Pro tip: my follow-up email template went from a 5% reply rate to 40% in 3 months

I used to send the same boring 'just checking in' email after a pitch. For 6 months, maybe 1 in 20 people wrote back. Last quarter, I switched to a template that asks one specific question about their business I found from their LinkedIn. I started getting replies from 4 out of every 10 people. The change was wild. It's all about showing you did 5 minutes of homework instead of just blasting a generic note. What's one line you've added to a follow-up that actually gets a response?

3 comments

3 Comments

owens.laura1d ago

My friend used to think that way until she tried it. She was sending hundreds of emails a week for her side hustle and getting nothing back. One week she picked just ten people and spent five minutes on each of their websites. She asked one real question about a project they had listed. Seven of them replied, and two became clients. How can you argue with numbers like that? It's not about doing it for every single person, it's about picking who you really want to talk to.

thea_bell1d ago

Honestly that sounds like way too much work for every single follow up. What if you just need to reach out to a ton of people fast?

kim_mason551d ago

But what if you just need a quick yes or no from a bunch of people? Not everyone's worth that much digging.