We’re all familiar with the art of “circling back” and “just checking in” when you never got a reply. You don’t have a proven follow up email template, so you hesitate before typing.

What can you say to catch their attention and get them to write back?

Below are 12 templates to copy and paste right now, with real-life examples and reply rates.

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12 Follow Up Email Templates To Use Right Now

1. The “Nice To Meet You” Email

When you have a mutual conversation with a stranger, it’s safe to assume they’ll welcome an email from you.

(Keyword: mutual)

For a fast follow up, plug this information into a pre-set template:

1. How you met — Refreshes their memory
2. A takeaway from your conversation — Shows you were listening
3. Your ask — Keeps the ball moving

Here’s how to roll it all together:

Subject Line: Great to meet you at {!Event}

Hi {!First Name},

It was nice to meet you at {!Occasion where you met}. I loved learning more about {!Something discussed}. I’m really interested to hear more about your role as {!Job title} at {!Company}, as {!Reason why you’re interested}. If you have time in the coming weeks, let’s {!Follow up action}. I’m generally free on {!Days of the week}, if that works for you?

Looking forward to keeping in touch!

Tip: Suggest a time as a starting point, but keep your request flexible to give them control.

Save this template right in your inbox (with easy placeholders to fill in on-the-go).

2. How To Write An Introduction Email

Someone just tapped on the network you’re so proud of, asking for an intro.

If they did it right, they made it easy for you by sending along all the necessary info.

Which means you have a key insight already: the value that they plan to provide.

Below is a short follow up email that gets to the punch quickly (click here to copy it):

Hint: Don’t forget to CC the person who requested the intro, so they can pick up the convo where you leave it off.

Want to see which subject lines actually work? You’ve been doing it all wrong.

3. When You Just Left A Voicemail — Your Follow Up Email Template

How many of your missed calls that go to voicemail are actually missed?

Chances are your prospect could be actively ignoring you.

Capturing their attention won’t be an easy feat — but it’s possible if you prove there’s alignment.

After you leave a voicemail message, send an email to reiterate your value statement.

Like this:

Subject line: Just tried your line / next steps

Hey {!First Name},

I just left you a voicemail but wanted to drop a line by email in case this is more convenient for you.

I’m reaching out because it looks like {!Point of alignment between their company and yours}.

We’re {!Company pitch with value to them — include stat & customer name(s)}.

{!First Name}, I’d love to connect about your specific needs. I also have a suggestion about how you can {!Achieve desired result} (with or without us).

Give me a call back at {!Your phone number} if convenient, or feel free to reply to this email.

Thanks!

Start tracking your emails to see opens in real-time. (They’ll never know.)

4. The Colleague Referral — What To Do When You’re Sent To Someone Else

Sometimes, that account you’re chasing turns out to be a wild goose.

If Recipient 1 bounced you to another person, keep in mind the context with this new person:

These are the steps to take with your follow up email:

1. CC the colleague you first emailed to increase your chances of a reply by 12%.
2. Ask yourself, what pain point does my company solve? How exactly does it solve it?
3. Turn this into a problem-solution specific to your recipient’s role in his/her org.

Here’s a template that one of our sales consultants uses regularly:

Pro tip: Try adding a testimonial link to your email signature. Social proof makes your company more compelling, and hyperlinks let you track clicks.

Like this:

Watch a short video to see how Acquia closes more deals, faster with Yesware

Here are 17 other A/B testing ideas for your emails to start getting more replies.

5. The Follow-Up Email to Send After a Meeting

Lucky you — whoever you’re emailing is invested in your relationship. They just spent their time meeting with you, and they’re probably going to read your follow up.

But how can you go beyond opens and increase replies?

Do the work for them. Recap everything so all they do is confirm that 1) they received your email, and 2) your summary is accurate.

Here’s a sales meeting follow up template that our team has great success with:

Want to steal this template? It’s all yours.

6. A Follow Up Email Sample To Send After Your Interview

You just walked out of a great interview and you want to set yourself up for success.

How do you balance being polite with standing out from the rest of the candidates for the job?

Easy: take the extra 60 seconds to personalize your thank you to each person.

Two things to remember here:

1. Whoever you talked to has a busy schedule. They spent their valuable time on your interview; show them it wasn’t wasted. Generic emails are careless and imply that you aren’t invested in the opportunity.
2. The individuals you interviewed with are all colleagues, which means they talk. Don’t be the interviewee who blasts the same thank-you email to everyone.

How to write a follow up email after your interview:

Personalize your email in three ways to show you were listening and you’re invested:

Paragraph 1 — Recap one point of discussion from your conversation

Paragraph 2 — Refer to their team’s relationship with your team to-be

Paragraph 3 — Mention a detail that the interviewer disclosed to you

What your email should look like

Here’s the follow up email I sent to a sales manager I met with when I was interviewing here at Yesware:

Because I took the time to send a heartfelt thank-you, I won the reply and a returned sentiment:

Want a copy of this example to copy and customize? Right this way.

