(https://mailshake.

com/blog/)

Sujan Patel (Https://Mailshake.com/Blog/Author/Sujan/)

Cold Email (Https://Mailshake.com/Blog/Category/Cold-Email/) 01/01/2020

0 (Https://Mailshake.com/Blog/Follow-Up-Email-Strategy/#Disqus_thread)
How to Write a
Follow-up Email After No Response

If the thought of writing a follow-up email makes you feel a little uncomfortable, you’re not alone. Our
instincts tell us that if someone hasn’t replied to our first 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.

In fact, a study from Iko System (https://mailshake.com/blog/100-sales-statistics/) saw an 18%

response rate to the first email they sent, and 13% to the fourth. The sixth email in the sequence
received a massive 27% response rate.

A similar study from Yesware (https://mailshake.com/blog/100-sales-statistics/) saw a 30% response

rate to the first email and 14% to the fourth. They actually sent 10 emails in total and even the very last
one had a 7% response rate.
 Yesware reports (https://mailshake.com/blog/100-sales-
Despite this, statistics/) that a colossal 70% of
email chains stop after just one unanswered email.

It gets worse, or better, depending on how you look at it: Roughly 

80% of prospects say ‘no’ four times before they ultimately say ‘yes’
(https://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/sales/sales-techniques-and-negotiations/why-you-must-
follow-up-leads)
.

But 92% of people give up after hearing ‘no’ four times.

So, why does that matter? It means that only 8% of salespeople – those following up at least five times
– are generating 80% of all sales.

Furthermore, other studies reveal that an email drip series 

with 4-7 messages delivers 3x more responses (https://www.propellercrm.com/blog/cold-email-
statistics)
 than those with only 1-3 (27% and 9%, respectively).

In fact, even 
following up just once can convert 22% more replies (https://learn.g2crowd.com/follow-
up-email) .

Needless to say, sending follow-up emails is essential (unless you like missing out on sales…)

“You can’t follow up too much in the earlier part of an engagement.” ~

Damian Thompson
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianthompson), Leadfuze

Need some tips? Here’s how to write a follow-up email after no response.

First, let’s answer this question…

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, and if
the recipient’s going to reply, they’re probably going to do that the same day, too. That means it’s
pretty safe to assume that if someone doesn’t reply the day you send your email, they’re not going to
reply at all.

How safe? About 90% of recipients open and reply – if they’re going to reply – on the day they receive
an email.

Image Credit (https://mailshake.com/blog/100-sales-

statistics/)

So, how long should you wait before sending a follow-up email?

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 wait period by a few days for each subsequent email.

Close.io
While there are no hard-and-fast rules on how you should approach this, (https://close.io/) CEO
Steli Efti
(https://twitter.com/Steli) proposes spacing your follow-up emails like so:
 Image Credit (https://blog.woodpecker.co/cold-email/follow-up-emails-how-many-
how-often/)

You can and should experiment, but that schedule is as good as any until proven otherwise. You want
to follow up without annoying your targets with daily blasts. Efti’s suggested timetable works out to six
emails – the initial contact and five follow-ups – over the course of a single 30-day period.

With it, you’re checking all the right boxes. Go with that until, if, and when you discover it’s not
working for you and your audience.

Setting Up for Success

Okay, so you know why it’s important to follow up, how long to wait, and have a ballpark figure on
how many messages to send altogether.

Before you start, though, you need to set yourself up for maximum success. The first step? Write it all
down.

Writing down your goals and workflows is beneficial on many fronts: it creates consistency amongst
everyone on your team, it keeps everyone on the same page, and it actually helps you achieve your
goals 
better than if you didn’t write them down
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2018/04/15/neuroscience-explains-why-you-need-to-
write-down-your-goals-if-you-actually-want-to-achieve-them/#10a0712f7905)
.

To maximize your follow-up success, have a concrete set of ‘rules’ as to time, frequency, quantity, and
message. Be consistent. And automate.

