How To Make Sure Your Follow Up Email Gets Seen

If you want to attract new clients, you need to send out letters of introduction that highlight your skills and experience. Then, to reinforce that you want to land the gig, it’s important to send a killer follow up email a few weeks later — unless you hear back in the meantime, of course. You can’t just send out an email at any hour of the day and hope for the best results. Instead, you need to take a strategic approach by sending out your follow ups at just the right moment for success.

What Times Ensure Great Email Open Rates?

How often do you check your email? Once per day? Every hour on the hour? When you check your email, do you open every message – or only the ones that capture your attention?

If you’re like most people, you’re in and out of your inbox all day, but that doesn’t mean you’re opening up your emails and truly engaging with the content. Instead, you’re likely glancing at the messages in hopes of seeing correspondence from certain people or brands.

Across the board, it’s only after traditional work hours that the best open rates occur — between 5pm and 6pm. If you prefer to send out your follow ups during the workday, aim for 10am or 1pm to increase the chance of your recipients opening and reading your message.

Winning Days to Send a Follow Up Email

The day matters, too, when it comes to sending out follow up emails. Mondays are never a good time since everyone is getting settled into the swing of things. Plus, many brands start sending out their marketing emails on that day, leaving your follow up message buried in deals and sales. Fridays are equally bad because most people have checked out and are focused on the weekend ahead.

So, to make a lasting impression, save your follow up emails for Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday at any of the times above. On those days, your message is more likely to get the attention and consideration it deserves, helping you land that gig and start making bank.

How to Grab Attention When Sending a Follow Up Email

For the best results, you want your follow ups to instantly grab the reader’s attention and generate a positive response. In order to do that, you need to make it short and sweet, so you can get your message across from the start.

Since you’ll be sending out tons of follow up emails, be sure to create a template, and then personalize it to match each brand’s mission and values. Then, you’ll want to forward your initial email with the follow up message pasted in, so they can view your letter of introduction in full. Don’t forget to add a quick note that you’re following up in the subject line of the email while keeping the original.

After that, it’s just a matter of sending out your follow ups at the right day and time. You can save your follow ups as a draft and send them all out at your preferred moment if that makes it easier to approach during the workweek.

As you follow these tips, you’ll likely see an increase in response rates and start landing more gigs. In the meantime, focus on your career development by taking classes, listening to podcasts, and networking to achieve even more success.

About the Author: Marie Abendroth is a skilled content strategist and SEO copywriter who has been a proud part of the gig economy for over 10 years. In her articles, she aims to provide up-to-date info that can help everyone achieve their goals as an independent worker. You can find her on WriterAccess.