail .
- Reminder to register for XXX – This is a polite email reminder for an event.
- Be great to hear from you – This is a relaxed and informal approach that you should only use with someone you know.
- Network event reminder… Another polite follow-up about an event.
- Thanks for our meeting –This is a different way to follow up with a person you have already met. You’re not demanding a response but creating a connection.
Do n’t use the entitle you previously did when deciding on your discipline header for a follow-up e-mail. There may be a reason why the recipient role missed ( or ignored ) your previous electronic mail. Sending the lapp subject argumentation again could result in it being ignored once again. It can be awkward sending a follow-up electronic mail but keep off being amusing in your capable title for a follow-up e-mail. Some people may not partake your sense of temper or flush find it offensive .
Some bad follow up email subject examples include:
- Why didn’t you respond?
- Did you get my last email?
- I’m waiting for your reply…
- I know you’re busy, but…
- Just checking in…
When to send a follow-up email?
Before we describe how to write a follow-up electronic mail, how soon should you send a follow-up e-mail ? One crucial consideration is whether the electronic mail response is time-sensitive. Take, for example ; you are inviting person to an event. You may have a deadline for an answer. In this case, you may need to send a polite follow-up e-mail promptly, which is satisfactory. If you know the person professionally, you have greater exemption when following up on an e-mail. You may choose to send a professional request quickly, with the sympathy that this wo n’t damage your reputation or kinship. Suppose you ‘re sending a follow up mail to person you have never met or have no professional kinship with. In that lawsuit, we recommend waiting around five days ( one working week ). While it can be frustrating to wait for a reply, consider what we ‘ve learned about electronic mail triage and be patient .
Follow up email samples
We ‘ve provided the model for how to follow up on an e-mail ; now, it ‘s time to put it into exercise. here, we give some examples on how to create a civil follow-up e-mail, a easy follow-up e-mail, and a more formal response request. These examples illustrate best-practice but should be used as the basis for your communications. If you ‘re struggling to find the right words, Flowrite can help you create civil and professional emails that will ensure a prompt reply every time .
Polite follow-up email sample
hera ‘s a polite follow-up electronic mail sample you can send after not receiving a reaction. When deciding how to follow up on electronic mail politely, think about the person and understand why they may not have read your electronic mail. In this civil follow-up e-mail exemplar, we ‘ve acknowledged why person may not have responded to an electronic mail – “ I understand that you are busy ”. To
ryan @ podcastd.io
subject line : Be great to hear from you…
Dear Ryan,
I ‘m just following up on an electronic mail I previously sent to you. I understand that you are busy, but I would appreciate it if you could review the e-mail and react to me adenine soon as you can.
If I do n’t hear from you by the end of the workweek, I ‘ll call you at your office.
Yours sincerely,
Sarah Jones
Follow up email sample after no response
here is a sample of a follow-up electronic mail transport after getting no reaction. It does n’t beat around the bush but gets true to the point. This e-mail is n’t to person that you know but a generic electronic mail address or nameless recipient role. To
information @ podcastd.io
subjugate line : Be great to hear from you…
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am following up on an electronic mail I sent on 12 September. Please can you review the electronic mail and answer arsenic soon as possible ?
If you would like to discuss the e-mail in far detail, please contact me immediately.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Sarah Jones
Gentle follow up email sample
If you ‘re looking for a ennoble follow-up electronic mail sample, here ‘s one. This is a draw less dinner dress than the previous ones. To
ryan @ podcastd.io
subject line : Be capital to hear from you…
Hi Ryan,
It was big chatting with you earlier. I ‘m equitable getting in touch to check whether you had a casual to review the electronic mail I sent to you previously and whether you could reply ?
If I do n’t hear from you in the next few days, I ‘ll give you a call.
Best regards,
Sarah Jones
Follow-up email template – the Flowrite way
Flowrite is an AI writing tool that turns shortstop instructions into ready-to-send emails and message. however, for emails such as follow-ups after no answer it can write the solid e-mail for you. Take a search at the example below to see how to follow up on an e-mail with click of button thanks our follow up electronic mail template .
Are you feeling more confident about how to follow up on an e-mail after reading the web log military post ? We hope so. The next time you need to write a watch up electronic mail after getting no response, equitable remember best practices we covered in this scout or sour to our follow up e-mail samples. Better yet, give Flowrite and our follow-up e-mail template a hear .