7. When They’re Past Due Payment (And You’re In Collections)

Make an uncomfortable situation easier with a proven collection letter template.

Here’s how to keep your email understanding but forceful:

Subject Line: Are you there, {!First Name}? Dropping a line

Hi {!First Name},

I hope this note finds you well. I want to follow up on an invoice I emailed on {!Date}. I haven’t received the payment yet, so I wanted to ensure the email isn’t lost somewhere in depths of cyberspace. Would you please check to see if the accounts payable department has received it? I’ll be happy to resend if necessary. Otherwise, I look forward to receiving payment within a week.

I really appreciate your help! Thanks!

Want more templates for collecting late payments? Here are 10 more from Junetoo.

Don’t just send a follow-up email — see when they open it.

8. How to Win Your PR Pitch The Second Time Around

Your first pitch didn’t win over the editor or reporter.

Time to up your game.

Here’s how to sell it: Keep your follow up email shorter than your first one. Journalists spend less than one minute reading what you’ve sent them. They prefer bullet-form facts.

• Know their beat — are you reaching out to the best person? If not, identify who is and use a free tool to find their email.
• No buzzwords allowed; just include the facts.
• Offer an exclusive.

Below is an example of a first email that I sent to FastCompany (followed by my follow-up):

Email tracking revealed that my email was opened, but I didn’t get the reply. So here’s the follow-up email I sent three days later:

My shorter, bulleted follow up email won the reply and a placement in Fast Company. 

Ready to copy and paste this as a template to customize in seconds? Get it right here.

9. The Best Follow Up Email Template For An Inbound Lead

Are you charged with reaching out to people who download your company’s marketing content? Just because someone read something doesn’t mean they want to talk to sales (yet).

Which is why you need to nurture them. How? Provide new value that shows them why you’re worth their time.

Our sales team achieves a 34% reply rate by following up with people who downloaded our recent ebook. Here’s an example of an email template that’s been filled out:

Copy this example as a template with placeholders for your custom info.

10. How to Send a Follow Up Email After No Response

Waiting for an answer from a friend, colleague, or vendor? Here’s your reality:

Below is a follow up email sample to send after no response.  This exact email won me a 25% reply. Use it as a starting point or copy and paste the text directly here.

Here’s what to include in your follow up after no response:

1. Restate the context of the original email and the value to them.
2. Include your explicit ask.
3. More information: Any additional resources for them to review.

11. When They Asked You to Circle Back Later

What’s your first reaction when your alarm goes off in the morning?

Snooze — it’s how we procrastinate dealing with sales outreach, too.

Instead of taking a meeting or committing to a contract, we say, “let’s check back in next quarter.”

If you’re the salesperson circling, you need to deliver tangible, relevant information.

Here’s a good follow up email that I received after going through a demo (names changed):

A couple things to note here:

1. Gary uses leaves the subject line empty; this is a tactic proven to increase opens
2. The case study note delivers fast value with a brand name & a success metric
3. The email signature includes a UTM-tagged ebook offer. This does two things. It nurtures prospects and it provides marketing with engagement data. (More ideas on how to make your email signature work for you here.)

Grab this template to use on your own.

Pro tip: Schedule your follow up email now to send later. Then, use tools like Google Alerts to monitor for trigger events that can help you get your foot in the door sooner. (You can always cancel your scheduled email if you find more opportune timing sooner.)

12. When It’s Time to Break Up: An Email To Lean On

You’ve been nurturing a ghost with a drip campaign, and it’s time to let him or her go. (The good news is you can automate the whole process so you don’t have to sit there with tissues).

Not sure how to say goodbye?

Here’s a follow up email template that our sales team has found works best for break up emails:

Biggest takeaways: We dislike potential loss more than we enjoy potential gain. Which is why it’s worth telling them you’re walking away — especially if you want them to take action.

The combination of loss aversion and personalization is powerful. It drives a 33% reply rate on touch plans where this is the 5th touch.

Make this template your own [copy, paste, customize].

The Best Recipe for the Perfect Follow Up

How to Send Emails Faster (and At The Right Time)

Below are three tools to send smarter, faster emails. They let you personalize at scale and automate full cadences that do the work for you.

Email Tracking — Get real-time alerts the moment your email is opened or clicked

So you know for sure when your emails are being read — and exactly when to follow up.

Learn more about email tracking

Templates & Send Later— Customize messaging in seconds, schedule for the right time.

So you spend less time writing, can personalize emails in seconds, and find out what works.

Find out how templates work | Plus more on Send Later

Campaigns — Automated campaigns based on engagement (i.e. “send in 3 days if no reply.”)

So you schedule emails, phone calls, and custom tasks at one time (no need to watch for replies or remember follow-ups).

Try free trial of Yesware to get all three features in one.

Over to you

Do you have follow up email templates for any categories that we missed? Do you find yourself in other follow up situations that we can help with? Let us know on Twitter: @Yesware.