Automate Your Follow-Up Sequence

If you’re reaching out to hundreds of prospects every week, it’s impossible to manually stay on top of
following up with all of them.
That’s why a sales engagement tool like
Mailshake (https://mailshake.com/?
utm_source=blog&utm_medium=follow%20up%20strategy&utm_campaign=blog%20mailshake)
is essential to creating an effective, scalable follow-up email sequence.

With Mailshake, you can personalize your emails in bulk with powerful
mail merge features (https://mailshake.com/mailmerge/?
utm_source=blog&utm_medium=follow%20up%20strategy&utm_campaign=blog%20mailshake)
, schedule
follow-up emails (https://mailshake.com/followup/?
utm_source=blog&utm_medium=follow%20up%20strategy&utm_campaign=blog%20mailshake)
that are paused or triggered based on whether a a recipient opens an email, clicks a link, or replies,
and reply to leads straight from your Mailshake dashboard with
Lead Catcher (https://mailshake.com/lead-catcher/?
utm_source=blog&utm_medium=follow%20up%20strategy&utm_campaign=blog%20mailshake)
.

You can also set the amount of time between follow-ups (5 days between the first and second email, 7
days between the second and third, etc.), and the days and times you want them to send (for instance,
between 8 am and 6 pm on weekdays).

Optimize your copy and overall outreach strategy by

AB testing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=tBPsFH7571Q) different subject lines, body copy, and
full campaign sequences. And with native integrations to your CRM, and
third party integrations (https://mailshake.com/blog/mailshake-zapier-integrations/?
utm_source=blog&utm_medium=follow%20up%20strategy&utm_campaign=blog%20mailshake)
to hundreds of software tools via Zapier, you can automate your outreach even further by triggering
campaigns when someone downloads an eBook, books a meeting, or signs up for a demo.

If social media and phone are a part of your outreach cadence (keep reading to find out why you
should be), you can include those touchpoints in your outreach cadences as well with
Mailshake Omni (https://mailshake.com/sales/?
utm_source=blog&utm_medium=follow%20up%20strategy&utm_campaign=blog%20mailshake)
.
Bottom line: following up is absolutely essential to an effective outreach strategy, but there’s no reason
why you can’t automate it.

Diversify Your Channels

Another key component that separates those killing the follow-up game from those just going through
the motions is an omni-channel approach.

Yes, email is your best bet and the preferred channel for communication overall. But that doesn’t
mean the other channels aren’t worth the effort.

“To me, social isn’t a ‘Should I do it?’ You have to. If your audience lives on LinkedIn or Twitter or
Instagram, you have to be engaging them there.” ~
Jake Dunlap (https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?
trk=gf&trkInfo=AQGAVNObf9j_1AAAAWkRUPxQFh6Ddwdh6ugagDmTJw9TXFqOI3dd5aMT5MNSeSn4ED4V2-
U3muPBEYQTpXzPJR4mH629sSXjPmlfXKJM78R-W8LFBF3kR6Z3sQjVLCjn5a-
FNFY=&originalReferer=&sessionRedirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fjakedunlap)
, Skaled

Explore an omni-channel approach that includes email, video, social media, and the telephone …
especially if you’re not getting a response from just one of them. Companies with an omni-
channel engagement process 
see a 9.5% year-over-year growth (https://www.benbria.com/the-key-omni-channel-statistics-you-
need-to-know/)
 in annual revenue – almost 3x more than those that do not – in addition to increasing the engagement
itself.

An omni-channel experience 
delivers the goods on prospecting, nurturing, and retention (https://www.v12data.com/blog/25-
amazing-omnichannel-statistics-every-marketer-should-know/)
.

Which channels do they seem to prefer and/or where did you first engage with them, what do they do
on each (just shooting the breeze on social, business on email, vice versa)? Take your cue from them.
Engage with them where and how they seem to prefer.

“If you diversify the channels you use, you’re much more likely to get someone’s response.” ~
Matt Heinz
(https://twitter.com/HeinzMarketing), Heinz Marketing

Decide What You Want to Achieve

Before you do anything else, it’s mission-critical that you decide what you want to achieve from this
email (or emails).

