Key Steps to Writing Better Follow-up Email

Finding a nice way to follow up email can take time and effort. You don’t want to be seen as desperate. Persistent follow-up emails can sometimes turn prospects off. For this reason, some people would rather avoid the whole process of sending follow-up emails. 

A well-crafted follow-up email can improve the chances of reconnecting with lost prospects. This article will help you write better emails that will elicit a response regardless of what your follow-up email goals are.

Follow the simple steps below to get started.

Importance of Follow-up Emails

Emails are the primary way businesses correspond with clients and prospects. As part of a professional email, a follow-up email is critical. It’s a great way to build trust and continue conversations with a person you’ve previously reached out to.

When you follow up on a lead, you show professionalism and commitment. This can positively impact your conversion rates and help build your organization’s credibility.

A Nice Way to Follow up Email

A follow-up email aims to get the recipient to take actions that meet your desired objective, e.g., make a purchase. Such an email follows an initial email you sent to a prospect.

So what should your follow-up email look like? Effective follow-up emails include information learned about the prospect and from listening to what they say. Such emails should answer any questions your prospects might have concerning the first email.

Below are the steps for writing an excellent follow-up email that will get you results:

1. Determine Your Goal or Objective

Your previous encounter with the recipient will help you determine the goal or objective of your follow-up email. Doing so helps keep your email relevant to the recipient and improves the odds of getting a response. 

Your objectives could include the following:

Requesting a Meeting

There are several reasons to request a meeting with a previous email contact. Whatever the reason, a follow-up meeting for this purpose should be clear about the purpose of the desired meeting.

Make it clear what role you want the recipient to play in the meeting and what they stand to benefit from it. It would be best if you also proposed a time or found out what time works for the recipient.

Reminders

When someone has made a previous commitment, it is professional to remind them of their commitment in a follow-up email. The email should include the commitment details and the date.

However, it may be necessary to have secured the recipient’s consent to do this previously.

Obtaining New or Additional Information

Sometimes, you may need to get clarification or new information in the process of fulfilling a previous request from the recipient. By clearly telling them the specific information you need from them, the recipients know exactly how to respond.

Catch-up and Updates

A contact may have started a new venture, achieved a feat, or is in a situation that makes them suitable for your services. This is a good time for a follow-up email. 

Make your objective for writing clear to avoid sounding idle. Congratulate the receiver of the follow-up email on the specific achievements and let them know how your service or product can benefit them.

If you have a new offer that your contacts can benefit from, your follow-up email should inform them of it.

To Show Appreciation

Showing appreciation is essential for email etiquette. It shows you care and helps you keep the relationship. If your clients have gone out of their way to provide you with feedback or suggestions, let them know you appreciate them. It will go a long way to retain their interest in your business. 

Once you have decided on the reason for your follow-up email, you can start composing. Having your call to action included in a clear, simple, and effective manner will encourage your audience to act.

2. Create a Compelling and Relevant Subject Line.

Writing a compelling, attention-grabbing subject is crucial. This ensures that your recipients are compelled to open your email. You could state a solid advantage or benefit in your subject line.

Equally important is the relevance of the subject line to the message in the email. The subject line of your follow-up email must not be misleading, as this will cause the recipient to be suspicious of future emails.

An example of a compelling subject line is:

• “Be the first to try out our stock prediction software.” 
•  “4 Reasons to upgrade to our premium package.”

3. Create Context for Your Follow-up Email

Having clarified the purpose of your follow-up email, you need to create a context for it. A simple way to do this would be to refer to past meetings or previous emails. This reminds your contact of the purpose of your follow-up email and sets up a reference for future actions. 

An example of this could be.

“As earlier promised in my last call, I have attached samples of the designs you requested.” 

4. State the Purpose of Your Follow-up Email.

Never follow up with an email that goes as a “just checking in.” Make sure to state the purpose of your follow-up email clearly. This will make the recipient take you seriously and guide them on responding.

Consider this: “I would like you to be a guest speaker at our meet-up.”

5. Include a Compelling Call to Action

Always include a statement requiring your contact to take a specific action. Refrain from assuming that the information in your follow-up email will do the job.

Conclusion

Follow-up emails can be challenging to write as there is a fine line between professionalism and the lack thereof. However, they’re almost always necessary, so learning how to write them nicely is essential. 

First, determine what you want to achieve with the follow-up email. Write an attention-grabbing subject line that hints at what is coming in the email’s body. Keep the email short, grammatically correct, and to the point.

Respect your recipient’s time, and don’t just give out unnecessary information. Instead, use the email to substantiate what you told them in the first email. This is a nice way to follow up email.