8 Follow-Up Emails After No Response
Good email writing requires patience and practice. To send an effective message is a challenging task to do. Yet, when following up, you might want to take all your benefits and advantages out of your pocket to get a response.
Sending a follow-up requires excellent attention to detail to ensure that the email attracts the eye of the recipient. You have to remain polite and keep on following up even if the first time was not successful.
However, if your follow-ups have not received any response and it seems that you have tried hundreds of times, but nothing seems to work — we have a few tips and tricks to share so you could receive that long-awaited reply! Besides, we will provide some examples for you to look at and get some inspiration! Let’s get started.
Why You Should Follow-Up?
It is essential to follow-up on your query as it significantly increases your chances of receiving a response you have been waiting for. Research shows that overall, 92% of replies were received after follow-up emails were sent. Furthermore, 55% of overall responses were generated ONLY after the 4th to 8th follow-up email!
If you were giving up after the first attempt, now you can see that it might take a little longer to receive a response; however, you have to be patient, motivated, and goal-oriented not to give up.
If you have not received a response to your initial email, it does not necessarily mean that the person is not interested. Instead, there might be multiple reasons and explanations why it has happened: perhaps the recipient was too busy, the email got lost in a variety of others, the person has seen the email but simply forgot to reply, or maybe they are out of the office for some time.
The point here is that you should not give up so soon and keep following up until you get some sort of response. Of course, if it is negative, stop the chase immediately. Still, the majority of the time, there is a very good explanation behind the recipients, and the statistics mentioned before speak for themselves – look how effective follow-ups are!
Common Mistakes in Follow-Up Emails
Before we get into follow-up email writing tips and examples, it is essential to know what are the common mistakes so you are aware of them. So let’s check them out and see how they can be avoided:
1. Not following up straight after the matter
Timing is important, so following up efficiently is necessary. Instead of waiting for a week or so to follow up, you should start sooner. Depending on the matter, the first follow-up can be sent within 1-3 days. In that case, the recipient will still remember the topic, and there is more chance they will respond sooner. However, if you wait too long, the subject might already be out of their mind.
For example, you are looking to receive some filled out documents from another party. The first follow-up should be sent straight after the conversation. Then, if you have not heard from the recipient, send a polite reminder in the upcoming three days to create a sense of urgency. In that case, the person will reply to you on time, and the tasks you have to complete will be on time.
2. Your subject line says ‘follow-up’
When sending a reminder email, many people tend to state ‘follow-up’ in their subject lines. However, this email most likely will get ignored as it does not add any value. Besides, if the person has forgotten what the matter is about and you do not state it in your subject line, he/she can simply assume that it’s a scam or something irrelevant. For that reason, use your subject line wisely and ensure that it clearly states what the email is about to get the reader’s interest.
For example, if you are awaiting further details from a potential lead, rather than saying ‘follow-up’ you could add something like ‘Further information request’. Your query will be more specific and will interest the recipient to open the email.
3. The call to action (CTA) is missing
One of the most common mistakes when sending a follow-up email is not including a call to action. Why is it important? A call to action clearly presents what further actions you want the recipient to take, so if you do not identify them, they might simply ignore your email. Be specific and clear about further actions, but also remember to keep a polite and professional tone.
For example, when writing a follow-up email, you might want to say something like ‘Please fill out the form attached to this email’ or ‘Respond to this email with a selected time and date for our meeting’ at the end of the main body. The more specific you are, the more precise the instructions for the reader to quickly fulfill them.
4. Not adding value in your main body text
If your email starts with ‘I am just following up…’ that is already a red flag. This statement does not provide any value to the recipient. People receive hundreds of emails every day and cannot read them all, so you have to be more specific in stating the aim of your contact.
For example, to avoid any invaluable content, clearly state how you can help the recipient: solve the problem, increase sales, or what advantages you can bring. You can also offer them different options to add more details and showcase that you are approachable and happy to arrange the situation in a way that would be handy for both parties.
Follow-Up After No Response
If your first email has not reached the goal, do not worry, you still have plenty of chances. Below, are a few tips you should follow when constructing a follow-up email after no response:
- Do not rush: Differently from the first follow-up, this time, you want to be patient and wait a little longer before you send an email again. You should wait at least three days to touch base again after the first follow-up.
- Do not copy: Never resend the same email as a follow-up after no response. You will present a very poor message which might potentially get sent to spam. Every email for a follow-up must be different and have distinctive features.
- Do not use the same CTA: Your call to action must also be different every time. Try different approaches and methods as one of them might catch the recipients’ attention, and they can relate to it. That will lead to a response you are awaiting.
- Do not be aggressive: If you have sent a few follow-ups and have not received any response, you still should be professional and polite. Do not let your emotions take control, as you might destroy the potential lead’s interest.
- Do not trick: Make sure that your subject line is not tricking the recipient into something. If you exaggerate or add inaccurate information by saying ‘Our call last week’, when there wasn’t a call, or anything similar, you will lose their trust instantly, cause confusion and risk your reputation.