For example, you might want to:

• Get more information or a specific piece of information

 • Arrange a meeting
• Close a sale

I can’t help you much here since every situation is unique. Exactly what you want and need to get out
of a follow-up email will likely change with each campaign you work on, and potentially, even
between each follow-up you send.

It’s imperative that you know, though. Never send an email – follow-up or otherwise – unless you
know exactly what you need to get out of it.

Put Yourself in Their Shoes

Before drafting or sending, consider the customer experience (UX). It’s already a pivotal element of
your business success, and it’s poised to become the key differentiator in the next year or two. More
than price. More than the product or service itself.

Think about the frequency and activity of your follow-up emails. Forget for the moment about what
the experts say you should or should not do, and look at it only from the customer point of view.

Too much is annoying. Too little loses momentum. Find the right balance for your targets.

Ask yourself: what’s in it for them? How are they feeling? What sort of experience are they having? Do
I have a reason to follow up (other than just to follow up)?

Ask and answer these types of questions, and you’ll design a follow-up campaign from the ground up
built for them, not you. And that can make all the difference.

In terms of your approach, all follow-ups are not created equal, so let the situation set the tone:

• If they’ve requested a call or demo, you can be more aggressive to fulfill their need
• If they’ve downloaded something, they have shown interest but did not explicitly ask to be
contacted, so you’ve got to demonstrate your value (different drips based on what specifically
they downloaded)
• If you’re sending a cold email, you’ve got to tread very lightly because they’ve requested nothing
from you

How to Write a Follow Up Email

Now that you know how important it is to follow up, and how long (give or take) you should wait
before sending each email, let’s go through how to write the follow-up email itself.

Remember that it’s important to test different

email subject lines (https://mailshake.com/blog/cold-email-subject-
line-sales/) when following up. They
can make or break you:
47% of people open an email and 69% report it as spam
(https://www.voilanorbert.com/blog/email-statistics-strategy/)
based on the subject line alone.
 follow-up email subject lines (https://mailshake.com/blog/follow-email-
Give your subject-lines/) the time
and effort they deserve.

I’ve split writing a follow-up email into five sections. To help you, I’ve included examples of what you
might say in each section – the idea being that you can then link everything together into a custom
follow-up template (https://mailshake.com/blog/sales-follow-up-email-
templates/) .

1. Add Context

Try to jog your recipient’s memory by opening your email with a reference to a previous email or
interaction. Even if your recipient draws a blank, they’re more likely to react positively to the follow-
up if they’ve been reminded of the fact that they’ve heard from you before.

Openers you might want to try include:

• I just wanted to follow up on the email I sent last [day of the week email was sent] about [subject
of email].
• I just wanted to follow up to see what you thought about [subject of email].
• I hope this doesn’t sound weird, but I saw that you read my previous email.

2. Add Value

You should never send a follow-up without upping the ante and demonstrating your worth.

Avoid lazy follow-ups – ones where you’re simply ‘touching base’ or ‘catching up’ – that don’t add
anything other than one more email in their inbox. Provide value at each interaction. Make it worth
their while to open, click, and respond.

Opportunities for organic, natural interaction and follow-ups arise from giving them something
valuable as a gift, be it a relevant physical item shipped to them, or a webinar, case study, template, or
other digital resource.

“For a minute, I’m not a sales guy – I’ve given them something.” ~
Dan Murphy
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantmurphy), Culture Amp

You can easily get 3-5 follow-ups around these value-added offers. Make it high quality and relevant to
them. You want to be seen as an asset to them.

If you’re not providing some sort of additional value, there’s very little reason to contact them, and
even less incentive for them to respond or care.

“You have to provide value to the recipient every single time.” ~

Matt Heinz
(https://twitter.com/HeinzMarketing)
3. Explain Why You’re Emailing

Go on to explain the reason for your follow-up email, in a manner that’s both direct and concise. Just
tell the recipient what you want. If this hasn’t changed since your last email, remind them.

