Reaching out
How to follow up on an email without annoying people
To follow up without annoying people, wait about a week, add something new rather than repeating yourself, send at most two follow-ups, and stop immediately if they say no.
By Invenitor team. Updated .
Why is following up normal, and not rude?
Most people who do not reply have not rejected you. They were busy, the email slid down their inbox, or they meant to answer later. A short reminder helps them. Many useful conversations begin with a second message, so giving up after one may lose you the people who would have said yes.
There is a difference, though, between a reminder and pressure. A follow-up is fine if it is short, adds something, and leaves the person free to ignore it. Pressure is when you imply they owe you an answer. Nobody owes you one, since you wrote to them uninvited.
How long should you wait, and how many times?
There is no scientific answer to this, despite what many blogs claim. These are sensible defaults, and you should adjust them to the situation:
| Situation | First follow-up | Second follow-up |
|---|---|---|
| A normal first note | About a week later | About two weeks after that, then stop |
| A time-bound news pitch | A day or two later | Usually none, since the news moves on |
| An academic or a very senior person | One to two weeks later | Usually none |
| After a good conversation with an agreed next step | When you agreed | A week later |
| A person who said "not now" | When they said to | None, unless they respond |
Think about their calendar too. A follow-up in a festival week or during year-end close is likely to be missed, and it should not count as a real attempt.
What should a follow-up actually say?
The worst is "just bumping this up" or "any thoughts?". These add no value and imply a debt. Instead, each message should give a new reason to reply. Some options:
- A relevant fact: "I saw you opened a Chennai office, which makes this more relevant."
- A short result: "We just helped a similar clinic reduce no-shows. Here is what they did, in two lines."
- A smaller request: "If a call is too much, would a one-word answer work? Is this a priority this year?"
- Something useful with no request at all, such as an article they would actually want.
- A redirect: "If this is not your area, who should I ask?"
Reply on the same thread, so that they have the context. Keep it to two or three lines. Do not apologise for writing again, and do not refer to "my previous email" as though they missed a deadline.
How do you write the last message?
Your last follow-up should make it easy to close the loop, without any guilt. For example: "I will leave this here, since it does not seem to be a priority. If that changes, you know where to find me. Good luck with the Nagpur launch."
Avoid the "breakup email" trick of writing something dramatic to provoke a reply, such as "Should I close your file?". It reads as manipulation, because it is. A plain, friendly ending leaves you in good standing if your paths cross again, and in a small industry they often do.
What should you do when someone says no?
Stop. A no ends the sequence. Here is how to act on the common replies:
- "No thanks." Thank them, briefly. Add them to your do-not-contact list.
- "Stop emailing me." Do not reply to argue. Record it and stop at once, across every tool you use.
- "Not now." Ask when you may check back, and only do so if they agree.
- "Wrong person." Thank them, and ask politely who the right person is.
- An angry reply. Apologise once and stop.
Keep your do-not-contact list somewhere you own, and check it every time. If you change tools, take the list with you. See what opt-out means. In the US, the FTC gives you 10 business days to honour an opt-out from commercial email. You should do it the same day.
Should you automate your follow-ups?
A reminder in your own calendar is fine. Automated sequences are a different matter. They keep sending when a person has already replied somewhere else, or has changed roles. They also make all your messages sound alike, and they raise your risk of spam reports. Google asks senders to stay below a 0.10% spam rate (Google sender guidelines).
Invenitor does not send messages, and its Terms prohibit automated outreach using its data to people who have not agreed. Keep a short sheet with the date and what you said, and send each follow-up yourself. If you do not hear back from one person, there is usually someone else who can help you. See how to find the right person at a company.
If you have stopped getting replies from anyone, the problem may be your first message rather than your follow-ups. Go back to how to write a first email, and check that your messages are arriving by reading how to lower your bounce rate.
Common questions
- How many follow-ups are too many?
- For a stranger, more than two is usually too many. If there is still no reply, stop, and try someone else.
- Should I follow up on a different channel?
- Once, if you have a good reason, and only if the person uses that channel for work. Do not chase them across every platform.