Cold email follow-up
What to send when they don't reply
A follow-up that brings something new instead of "just checking in", in three variations: proof, a different angle, and a smaller question.
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TYPE
Follow-up
SITUATION
No reply
PERSONA
Any B2B buyer
SHAPE
One email, three variations
When to use it
Use this when your first email went out and nothing came back. That’s most of your list, most of the time, and it rarely means no. The email arrived on a bad day, got read on a phone between meetings, or landed with someone who meant to reply and didn’t.
The follow-up is your second chance at the same person, so it has one job: give them a reason to reply that the first email didn’t. If it only says the first email again, louder, you’ve spent the send.
THE COPY
Send it two days after the first one, in the same thread: same subject, so it sits under your first email in their inbox. It ends with your signature and the same one-line opt-out as the first (“If this isn’t relevant, just let me know and I won’t reach out again.”).
Each variation brings a different kind of new. Pick the one that fits what you have, or test two against each other.
SUBJECT
The same as your first email, for example onboarding.
The email
Day 3
Want this running
on your account?
We run outbound for B2B companies and build the system underneath it, which you own. First campaigns live in two weeks.
What to personalize
Line | Weak | Strong |
The opening | “Just following up on my last email.” | “Hi again {{firstName}}, there’s another side to onboarding.” |
The proof | “Our clients love working with us.” | “A logistics company with a team your size cut its onboarding from six weeks to three.” |
The second problem | “We can also help with other things.” | “When a new rep starts, their first month of calls usually goes to the wrong accounts.” |
The smaller question | “Do you have 30 minutes this week?” | “Does this come up every quarter, or only at year-end?” |
Every bracket needs something specific to the reader. If the second problem is one you made up to have something to say, they will feel it. And only use a result you can stand behind; if you don’t have one yet, use variation B or C.
Why it works
Something new is a reason to reply. A repeat gives them the same reason they already passed on. Proof, a new problem, or a smaller question changes the decision they’re making.
Two days later, not ten. The first email is still in their head on day three. A week and a half later it’s a stranger writing twice.
A smaller question is easier to answer. “Is this a priority?” asks them to judge. “Every quarter, or only at year-end?” asks them to remember. Remembering is easier, and the answer tells you whether the problem is real.
Hi again does the work. It tells them this is a follow-up, so the email doesn’t need a line saying so. Their eye lands on the new thing first.
It’s still short. A follow-up can run a little longer than the first email when it carries proof, but it says one new thing and stops.
Common mistakes
“Just checking in.” Also “bumping this to the top of your inbox”, “circling back”, and “any thoughts?”. They say you have nothing new.
The first email again, reworded. If you could swap the two emails without anyone noticing, the follow-up isn’t doing its job.
Announcing the follow-up. “Following up on this”, “quick follow-up”, and “last one from me” take the most valuable line in the email and carry nothing.
Raising the ask because they went quiet. No reply to an interest question is not a reason to ask for 30 minutes. Go smaller, not bigger.
A second product in the follow-up. A new angle on the same offer is fine. A different offer from another part of your business is a new email to a new list.
A new subject, or a fake “Re:”. A new subject starts a new thread and loses the context. A fake “Re:” gets you noticed for the wrong reason. Reply in the real thread.
The method behind this template: How we write cold email sequences.
More templates
B2B cold email sequence template
The three-step sequence we start every cold campaign from, with two variations per step and the reasoning behind each line.
Three steps, six emails
Cold email to a founder
Founders read their own inbox and have no patience for a pitch. A three-step sequence in plain language, written to their week, not their title.
Three steps, six emails
Sales breakup email
The last email asks who owns the problem instead of making them feel guilty. Three variations, the breakups we skip, and what to do with the replies.
One email, three variations
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