• [product name] could really help you [element of prospect’s role] more effectively. I’d love to have
a quick chat to find out if I’m right.
• [product name] could really help you and I wondered if you’d be interested in trying it out for a
month or so (completely free, of course).
• We’ve just launched [product name], and it could make a big difference to [element of prospect’s
role]. There’s a link to a resource that will tell you more just below, but it’d be great if we could
also discuss your current needs so I can figure out exactly how [product name]might help you.

Focus on them here. Remove ‘I’ statements from your text. They honestly don’t care much about you
or what you think or believe.

4. Include a Call-to-Action

Make it easy for the recipient to respond. For example, if you’re trying to arrange a meeting, suggest a
specific date and time (and place, if you’re arranging an in-person meeting).

• Does 2:15 p.m. on Thursday work for you?

• Are you the right person to talk to about this? If I’m in the wrong place, could you point me in the
right direction?
• Just reply ‘yes’ if you’d be interested in getting some more information and I’ll send a couple of
short docs over.

A lot of marketers and sales personnel make the mistake of leaving it vague and ambiguous. Make
call-to-action (https://blog.klenty.com/cold-email-call-to-
your action/) crystal-clear and hard to resist.
What exactly do you want them to do? Tell them.

5. Close Your Email

Wrap up in a way that feels natural to you and is sympathetic to your interactions with the recipient so
far.

While I have a few suggestions below, this part is really quite personal – as above, wrap up however
you feel comfortable.

• Let me know what you think! [Your name]

• Let me know if you have any questions. [Your name]
• Speak soon? [Your name]
• I look forward to hearing from you! [Your name]
Sales Follow-up Email Templates
If the suggestions above aren’t enough for you to work with, here are a few samples from the selection
sales email templates (https://mailshake.com/blog/sales-email-
of templates/) we offer our users at
Mailshake
(https://mailshake.com/) .

And, if you haven’t tried it out yet, Mailshake’s free

email copy analyzer (https://mailshake.com/email-
analyzer/)  makes sending follow-ups even
easier. This tool allows you to input your content, then provides real-time analysis to improve
your content’s readability and deliverability.

By using this optimization tool, you’ll be able to ensure you’re following accepted best
practices when reaching out to prospects through email, improve your email content, and
increase the potential for future engagement and connection.

Hey [First], can we hop on a quick call [Date_Time]?

Cheers,
[Your_Name]

PS: thought you might find this article interesting [Link]

Hi [First],

I didn’t hear back from you last week when I was looking for the appropriate person managing
your [Role]. If it makes sense to talk, let me know how your calendar looks. If not, who is the
appropriate person?

Thanks,
[Your_Name]

—
 Hi [First],

I’ve reached out a few times regarding your sales prospecting strategies there at [Company]. My
guess is that we’re out of touch for one of three reasons:

• You don’t see a fit

• You have another solution to create predictable outbound prospecting numbers
• You are secretly a superhero and have been too busy fighting crime to reply

If any of these are correct then they may be the exact reason why we should talk now…

Thanks,
[Your_Name]

Hi [First],

I have tried to get in touch with you to see if there is a mutual fit between our company’s expertise
and your goals around [Business_Driver].

If you are not interested or there is another person you would like me to follow up with, please let
me know.

Would it make sense to invest 5-10 minutes to determine if there is a mutual fit? If not, who do you
recommend I talk to?

Thanks,
[Your_Name]

[First],

I’m writing to follow-up on my email. I didn’t hear back from anyone on the team. If it makes
sense to talk, let me know how your calendar looks.

If not, who is the appropriate person for me to talk to?

Thanks for your help,

[Your_Name]

[First],

I just tried giving you a call and left a voicemail. I’d like to discuss [Opportunity] with you. Please
give me a call back at [Your_Phone_number], or send me a note if you get the chance.
 Thank you!
[Your_Name]

Expert Tips
cold email templates (https://mailshake.com/blog/cold-email-
You’ve got the data and templates/) to design
a killer campaign. Sprinkle in a few of these tips from the pros, and supercharge the entire thing.

