Have you ever ever had your gross sales emails ignored?
This may be extraordinarily irritating—it’s the enterprise model of being left on learn. But, many people get uncomfortable on the considered writing a follow-up e mail. As a result of in the event that they haven’t replied, that should imply they’re not , proper?
Whereas this may be true in some circumstances, the primary motive why many recipients don’t reply is that emails get misplaced of their flooded inboxes. Sending a follow-up e mail may simply be the factor they should take you up in your supply.
This text will train you the whole lot you might want to learn about follow-up emails, together with what they’re, why they’re essential, and methods to create them. We’ll additionally provide you with some wonderful follow-up e mail samples you should utilize in your gross sales efforts.
Desk of Contents
What are follow-up emails?
A follow-up e mail is an e mail you ship to somebody you’ve already contacted. This may very well be for varied causes, together with alerting a recipient of the preliminary e mail, requesting a reply or particular motion from them, or reminding them of an essential date.
The aim of follow-up emails isn’t to provoke a dialog however slightly to behave as a immediate or reminder. As such, it’s finest to maintain follow-up emails quick and to the purpose by together with solely essentially the most important data.
Not solely does this come throughout as extra skilled, however it additionally makes it simple for the recipient to learn and reply to your e mail shortly with out taking an excessive amount of outing of their busy schedule—which is one thing that every one of us admire.
Why are follow-up emails essential?
In 2020, it was estimated that roughly 306.4 billion emails have been despatched and acquired every single day. If you happen to do the maths, that’s roughly 38 emails every day for every individual on earth (and that’s when you have been counting infants, too). Wow, that’s a whole lot of emails!
Sadly, an enormous portion of those emails aren’t opened. And, even worse, typically the emails don’t even attain the recipient’s inbox.
In 2021, the supply standing of promoting emails despatched within the clothes sector stood at 87.83%—that means that 12.17% of individuals didn’t even obtain the e-mail. Since that is the business with the best supply fee, it signifies that even the next proportion of emails in different industries by no means discover their method to prospects’ inboxes.
Due to this fact, the explanation lots of your recipients aren’t studying your emails comes right down to 2 issues. Your recipients are both:
- Not studying your emails as a result of they get misplaced within the mass of emails of their inboxes
- Not receiving your emails within the first place
Thus, by incorporating follow-up emails into your technique, you’ll improve your possibilities of the recipient receiving and studying your emails—and in the end achieve extra gross sales.
Learn how to write a follow-up e mail
Listed here are the 6 steps you possibly can comply with to jot down the proper follow-up e mail.
1. Decide your objective
The very first thing you might want to do is decide what you wish to obtain along with your follow-up message.
Listed here are just a few targets to think about:
- Request a gathering: Do you wish to meet along with your recipient to pitch a product concept, obtain suggestions, or just choose their mind?
- Get data: Did you neglect to ask your recipient a query throughout your earlier assembly or e mail and wish readability on the matter? Or, maybe you wish to decide whether or not you made a sale.
- Thank your recipient: Do you merely wish to present your gratitude? Saying thanks to your recipient could not all the time require rapid motion, however it does go away them with a optimistic impression of your model—which may end in model belief and loyalty.
- Meet up with your recipient: Have you ever not spoken to a connection shortly? Or, maybe you heard huge information about their firm that created a necessity in your merchandise/companies. They may be in the appropriate scenario to lastly take you up in your supply.
By being clear in your objective, you’ll not solely be capable of write a greater and extra related e mail, however you’ll additionally know what name to motion (CTA) you might want to use to get your recipient(s) to take motion.
2. Begin the e-mail with context
74% of shoppers change into pissed off when their e mail communication expertise isn’t personalised.
That is true for automated follow-up emails, reminiscent of gross sales and advertising emails despatched to a whole phase of your viewers, and once-off emails despatched to a single individual to attach with them.
That’s why it’s important to incorporate a private connection in your e mail. There are numerous methods to realize this, together with including identifiers (such because the recipient’s title), speaking about frequent pursuits, or mentioning a selected motion the recipient took.
Listed here are some nice e mail openers or introductory strains that present context:
- Final time we spoke about [topic]
- We met on the [event name] final week
- Our pal, [friend’s name], steered that I attain out to you
- I’m following up regarding the e mail I despatched to you just a few weeks in the past about [topic]
- Thanks in your assist with the [topic]
3. Clarify why you’re emailing
After you’ve successfully supplied context in your e mail’s introductory line, it’s time to clarify why you’re emailing. By stating your goal early on, your e mail will seem extra reliable as a substitute of spammy and obscure.
For instance, as a substitute of claiming, “I’d like to satisfy with you to clarify what I can do for what you are promoting,” you need to say, “I’d like to satisfy with you to clarify how my companies may also help [their business name] convert extra web site guests by means of an efficient lead magnet technique.”
