You spent days researching a prospect’s contact information, hours crafting the perfect outreach email, and you finally hit "Send."

One day in, no reply. Three days in, still waiting for a response. One week in, you hear crickets…

If no one ever told you this before, here you go: It's NORMAL.

Based on research by WoodPecker, simply adding one follow-up email brings your reply rate from 9% to 13%, and the first follow-up email is usually the most effective — with the highest reply rate (about 40% higher than the initial email).^[*]

That's why in today's article, I'm going to reveal the follow-up email samples our Growth Team at Sumo uses to get responses from prospects — and why they work.

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Ready to rack up your response rate? Let's dive in!

Follow-Up Email Sample #1: Quick Nudge

Why It Works: Your prospects might miss your initial email for whatever reason. This template works well as a quick reminder without being pushy. Also the “Sent from iPhone” line below the name makes the email seem more personal.

When It Works Best: One to three days after your initial outreach email.

Example Of It Working:

Follow-Up Email Sample #2: Sweet And Simple Check-In

Why It Works: With this email, you assume your prospect has read your email but haven't gotten back to you yet. In case they haven’t read the initial email, they are more likely to check it out again, especially when you're focusing on "helping" them instead of getting something out of them.

When It Works Best: Four to seven days after your initial outreach email. You can replace "weekend" with any other day depending on when you're sending the email.

Example Of It Working:

Follow-Up Email Sample #3: Ask For The Right Contact

Why It Works: Your prospect might change position, or you got a wrong contact. This template works because instead of reaching out to the wrong person, you navigate quickly to the right person by asking.

When It Works Best: It works best when you still don't get a response after one or two follow-up emails. You can also use this as your first outreach email when you're not sure if you have the right contact (sometimes Sumo’s Growth Team use this template even when they’re sure they’re reaching out to the right person as a conversation opener).

Example Of It Working:

Follow-Up Email Sample #4: Give Options (And Inject Some Humor)

Why It Works: There is a slight possibility that your prospect gets annoyed after receiving a few follow-up emails from you. This template helps to ease the tension and show that you're a human. Also with option #1 (i.e., your product not being a priority), you're making it comfortable for them to reject you — so you can move on to the next prospect.

When It Works Best: As the fourth or fifth follow-up email in your outreach sequence.

Example Of It Working:

Follow-Up Email Sample #5: Tiny Sales Page

Why It Works: This email has: 

• A strong hook: “I really don't want you to miss out on meeting our [Your Topic] expert.”

• Benefits: “…share their screen and show you exactly how to [Your Topic / Service / Benefits].”

• Social proof: “Our expert has worked with some of our top sites like [Your Past Customers].”

• Objection handling: “This is not a webinar. And yes, it's free.”

• A strong call-to-action with scarcity: “We only have a few spots left. Find a time [here] (Link to your calendar).”

It works because it's literally a mini sales page.

When It Works Best: You can use this email anytime after your first follow-up email. It gives your prospect slightly more information about your offering and a reason to take action immediately.

Example Of It Working:

Follow-Up Email Sample #6: The Last Straw

Why It Works: First, you're giving the prospect a reason why you're being slightly pushy (i.e., so you save each other’s inboxes). Instead of waiting for a response forever, this email dives straight to the objective. If your prospects are interested, they can book a time directly; if not, you both save time and inboxes.

When It Works Best: Use this template as the last follow-up email after sending five to six follow-ups. You probably won't get a response here, but it’s worth giving it one last shot before you marked your lead “dead.”

Example Of It Working:

With this email, converting prospects are booking a time slot on the link (instead of responding to the email).

Copy And Paste These Follow-Up Email Samples Into Your Email Outreach Campaign Now

That's the six follow-up emails the Sumo Growth team use to get more replies from our prospects. Now, here are three quick tips you want to remember when sending an outreach email:

1. Always test your email subject lines to optimize open rates. You can check out our giant list of 87 best email subject lines for a/b test inspiration.

2. Keep an eye on your sending frequency and the time you send the follow-up emails. In some cases, they matter more than the email body. What's the point if your prospects get annoyed by too many emails from you? Or worse, missed the email?

3. Be human. No one wants to talk to a robot. Show the prospects that you genuinely care about them.

4. Do not forget that your email signature is a great non-passive way to encourage the prospect you are emailing to navigate to your website.

To make it easy for you, I've created a complete follow-up sequence — with email and LinkedIn outreach template — so you can:

• Make a copy of all the email samples in this blog post (go to File > Make a copy once you get access to my doc).

• Personalize the emails with your own business information.

• Copy and paste them to your email editor.

• Send them out in a drip sequence (I tell you exactly how many days to wait in-between each follow-up email inside the doc).

Click the button below to get access to the follow-up email sequence to start getting more replies and sales today.

Download The Follow-Up Email Sequence