• Don’t forget to test different subject lines in addition to the main body. Some subject lines like
“quick question” are falling out of favor, while others
may trigger spam filters. (https://www.voilanorbert.com/blog/spam-filters-and-spam-trigger-
words-to-avoid/)
That said, take the advice with a grain of salt and
test your subject lines on your audience (https://mailshake.com/blog/subject-line-
ab-tests/) . There’s
an exception to every rule.
• A popular alternative: try sending a calendar invite with a specific time and date with specific
details in the notes section
• Using video within an email is gaining in popularity, and can
increase your click-through rate by 300% (https://www.voilanorbert.com/blog/email-
statistics-strategy/)
Soapbox
. Tools including (https://wistia.com/soapbox) and
GoVideo
(https://www.vidyard.com/govideo/) make it easy and user-friendly.
• Plan for follow-ups

“Don’t leave yourself in a position where you’re going to have to follow up mysteriously. Make sure at
the end of that first convo that the next thing is already in the books, defined, solidified. Don’t leave it
Gaetano DiNardi
to chance.” ~ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/officialg), Sales Hacker

• Personalization is key. A few quick and easy ‘cheats’ include mentioning their micro industry,
location, and/or relevant competitors.

“Personalization is crucial. Want your follow-up email to stand out in a crowded inbox? Show me you
know who I am and what I do. Make me feel like I’m more than just a name inside a spreadsheet.” ~
Kevin J. Duncan (https://smartblogger.com/how-to-start-a-
blog/), Smart Blogger

• Try the Double Tap: send an email late afternoon/early evening, then another the next morning
with a link or resource you ‘forgot’ to include in the first one. The omission humanizes you and
your brand, and gets your name in front of them twice.
• Keep it short and to the point, and be absolutely certain it’s mobile friendly (
more than half of all emails (https://www.voilanorbert.com/blog/email-statistics-
strategy/) are
opened on mobile)
 “You need to reread, and reread, and reread your follow-up emails to remove desperation.
Nate Wright
Desperation will never get you anywhere.” ~ (https://inboxattack.com/), Inbox Attack

• Eliminate phrases like “if it’s not too much trouble” and “I apologize for bothering you, but …”
from your messaging.
• Personalize in human ways, not just business ways. Visiting their city next week? Ask for a
restaurant recommendation, for example.
Cultivate a help-first mentality (https://mailshake.com/blog/help-
• first/) to build a genuine
relationship with them.

Follow-ups are a long game. The perfect prospect may not be ready to buy right at this moment, so the
key is consistent follow-ups that provide value and keep you top of mind. Build the relationship, and
they’ll turn to you when they’re ready to pull that metaphorical trigger.

“All strategies aside, if you aren’t actually following up, then you’re missing out on big opportunities.”
Rex Biberston
~ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rexbiberston), The Sales Developers

follow-up strategy (https://mailshake.com/followup-

You can use email marketing without a strategy/) .
You could, but why would you? The follow-up is a huge part of what makes email the king of
acquisition and retention.

Do you have any other tips or ideas for writing follow-up emails after no response? It’d be great if
you wanted to share them in the comments below:

Share this:

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Related

5 Reasons Your Emails Fail That Have Examples of Follow-Up Emails That 16 Follow-Up Email Subject Lines to
Nothing to Do with the Email Content Get Replies (And Ones That Don't) Steal for Your Next Campaign
(https://mailshake.com/blog/emails- (https://mailshake.com/blog/follow- (https://mailshake.com/blog/follow-
fail/) up-emails/) email-subject-lines/)

TAGS
 Author
Sujan Patel email marketing

(https://mailshake.com/blog/author/sujan/) (https://mailshake.com/blog/tag/email-marketing/)

Sujan is the co-founder of Mailshake. He is a marketer and

entrepreneur with over 14 years of marketing experience. email strategy

Sujan has led the digital marketing strategy for companies (https://mailshake.com/blog/tag/email-strategy/)

like Sales Force, Mint, Intuit and many other Fortune 500
caliber companies.     follow-up email
(https://mailshake.com/blog/tag/follow-up-email/)

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