Being particular will assist your prospects really feel like you realize what you’re speaking about and also you’re not simply losing their time. In consequence, they’ll be way more prone to reply or take you up in your supply.
Remember the fact that it’s essential so that you can deal with them and how one can assist their life or enterprise enhance.
4. Craft a beautiful topic line
47% of e mail recipients open emails primarily based on topic strains. Because of this topic strains are 1 of crucial—if not crucial—elements of your total e mail.
There are completely different practices for writing a compelling topic line, however 1 of one of the best methods is to jot down your topic line after you’ve written the whole lot else.
It’s because the opening line, content material, and CTA of your e mail play an important function in writing a topic line that isn’t solely eye-catching but in addition encompasses the whole lot inside your e mail in a single line.
Listed here are some suggestions for crafting a great follow-up e mail topic line:
- Hold your topic line quick and to the purpose: Electronic mail topic strains with 6-10 phrases are inclined to have the best open fee.
- Use concrete numbers, occasions, and locations: If you happen to met the recipient at a selected place, embrace it. When you have particular information or numbers within the content material, point out them.
- Attempt to embrace the recipient’s title: Emails with the recipient’s title within the topic line are inclined to have the next open fee.
Use our free e mail topic line generator to create efficient topic strains for all of your follow-up emails.
5. Embody a call-to-action (CTA)
It is advisable make it as simple as doable in your recipient to reply to your e mail. That is the place a CTA is available in.
The kind of CTA you employ will rely upon the objective of your e mail. Would you like your recipient to:
- E-book a gathering with you?
- Purchase your product?
- Provide you with extra data or suggestions?
Primarily based in your objective and e mail content material, you possibly can craft a CTA that is sensible within the context and offers the recipient clear directions on what they should do subsequent. For instance:
- If you happen to’re requesting a gathering, an important CTA to incorporate is a gathering schedule button the place they’ll instantly schedule a gathering primarily based on the time that fits their and your schedules.
- If you happen to’re asking your recipient to learn 1 of your posts and provide you with suggestions, embrace the hyperlink to that publish in your e mail.
- If you happen to’re asking a result in check out your free trial, embrace a “attempt free trial” button that mechanically redirects them to your web site’s free trial touchdown web page.
6. Ship your emails
After writing your total follow-up e mail, together with your topic line, opening line, content material, and CTA, you might want to decide one of the best time to ship it.
Primarily based on the circumstance, you’ll have to ship it throughout a selected time to make sure that it’s nonetheless related to the recipient—whereas additionally making certain that you just’re not sending the e-mail too quickly or ceaselessly that it finally ends up annoying them.
Listed here are some primary tips on one of the best occasions to ship follow-up emails primarily based on the kind of e mail:
- Thanks emails might be despatched inside 24 hours.
- Reminder emails (after sending essential documentation reminiscent of job functions) might be despatched inside 48 hours.
- Comply with-up emails on assembly requests might be despatched inside 1-2 weeks of the unique e mail, relying on the urgency of the request.
- Catch-up emails (to meet up with a previous connection or when one thing has modified of their enterprise) might be despatched each 3 months.
Word: if automating the emails, all the time give a transparent method to opt-out
ActiveCampaign mechanically permits your subscribers to opt-out—so that you don’t have to fret about stepping into bother.
Comply with-up e mail samples
Listed here are some samples for various kinds of follow-up emails.
Gross sales follow-ups
State of affairs 1: Following up after not getting a response
Topic line: Checking in re: [short phrase that covers what your last email was about]
Hello [First name],
I hope you’re doing wonderful. I didn’t hear again from you about [the email you sent] and thought I’d check-in.
Have you ever been too busy to get again?
Have you ever discovered one other [service/product provider]?
Is it simply not the appropriate time?
Let me know when you’d like me to circle again with you sooner or later when it’s a greater time or when you’ve discovered one other [service/product provider] and now not require my companies.
Many thanks,
[Your name]
State of affairs 2: Somebody requested you to follow-up later
Topic line: Able to proceed the dialog [First name]?
Hello [First name],
Final time we spoke, you requested that I get in contact with you in [amount of time] relating to [topic]. So I wished to succeed in out and see when you’ve had an opportunity to have a look at [your proposal] and what we beforehand mentioned.
I’d be more than pleased to do a fast recap over the cellphone, so you possibly can ask me any questions you might have.
Let me know what your calendar seems like this week so we are able to schedule a name.
Trying ahead to listening to from you,
[Your name]
Networking follow-ups
State of affairs 1: Following up after your preliminary assembly at a networking occasion
Topic line: Nice assembly you at [event name]
Hello [First name],
It was nice assembly you at [where you met them]. I cherished listening to about what you are promoting and all that it’s completed. Concerning the [something they mentioned they’re struggling with], I’m assured that I may also help you [problem you can solve] so you possibly can [what they want to achieve].
