How to Effectively Write Follow Up Emails When Networking
You have taken the step to start networking as part of your job search strategy. You have identified many interesting people that you would like to have as a part of your network. You've spent a lot of time crafting an engaging email. You should have heard something back. Instead, all you hear is *crickets.* What do you do?
You follow up, that is what you do.
Any good salesperson will tell you that you do not give up at one attempt to make contact. And while networking should not be equated to selling, the same principle applies. You must continue to follow up.
Why Did The Person Not Respond?
There could be several reasons why the individual did not respond to your initial email.
People Are Busy
It could be as simple as your outreach landed in their mailbox at a time when they were too busy to respond. Maybe the day they saw your email, they had a large work project due. Perhaps they were on vacation when you sent it. Maybe they received five other invitations to connect ahead of you. People are busy. You are busy. Have you ignored a pending email because you had too many other things going on? We all have. That is why there is an excellent reason to always follow-up.
Maybe Your Email Was Too Long
Brevity is essential with cold emails. No one has time to read a book about your life. If your email looked more like War and Peace and less like a brief note, then it is likely that your email may have been opened but not read. If it was not read, then how could you expect any response?
Maybe the Reader Did Not Know What You Wanted Them to Do
All emails should have some Call to Action (CTA). If the reader makes it to the end of the email and does not understand how they can help you, you will likely not get a response. This is a fault of your email content. A follow-up email may be needed to clarify the ask you have of this person.
Maybe the Initial Message Was Not Compelling
You thought you wrote a great message, but maybe you didn't. Or perhaps it wasn't the right message for this individual. Did you write a message where the reader felt there was a benefit to respond? This could be a reason why you received no response.
Crafting a Follow Up Message
You get two chances to pitch your message in your follow -up emails:
Subject Lines
There is a good chance that your message's recipient will be viewing it on their mobile device. That is why keeping your subject lines short and to the point is so important. Only 30-35 characters may show in your subject line before being cut off. Therefore, you need to make it short and engaging.
Subject Line Options
Here are some ideas for email subject lines. They do not have to reference that you are following up on a previous email. Since there was no response to the last email, it might be useful to start with a new subject line.
Add the recipient's name in the subject line. It tends to attract the attention of the reader over all the other emails in their inbox. This could be something like, "Paul, I am reaching out to you." Or "Happy Monday, Paul."
Something short and catchy, just two to four words, will pique the person's interest. This could be something like, "Found Your LinkedIn Profile."
It can reference any mutual acquaintances or place where you might know each other. An example would be, "We met at the SHRM Conference" or "Kathy Olsen Introduced Us."
Sparingly, you can use emojis to make your email subject line stand out. An example might be, "✨Something For You."
Provide information to the recipient. An example might be, "An Article I Thought Might Be Of Interest."
Humor can be useful in a subject line. An example might be, "My Help Is Now Buy 1, Get 1."
Lastly, your subject line can be a personal opinion. An example might be "Experience Is Not the End-All or Be-All."
Content
Whether your message is the first one to a potential contact or a follow-up, the focus needs to be on keeping it short and engaging. Remember, no one will read a long message from someone they do not know. At best, they will skim it, so think long and hard about what you want to say and make it as concise as possible. Essentially, take what a person would pick up from skimming a long message and make that your message in its entirety.
Some people will start their message with an apology of some sort for bothering the person. I do not think this is necessary. While it might make for a comfortable first sentence, it doesn't add anything to the conversation. Plus, if you end up writing multiple follow up emails, it can come off as making you look desperate. I advise you to start your email with something a bit more attention-grabbing.
Here are some suggestions for how to structure the content of your follow up message.
Content from your previous email. State who you are (an introduction) and when you last reached out. An example would be, "I am Shelley Piedmont, a Career Coach. You may have missed the email I sent you last week."
How you add value to them, in terms of recognition or resources. This can be recognition for something they have done or accomplished or a link to a resource that may be of interest. For example, "I saw you pivoted from a career in finance to a successful one as a Career Coach. That is impressive."
Why you want to connect. They will be curious as to why you have reached out, so tell them. Provide some context to initiating the email. An example would be two sentences about your interest in them, such as, "I am reaching out to those that are Career Coaches but had a different career path initially. I am very interested in the challenges of making that switch."