- Do not say goodbye: If you have sent a few follow-up emails and have not received any response, do not send a breakup email just yet. Instead, wait a little longer and try to follow up again in a few months’ time. Maybe this time you will be lucky!
Moreover, you might need a little help when sending follow-up emails. An email marketing tool like Sender can help you segment your audience, track and trace opening rates, create automated emails and ensure that your follow-ups successfully reach your targeted recipients.
Examples of Follow-Up Emails After No Response
Now, once you are aware of the common mistakes and tips when writing a follow-up email, it is time to look into some excellent examples which will help you improve and understand your own email game further.
1. JUST LEFT A VOICEMAIL FOLLOW-UP
Subject Line: Just tried your line/next steps
Hey (Name),
I just left you a voicemail but wanted to drop a line by email in case this is more convenient for you.
I’m reaching out because it looks like (Introduce the point of alignment between their company and yours). We’re (Introduce your company and how you can be valuable).
I’d love to connect with you about your specific needs. I also have a suggestion about how you can (Achieve desired result).
Give me a call back at (Insert your phone number) if convenient, or feel free to reply to this email.
Thanks!
(Your Signature)
2. FOLLOW-UP FOR CONTRACT
Subject Line: Contract for (Product/Business Name)
Hey (Name),
I hope you’re having a great week. Did you get a chance to look over the contract I sent on (Specify the date)?
Can I answer any questions or resolve any concerns? I’m excited to get you and your team on board so we can (Achieve the results/close the deal/ect.) for your business.
Thanks,
(Your Signature)
3. USING SOCIAL PROOF FOR TRUST
Subject Line: Look what our customers say!
Hi (Name),
In case you are still on the fence about whether automated prospecting makes sense for you, I wanted to share a few quotes on what our customers are saying about us:
“(Business name) is now the backbone of our sales prospecting process” – (Name of the reviewer).
“The prospector works like a charm and integrates beautifully with our CRM to keep all the data in sync.” – (Name of the reviewer).
Intrigued why salespeople love our (Product/Service)? Respond to this email with your availability and I will arrange a call to discuss it further!
Regards,
(Your Signature)
4. FOLLOWING AFTER A MEETING TO MOVE FURTHER IN BUSINESS
Subject Line: Next Steps for (Project Name)
Hi (Name),
It was great meeting you the other day and chatting about (Mention the project and something personal that matters to them). I’d love to get started on working on (Name the project) so you can (Mention the end goal agreed).
I’ve attached a form for you to fill out with your basic information so we can get started. The next step is to (Provide further information).
Please fill this out and send it back as soon as you can so we can move to the next step.
Looking forward to working with you,
(Your Signature)
5. FOLLOW-UP AFTER THE QUOTE
Subject Line: Quote for (Product/Service)
Hi (Name),
Hope your week is going well. Did you get a chance to look over the quote I sent on (Specify the date)?
The sooner I get the quote approved, the sooner we can get your business to (Mention the final goals/aims).
I’d be happy to answer any questions, and if you need to re-negotiate some of the terms, we can jump on a phone call. Would Wednesday work for you?
Please let me know!
(Your Signature)
6. COLD PROMOTION FOLLOW-UP
Subject Line: Suggestions for your (Topic) post!
Hello (Name),
I know you receive a ton of emails every day, so thought I should send you a quick follow-up for my email below in case it got overlooked.
I was wondering whether you’d be interested in referencing our article (Link to your post) in your (Specify the topic) post?
We’ve also compiled a list of subjects that we think would be a perfect fit for some of your posts (Specify some of them as proof, add links).
We think it would be a great addition!
Don’t you think?
Let me know your thoughts!
(Your Signature)
P.S. We’d be more than happy to share your updated post with our social media followers (Add links to social media platforms).
7. POLITE BREAK-UP
Subject Line: Sorry that it didn’t work out this time around
Hi (Name),
I still haven’t heard back from you about your project, so I’m assuming that your priorities have changed and that you no longer want to go ahead with it.
Please keep us in mind if you want to move forward at any point in the future.
Sincerely,
(Your Signature)
8. TRYING TO FOLLOW-UP AGAIN AFTER SOME TIME
Subject Line: Let’s reconnect!
Dear (Name),
I hope you’re well and that you remember me. We spoke (Insert the date) ago about (State the topic) for your business, but you mentioned that you needed a few months to grow the business before you were ready.
I can see from your brand new website (great design, by the way!) that things are ticking over nicely. I wondered if you’d had a chance to look over the proposal that I sent you previously?
It would be great to put some time in the diary where we can have a catch up about your current needs. How does Wednesday at 1PM sound?
Sincerely,
(Your Signature)
Take The Best Follow-Up Email Template For You
Now you know it all. We have shared some common mistakes you should avoid, follow-up email writing tips, and great examples from different areas and industries, so you could definitely find something useful for your next follow-up email after you have not received any response.
Most importantly, you should remember to always stay patient, professional, and polite no matter what and keep the motivation on as you will get there – it might just take a little time.