Are you accessible to speak subsequent week?
Let me know what time works for you.
Trying ahead to listening to from you,
[Your name]
You’ll be able to simply import contacts into ActiveCampaign’s automation to comply with up with individuals you’ve met face-to-face at networking occasions who confirmed curiosity in working with you.
State of affairs 2: Following up after a name or assembly to maneuver on to the subsequent step
Topic line: Subsequent steps for [project name]
Hello [First name],
It was nice chatting with you the opposite day and studying extra about [their company name] and expectations. I’d love to begin engaged on [project name], so you will get [results they want].
As mentioned, I’ve connected a type so that you can fill out. The subsequent step is to [short sentence of the next step in the process].
Please fill out the shape at your earliest comfort so we are able to transfer to the subsequent step.
Trying ahead to working with you,
[Your name]
Recruitment follow-ups
State of affairs 1: Firm following up with candidates post-interview
Topic line: Thanks for coming in in your interview yesterday [First name]
Hello [First name],
I simply wished to drop you a line to thanks for coming in in your interview yesterday. The group and I actually loved assembly you and hope you loved the method too.
We’ll be taking the subsequent few [days/weeks] to find out who one of the best candidate for the [job title] will likely be and can have a solution for you by [date].
Within the meantime, please don’t hesitate to ask any questions you could have concerning the function or course of by e mail or cellphone.
In any other case, we’ll be in contact quickly.
Many thanks,
[Your name]
State of affairs 2: Freelancer or impartial contractor following up with an organization on a proposal
Topic line: Following up on my proposal
Hello [First name],
I’m checking in to see when you’ve had an opportunity to have a look at my proposal. I feel it will make sense for us to work collectively so we are able to get [mention their desired result in a short sentence] for what you are promoting.
I’ve connected a hyperlink to my web site and samples of [type of work that you do that’s relevant to their business] that I’ve carried out up to now, in case you wished to see examples of my work.
Trying ahead to listening to from you [First name]!
Type regards,
[Your name]
Reply to troublesome emails with confidence utilizing our FREE e mail reply templates!
Knowledgeable suggestions for follow-up emails
Listed here are just a few suggestions you possibly can implement to get essentially the most out of your follow-up emails.
Check completely different emails
If you happen to’re sending out follow-up emails on a giant scale, you possibly can attempt implementing A/B testing to make your emails as efficient as doable. That is while you cut up your site visitors into 2 completely different variations of an e mail and evaluate which performs higher.
A/B checks will make it easier to decide which topic strains, content material, CTAs, or every other e mail parts carry out one of the best. In consequence, your e mail click on and conversion charges will develop exponentially.
Use movies in your emails
Using video in e mail advertising has change into more and more essential, which is why 86% of companies use video as a advertising instrument. By together with video in your emails, customers are way more prone to retain the knowledge in your e mail.
Get rid of sure phrases
Don’t use phrases reminiscent of “I apologize for bothering you,” “If it’s not an excessive amount of bother.” or “If you happen to’d be so variety as to” in your emails. This instantly offers the e-mail recipient the impression that you just aren’t assured—which of their minds signifies an absence of expertise or weak providing.
As a substitute, be assured in your e mail and present the recipient that you just’re the best resolution to their drawback.
FAQs
What number of follow-up emails must you ship?
For chilly e mail campaigns, you need to intention to ship not more than 3 follow-up emails to keep away from annoying your potential prospects. If you happen to really feel like 3 isn’t sufficient, you possibly can all the time use different platforms reminiscent of LinkedIn or Twitter to speak along with your prospects on a private degree.
However, you possibly can ship extra emails for heat follow-ups. Nevertheless, bear in mind to present sufficient time between your earlier e mail and the subsequent e mail to keep away from annoying your recipient.
Can I automate my follow-ups?
Sure, you possibly can automate your follow-up emails. That is particularly helpful when you’re sending emails to a bigger group of individuals. Discover ways to create an automatic follow-up e mail sequence in 7 steps.
Create your follow-up emails
By following the steps outlined above and utilizing the samples supplied, you possibly can create efficient follow-up emails that recipients will reply to.
Want ready-made follow-up e mail templates? Get our free follow-up e mail templates that’ll make it easier to entice, have interaction, and convert prospects.
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Therefore, the reasons many of your recipients aren’t reading your emails come down to 2 things. Your recipients are either:
Not reading your emails because they get lost in the mass of emails in their inboxes
Not receiving your emails in the first place
Thus, by incorporating follow-up emails into your strategy, you’ll increase your chances of the recipient receiving and reading your emails—and ultimately gain more sales.”
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