Your Call to Action (CTA). This is your ask. It can be a meeting, a referral, or even answering a question. Make the ask easy for the other person and not take too much of their time. An example might be something like this, "I have two questions about your career pivot that I would like to ask you. It should not take anymore than 10 minutes of your time."
Note: When you are doing follow up emails, you may want to switch up your CTA. If you asked for a meeting with your first outreach, maybe try for a referral for your second one and ask for additional resources or groups to join as a third request.
Your close. Be upbeat. Acknowledge you are asking for something and let them know that you appreciate their having read your message, whether they respond or not. For example, "I appreciate that you have taken your time to read my message. Thank you in advance, whether you can meet with me or not. I wish you a great week.
Salutation. Common professional ones are "All My Best," "Best," "Take Care," while a less professional or perhaps more appreciative version would include "Thank You In Advance," With Gratitude" or "Much Appreciated."
Sample emails
Following this formula, here are some samples of follow up emails that you could send.
Warm lead, such as a referral from a friend.
Subject: Helene Baskowitz Referred Me To You
Hello Lauren,
I am Shelley Piedmont, and I learned of you from our mutual friend Helene Baskowitz. She suggested I reach out. I wrote to you last week, but I understand if my email was missed. When she told me about you, I was excited since your career path follows one that I aspire to follow. Congratulations on your recent promotion.
I would love to learn more about what a company like <Company Name> looks for in its people managers. I currently only manage one person, and I know managing a large team requires different skill sets. Any information you could provide would be appreciated.
Would you have time next week to have a virtual coffee? I promise I will keep it to 10 minutes.
Since we have never met, I thank you for taking the time to read this message. Have a wonderful week.
Much Appreciated,
Shelley
Cold lead, such as someone working at your target company.
Subject: I Am An Admirer Of <Company Name>
Hello Norm,
I am Shelley Piedmont, and have been following <Company Name> for a while. I sent you an email last week, but I understand if you did not have a chance to respond. While searching for people who work at <Company Name>, I saw your name and noticed that we both made data analysis our career and attended the University of Michigan, but you were ahead of me by a few years. Did you know that Professor Grouley published a new paper on augmented reality? If you missed it, find it here <provide link>.
I would love to hear more about your career and work at <Company Name>. It sounds like you are doing work in graph analytics, which is a specific interest of mine.
Would you have time to hop on a call for a quick conversation? I promise that I will not take more than 15 minutes of your time. I am sure you are very busy.
I look forward to speaking with you. If you do not have the time for a quick call, I get it. We are all busy. Have a great week.
Take Care,
Shelley
How Often To Follow Up
There is a fine line between being persistent and being a pest. There is evidence that constant follow-up will help in getting an eventual response from those working in sales. Yet, you do not want to harass the person and thus, ruining any chance to develop a relationship that might prove fruitful. Therefore, I am going to suggest the following cadence:
1st Follow Up: Two days after the initial message was sent.
2nd Follow Up: Three-Four days after the 1st follow up email was sent.
3rd Follow Up: A week after the 2nd follow up email was sent
After a total of four attempts, I think it is safe to say that the person is not going to respond to you, and it is time to move on.
One Caveat: If it is a warm lead, such as a referral, you can try two to three times to make contact. If you do not get any response, then it is acceptable to go back to the person that gave you the referral just to let them know that your outreach was unsuccessful. Your contact may go back to the person they referred to ask about the non-response, but leave that to the connection to handle the situation.
Conclusion
Networking can be challenging. Some people's instinct is to reach out once and move on to other prospects if not successful. Don't give up so fast. People are inundated with emails, sometimes hundreds per day. You do not know what is happening in this person's life. While their lack of response could be due to the content of the message you sent, often, it has nothing to do with you or your message. Give it another chance. Please give it a few more chances. You may find your success rate in actually interacting with new contacts increases exponentially.
Want to learn more about networking?
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Shelley Piedmont is a job search coach. She wants to help job seekers put their best foot forward by providing the tools for a successful job search. If you need career coaching, resume preparation, interview skills assessment, or LinkedIn profile assistance, she can help. Schedule a 15-minute no-obligation consultation.