Follow-up emails in this accelerated digital age are a must-have for anyone trying to develop and sustain a relationship. Whether it’s on a job offer, a business proposal or a networking event, follow-up emails can help keep you in the limelight and have more success. Yet, creating follow-up emails can be tough. In this blog, we’ll take a look at some of the basics of creating effective and powerful follow-up emails.
1. Timing is Key
It’s all about the timing of your follow-up. You’re trying to follow too early, and it can seem rude; you’re following too late, and they have already left. Send the follow-up email within 24–48 hours of your initial interaction at most.
Timing is everything, however. Even if you’re receiving a thank-you note from an interview within 24 hours in order to let them know how much you appreciate it and reaffirm your interest in the role, if it’s a business proposal, wait about seven days. By doing so, you’ll show that you value the time of the recipient and be thoughtful with your correspondence.
2. Create a Brief, Informative Subject Line.
Your email follow-up subject line will essentially frame your email’s content by making the recipient understand the content. It must be precise and concise and not contain any vague terms which could be difficult to read. It should be specific enough to make it very obvious.
For example, instead of some generic Subject line “Following Up”, you can write “Following Up on Our Meeting About [Project Name]. This naturally adds context and teases the recipient enough to open and read your email right away.
3. Be Polite and Professional
It’s wonderful to note that courtesy and professionalism are not missing from any follow-up email. Begin your message with a salutation such as “Hi [Recipient Name],” or “Hello [Recipient Name]. This kicks off the good side from the get-go. Following your greeting, you might compose words of thanks for the previous interaction or acknowledgment of the receiver’s time and efforts.
If the outcome of your last message wasn’t what you expected it to be, then a positive follow-up will do the trick. The simplest thanks as a first impression, “Thank you for connecting with me,” helps to reinforce your professionalism and passion.
4. Keep It Short and Focused
We’re in a world where the majority of people must work while reading a lot of emails. For that, you’ll want to keep your follow-up email simple. Your email should start by giving a brief synopsis of what you’ve talked about the last time they know who you are. The perfect example would be something like, “We talked about this in our last meeting on. “.
Once the background is established, tell us straight why you are contacting them. Whether you want to ask about a proposal status, remind them of something they might have promised or need clarification, make it obvious. Be brief and keep the email under a couple of paragraphs. This will make it less a time-consuming process for your contact to consider your request and receive the answer sooner.
5. Include a Call to Action
As much as it is great to contextualize and clarify what the other needs to do, you need to also make sure the recipient knows what to do. It is possible to do so by placing a clear CTA in your email. This avoids ambiguity and reveals to the receiver how he or she can help in practice or what they seek in return.
Your CTA could be, for instance, “Hey, would you like to arrange to discuss this in-depth next week?” or “Please let me know if there’s anything else you’d like me to do to move forward.” By being so explicit about what to do next, you are actually making it a lot easier.
6. Customize Your Message
Most likely, the best way to make your follow-up email stand out is to customize it. While a mass-produced email is almost always forgotten in a crowded inbox, a targeted email grabs attention. You are looking for specifics from your earlier dialogue that pertain to the present.
For instance, by sharing something that interests you both, or some unique detail of your conversation, you become quite familiar with that person. One suggestion could be “I liked talking to you about [Shared Interest] and want to know more about it.” This respects the receiver’s time, appreciates their feedback and may create a better connection.
7. Be Patient and Respectful
Remind yourself that not all follow-ups will result in immediate responses or results. Please wait for the recipient to open your email. If they don’t respond to your follow-up, send a little push after a reasonable period. But be gentle, this only creates frustration rather than interest.
8. Proofread Before Sending
Lastly, check your email for grammatical mistakes and typos before sending. The professional tone of the message conveys expertise and accuracy. Be sure to proofread your email, and even use Grammarly to spot unintentional errors.
Conclusion:
Creating successful follow-up emails is a combination of art and science. Following the guidelines in this paper will allow you to produce compelling and impactful messages that will enable you to achieve your goal and forge strong connections. Identify your goal, be responsive and consistent, be succinct and direct, make it your own, add value, keep it professional, proofread and edit your work before sending. If you follow these best practices, you’ll be on your way to learning how to write a follow-up email.
