10 Professional Follow-Up Email Examples for When You Don’t Get a Response

Maximizing Your Follow-Up Emails: Why They Matter

Maximising your follow up emails just needs a framework, a strategy, and some professional example templates for you to use.

Emails are an essential part of our working lives, but for many of us, they’re a simple, almost forgettable thing. We send messages, we respond, but we don’t put much more thought into it than that.

This especially applies to follow-up emails. The simple truth is that we don’t tend to follow through with follow-ups, and that can harm our businesses.

If you’re struggling with following up on your follow-ups, then don’t worry—you’re not alone. Many of our clients realized that their email game could be improved after integrating our scheduling system, and we’ve collected their experiences to pass them on to you.

The real purpose of follow-ups (it’s not what you think)

A follow-up email is an electronic communication that’s designed to get the attention of a contact that hasn’t responded to previous messages. It’s as simple as that, right? Wrong—there’s a lot more to understand about follow-up emails than just chasing messages.

The mindset you should adopt for follow-ups is that they’re not one-off messages, but rather a way of maintaining a conversation with someone else. In our real-world lives, conversations always have breaks, but we pick up chatter quickly after them.

Changing your mindset from chasing to guiding

This means that understanding how to follow up to an email is just as important as appreciating how to write them. Conversations go in two directions, so remember that you are not chasing your leads to get a result from them; instead, your communications are intended to guide them toward a decision.

Some of the key factors that go into this process include:

• Shifting your focus from immediate results from follow-ups to maintaining communication
• Ignoring anxiety about no responses and focusing on what you can do to build rapport
• Focusing on value delivery, where you ensure each email you send is impactful

When you do this, the results are often immediate, with one study this year showing that a well-crafted first follow-up can increase replies by 49%. Follow-up sequences can also boost feedback by double, and we’ll cover that in more detail shortly.

The psychology behind follow-up emails

Follow-up emails don’t work at random; they’re based on predictable psychological patterns that shape how people process information. Luckily, understanding how to send a follow-up email after no response doesn’t require a degree in psychology.

1. Cognitive load

Cognitive load refers to the mental effort required to process information, and if someone you’re trying to reach out to is experiencing cognitive overload, they’re considerably less likely to respond. As such, limit the cognitive load of your follow-ups, as this reduces psychological strain and makes it more likely you’ll get a response.

2. Social norms

We often think that follow-up emails can be pushy, especially if we come from cultures with natural deference. However, emails have become so commonplace that a single email doesn’t actually carry much weight, and many of your contacts will expect to receive several emails before they respond. Be persistent, just be polite.

3. Reciprocity

You want something from your follow-up emails, and so too should their intended target. Creating follow-up emails based on reciprocity—where both of you benefit from engaging in communication—makes them more likely to succeed. The benefits don’t have to be immediately financial either; helpful resources, new insights etc are all useful.

Use the SEVEN strategic follow up plan

To ensure your follow-up emails achieve consistent results, you need to ensure that all of them are created and organized according to a framework. We recommend that you use the SEVEN strategy, as it helps to reduce friction while improving communication clarity.

S - Set the context

• Remind the recipient of your previous communication in one clear sentence
• Anchor your follow up in something tangible like a call or a physical meeting
• Reduce cognitive load as much as possible by keeping things simple and concise

E - Establish relevance

• State why your email is important to the recipient as much as it is to you
• Tie the topic of your follow up email to their pain point, timeline, interests etc
• Reinforce that you understand their issues and that you represent a solution

V - Value first

• Deliver value to your recipient via something like insights, resources, examples etc
• Ensure your tone is helpful; you want to help the recipient, and not profit from them
• Build understanding by ensuring your recipients know you’ll both benefit from each other

E - Eliminate friction

• Make it easy for recipients to reply by making their potential responses limited
• Ensure that there’s no ambiguity in your language so that responding is even easier
• Give your recipient a specific time frame in which to respond/take action to prompts

N - Next steps

• Provide clear guidelines on what next steps are expected after each follow up email
• Maintain politeness throughout as being too direct or rude will negate follow ups
• Create momentum for follow ups by reaffirming the benefits of doing so to the recipient

How to implement a follow up email strategy

With the SEVEN framework in place you’ll be able to implement your follow-up emails. This comes in three stages: setting a sequence of follow-up emails, setting the frequency of that sequence, and organizing those messages according to a multi-channel approach.

Set up an email sequence

As we’ve already covered, a single email to your contact is simply not enough, as many won’t respond to the first point of contact. You can’t trust your brain to remember either, so use the following template as a solid email sequence:

1. Follow-Up #1 (1–2 days after the initial email): Reestablish context and briefly summarize your previous message. Add a small piece of value, such as an insight.
2. Follow-Up #2 (3–5 days later): Introduce additional relevance by linking your message to a specific challenge, priority, or objective the recipient may have.
3. Follow-Up #3 (1 week later): Simplify the request and highlight the exact next step you want them to take.
4. Follow-Up #4 (2 weeks later): Permission-based check-in, allowing the recipient to pause or redirect the conversation without feeling pressured.
5. Follow-Up #5 (long-term, 30–60 days): Reconnect if the topic is still relevant, reinforcing your value while maintaining professionalism.

Master your timing

Timing is crucial for many things in life, and knowing when to send a polite follow-up email sample for a request is just as important as remembering to do it in the first place. Evidence shows that sending emails at the right time can increase the chance of it succeeding, and there’s two main cycles to follow while doing so.

Fast-cycle follow-ups

Designed for urgent matters such as sales deals or immediate project decisions. Effective intervals include 24 hours → 48 hours → 3 days → 5 days.

