How to Send a Follow Up Email After No Response

It is often said that no response is a response in itself, so why should you send follow-up emails?

If you emailed the right person, they opened your email, and then chose not to reply, there is no need to follow up, right? Wrong!

While that may be true for personal interactions (and even then, not necessarily), jogging your recipient's memory in email marketing is good practice. We receive thousands of emails in a month and the more companies or influencers we subscribe to, the more noise in our Inbox.

Therefore, sometimes it is essential to send follow-ups after your initial email - and the follow-up message is sometimes more effective than the first one!

However, how many follow-ups should you send? How many are too many follow-ups? Should you use a follow-up email template or create follow-up sequences to automatically be sent after a few days through your email marketing service?

Let's take you into the world of follow-up emails and what to do if your previous email gets no response.

What to do first after no response

Your previous message did not get a response so you are going to write a follow up email to re-emphasize your point quickly. Perhaps your prospect missed your email in their Inbox and you have a sales quota to achieve, or you have a tight timeframe in which you need a response.

When:

First of all, your first follow-up email should be sent about three days after your initial message - not too soon and not too late.

Give your recipient some time to respond and see your email.

Sending follow-ups a day or two after your first message can come across as annoying and pushy. However, sending them too late can make your recipient completely forget about you, a problem that occurs often with cold emails.

The key rule is to wait about three days before the first gentle reminder that you sent the recipient an email and would appreciate a response, if it is not too much trouble.

What:

So as emphasized above, your first email should be a polite follow up email asking if your previous email has been delivered - and just softly reminding the email recipient that you sent a message a few days ago (too much email in this sentence, right?).

The first email after no response needs to be cordial and not too pushy or demanding, steering the recipient back to your first message.

Why:

Hubspot says that the first follow-up success rates are on average 40% higher than that of your first email. Therefore, you are likely to get 40% more responses to a follow-up.

This higher response rate is because sometimes people feel guilty about not responding to the first email and are then more likely to respond to the next one.

How:

Your subject line should be simple and to the point. For example, for a sales follow-up email, you can say - Gentle reminder for a quick call. Keeping the subject line short is always a good idea specifically in cold email campaigns.

Let's look at what type of email your marketing team should draft in the first follow up.

Example of first follow up:

Hello [name],

Hope you are well.

I was just wondering if you got a chance to find a convenient time for a quick chat via the calendar link?

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Cheers,

[sender's name]

You should send approximately three follow-ups before you stop sending emails to that prospect for a while.

Your first follow-up should just serve as a reminder and you do not have to give the same call to action again - whether it is a meeting link or you are sending a guest post for the receiver to publish. Only remind them about your previous CTA and that you would appreciate a response.

Your follow-up campaign should follow a particular sequence in a timely manner and ensure you are steering your prospect in the right direction.

Make sure your opening line does not sound passive-aggressive, sarcastic, or too pushy. There is a fine line between sending a reminder and making the recipient feel guilty about not replying. In fact, politeness is likely to increase response rates.

Second follow up email after no response

In your second follow-up email, you need to provide more value than before. Re-emphasize the prospect's paint point and give them more information about how you can provide a solution.

When

You can send a second follow-up approximately a waiting period of 4-5 days after your first follow-up (it also depends on the timeframe you have for the CTA you want your recipient to click on).

What

You should reiterate pain points, (yours or theirs based on what the email is about), tell your target audience more about how you know that they really need to speak to you or why/how you require their response, and sign off your cold email with a new call to action from your previous one.

Your subject line should tell your reader what more you want to mention. Something like: NxtMax can make accounting 80% easier!

Why

One of the key rules is to keep making the CTA easier for your recipients in further follow-ups.

So in your follow up sequence, the first time you may request a meeting, the second time you may give them more information about you and what you offer and ask for a brief phone call, and then if they still don't respond, you may ask them more about their own business and what they need.

How

If you have already mentioned a mutual connection in the first follow up, don't push it again when you write a follow-up for the second time.

You can provide social proof at this stage. Show them a review or testimonial that mentions your company name or business name and tell them how you solved something for someone with a similar pain point to theirs.

Example of second follow up email after no response

Hello [name],

I hope you are enjoying the fantastic New Jersey weather - I wish I was there. I was just wondering if you got a chance to explore Nxtmax, our accounting software that makes creating financial statements much easier?

We know that companies such as YTA have many departments and a lot of financials to work out - and this sometimes takes more time than anticipated. I just wanted to remind you that this month we are offering an exclusive discount of 40% for a subscription and I would be happy to extend 15 days free for you to check out how it can suit your company.

How does Tuesday sound for a quick 15-minute chat or perhaps I can send you a presentation highlighting why this would be a good deal?

I would love to hear back!

Best Regards,

[sender's name]

Third follow-up email after no response

In some cases, a single follow up will do the trick but in other cases, you may have to go all the way up to the third follow up - and sometimes still get no response.

When

A third email should be sent close to when the offer is about to expire or about a week after your second email.

Why

This gives the recipient enough time to consider what you were saying and respond if they intend to. If not, then it is time for you to give them one last reminder.

What

Your third email should have a clear subject line that tells them how long they have left to avail the offer you have made them. You can also opt for a catchy subject line that refers to your calls to action. You can write subject lines such as:

• Just wanted to send a quick reminder to connect

• Just wanted to see if you have explored NXTmax

• Nxtmax's 40% offer saves you money and time

• Nxtmax saves time, but in 48 hrs you can save money too!

How

Your third email should be short, to-the-point, and a reiteration of what you have mentioned before. You can provide a little bit of new information here but it is not a good idea to give completely new information at this stage.

The follow up is a reminder, not an original sales email.

Example of third follow up email:

Hello [name],

I have reached out a few times before and just thought it would be great to send a soft reminder about NxtMax's 40% off for users who sign up this month. As mentioned before, we are throwing in 15 days free as a bonus for you to see how much easier the accounting software makes your professional life.

Just send a quick reply here if you would like to know more and we can figure out the best way to connect.

Best Regards,

[name]

Bottom Line

Whether you are sending an email for link building purposes, selling something, trying to get something for your business, checking out a job opportunity, etc, you might have to follow up a number of times. While for more personal contact, you can send a follow up in the same thread, but if you are sending cold emails to prospects, it is ideal to send a new email.

When you are following up in bulk and already know what you want to say, your cold email software can help to send automated follow ups that are sent if there is no response after a certain period of time. Make sure you do not use the same subject line every time and while you can explore follow up email templates, it is better to be original.

Editor's note:

A prime reason you may be getting no response is because your emails are landing in spam - which means you have not warmed up your email domain. GoCustomer offers amazing packages to ensure the majority of your emails find a place in the Priority Inbox.