How to write a follow-up email that gets a reply (with templates)

A good follow-up is not a reminder that you exist. It is a shorter, easier version of the original ask, sent at a better moment, with one new reason to answer. Here is the structure and four templates that follow it.

The structure

• Reply in the same thread. The context is already there; a new subject line restarts the work for the reader.
• One sentence of why now. A new reason: a date, a result, a piece of information they did not have.
• One ask, phrased for a one-word answer. "Does Thursday work?" beats "Let me know your thoughts."
• Shorter each time. Day 3 is three sentences; day 14 is one.

Day 3

Subject: Re: [original]
Hi Dana, floating this back up in case it got buried. We are holding the pilot slot until the 24th and I would rather give it to you than the waitlist. Would a 20-minute call Thursday or Friday work?

Day 7

Re:
Hi Dana, one more thing that might make this easier: the State University team ran the same pilot in three weeks and wrote up the results here [link]. Happy to send the two-page version if a call is too much right now.

Day 14

Re:
Hi Dana, is this still worth a look on your side, or should I close it out? A one-word answer is perfect.

The close

Re:
Closing this out so it does not keep landing in your inbox. If the timing changes, reply to this thread and I will pick it straight back up. Thanks for reading.

The close gets replies surprisingly often; it removes the guilt and leaves the door open.

Running the sequence without remembering

PeakLook turns exactly this structure into a template: four steps at +3, +7, +14 and +21 days, drafted in your voice from the original thread, sent by the server on the schedule, and stopped automatically the moment Dana replies to any of them.