Slow-cycle follow-ups

Ideal for networking, long-term collaborations, or projects with extended decision timelines. Intervals like 3 days → 7 days → 14 days → 30 days allow for thoughtful responses while maintaining presence.

Adopt a multi-channel approach

Your follow up emails don’t have to go to inboxes only you know; you should aim to send them to different sites, platforms etc, to maximize their reach and the chance that they’ll be responded to. Some of the most effective examples include:

LinkedIn

This is a great social media platform that is dedicated to business, so there’s no problem using it to follow up to emails.

Voicemail or phone

People don’t use their phones as much as they did so this sometimes surprises them in a good way, by adding a personal touch.

Social engagement

Social media pages aside from LinkedIn are fair game too, just be careful which ones. Prioritize Twitter, for example, if it’s for business, over Instagram.

10 professional email examples for follow ups

Now we have 10 follow up email templates that will provide real value in your communications. We’ve provided a range of templates covering different issues, based on the experience of Calday’s clients.

1. Networking after a meeting

This template solidifies a new connection right after a meeting. It uses the SEVEN principle to set context and deliver value, ensuring the relationship moves forward. Send it within 24 hours.

2. Networking after an event

An event follow-up must reference a shared experience to establish context and relevance, making the connection feel more meaningful and leading toward a low-friction next step.

3. Networking after an interview

Thank the interviewer and reaffirms enthusiasm. This is highly focused on establishing relevance by connecting your skills directly to the role's needs, avoiding a generic "check-in."

4. Reconnecting

This uses an "information bridge" to reactivate an older relationship. This avoids demanding anything immediately and is a low-pressure way to check professional status.

5. Sales with a first follow-up

This is a quick, polite, and contextual reminder (replying to the original email). It establishes relevance by focusing on the potential impact on their goals and provides a next step.

6. Sales with a value follow-up resource

This template shifts away from "checking in" and provides genuine, unsolicited value. As such, it offers a relevant resource that positions you as a helpful expert.

7. Sales, an objection follow-up

Acknowledge the prospect's specific concern can help you pivot to offering a targeted, credible solution. The simple question at the end minimizes cognitive load too.

8. Sales, with a break up email

This high-stakes, final attempt focusing on the next step, is how to send a follow up email after no response. It creates scarcity and prompts a decision to move forward or explicitly pause.

9. Invoice reminder

For past-due invoices, the priority is clarity, context, and immediate action. The structure is simple and professional to reduce administrative friction.

10. Project approval/feedback pending

This is crucial for keeping projects on schedule by explicitly stating the action needed, explaining the delay's impact and offering limited response options.

Our top tips on making the most of your follow up email

Whenever you’re writing follow up emails, or indeed, emails of any sort, try to implement some of the following top tips. They’re high-impact, practical, and have been proven to work for many Calday users.

• Your emails should be structured in such a way that they take no more than 30 seconds to read, process and act on. This means a clear subject line, a single-sentence recap of the previous interaction, and a call to action.
• Never say anything as bland as ‘just checking in,’ you’ve got to add real value to your emails. You wouldn’t appreciate one of your friends or ‘real-world’ contacts sending you a text to just ‘check in’ would you?
• Embed a calendar link into your email to make it easy for your contacts to follow up your follow up email with something valuable. It’s very easy to do this with your Calday account, follow the link to find out more.
• Adopt the three layer personalization approach: Include their given name, a recent piece of information about them that shows you’ve done your research and provides context, and a connective sentence that links your follow up emails’ value to said context.
• Personalization is always a good idea but sometimes it can be different to find the right angle. It’s okay to use AI generated content in these cases, just don’t overdo it. A good idea is to use it to analyze a quarterly report for insights specific to your recipient’s role.

Follow up your follow ups

Finally, the best tip that we can offer you is never to rest on your laurels. This applies in both the personal and professional spheres, so we’ve collated tactics that both individuals and business can use. If you want to go the extra mile, use these suggestions.

Use a signature to build trust

An electronic signature on your email account is a great way to build trust with your recipients. It creates a perception of yourself as professional, and conveys reliability and attention to detail.

Avoid over-the-top graphics when drawing up an e-signature; keep it simple with your name, title, and contact information. You can add your social media accounts but only if you use them to maintain consistent communication. Don’t use GIFs (yes, really, this happens) and avoid legalese too.

Always include a booking link

A booking link is the ultimate call to action as it allows your follow-up recipients to immediately book a meeting with you with just a few clicks. It is consistently effective at turning follow-up emails into something substantive, but you can’t just place it anywhere in your email chain.

Don’t make the mistake of burying your calendar link deep within the body of a long follow-up email, where it can easily be missed. Instead, place the calendar link (e.g., "Book a 15-min chat here") directly below your name and title in your e-signature. This boosts your CTA by making your link almost impossible to miss!

Create a follow up playbook

Everything we’ve gone through about building a follow-up strategy will serve you well, but if you’re really serious about making the most of follow-up emails, you need to codify it permanently; you need a playbook.

A follow-up playbook standardizes the entire follow-up sequence to ensure every prospect receives the same quality experience when interacting with your emails. This playbook will include your e-signatures, all of your follow-up sequences, and you can use it to analyse response rates too.

Calday will focus your follow-ups toward success

Inserting Calday booking links into your follow-up emails will help get you the results you need. Whether for professional or personal reasons, managing all your meetings and appointments with Calday will take the stress out of your life and business.

It’s easy to get started; all you need to do is follow the link to create an account and start taking advantage of stress-free scheduling!