If your email has been ignored, a follow-up email can help get your conversation back on track. However, how to write a follow-up email after receiving no response can be tricky, as you’ll need to decide both what to say in your follow-up email and how to word it. In this blog, we cover how to write a follow-up email after no response.

Determine your Objective

Before you begin crafting your email, you must identify and clarify the end goal, or objective, of your message. This way, you can incorporate a strong call-to-action that makes your recipient want to get back to you so you can achieve your end goal. Let’s review four of the most common objectives of a follow-up email:

• Information Needed – Sometimes, after having an initial conversation with someone, you might need additional information to be of assistance to them. By clearly stating your need for the specific information you’re looking to obtain, you’ll provide them with clear directions on how they can respond to you.
• Meeting Request – Whether it’s to pick their brain, pitch an idea, ask for assistance, or receive feedback, there’s a chance you’re writing your follow-up email to request another meeting or conversation. In your email, you should provide detail about what you’re looking to discuss in the meeting, and why the discussion will be of value.
• Catch Up – If you haven’t spoken to a client in a while or learned they’ve achieved a major accomplishment, you’ll probably want to catch up with them and get the details directly from them. After all, these situations might change their need for assistance from you and your business.
• Thank You – Saying “thank you” goes a long way. Although this type of follow-up doesn’t always warrant an immediate response, it leaves your recipients with a positive feeling about you and your brand. Showing gratitude is professional and it’s something people remember down the road.

Open with Context

With the high volume of emails that most people receive these days, it’s important to provide context to help your contact remember you. Doing so is especially important if this is your first follow-up email. Be sure to start your email with this context so your email recipient knows who you are and what you’re following up about—the last thing you want to do is confuse the person (or people) you’re looking to impress and do business with.

Craft a Subject Line

Here are some ways to write a strong subject line that will help you improve your email open rates:

• Use concrete numbers and times.
• Create a sense of urgency by using “tomorrow”, “now”, etc.  
• Try omitting the subject line. Since this is a more uncommon practice and doesn’t necessarily work for all types of business and in every situation, test out subject line vs. no subject line in your emails to see what works best for your target audience, customers, and contacts.

Take your Outreach to the Next Level!

Follow-up emails have the power to convert leads, bring in new business, build strong relationships, and close deals. The hardest part is making your recipients want to open your email and then respond to it.

If you’re ever in need of additional assistance or support when it comes to getting your contacts to respond, ebs/Growth’s sales data service is a great resource. Don’t waste your sales team’s time dialing numbers or sending emails that will never be answered. We build lists specifically for you with human validation. This lets your sales team start conversations where the prospect is receptive to being contacted.