It’s common for your first email to go without a response.

But there’s no reason to feel discouraged; it’s common and important to know how to follow up in the right way. Here are ten ways you can successfully follow up on emails.

#Personalization on a large scale

Behind every lead is a person who values time and privacy. They are smart and usually don’t like to be interrupted, for example, by a sales pitch (even a good one). Keep this in mind when you write follow-up emails.

You won’t get a lot of quick and positive responses from people. This strategy is about patience and personality.

#Making a specific target

There are several steps you should consider ahead of time as you conduct your follow-up emails campaign. What do you want to achieve with your message?

Every email should have a clear purpose for communication, otherwise, you’re just wasting your time, and the recipient’s time. It’s not just your goal, though; you should also consider what your audience is looking for.

Don’t write a follow-up emails if you don’t have anything new to offer or tell them. In other words, don’t send an email just to “check-in.” Maybe you have some new resources or information to offer, or you’re asking them for the information you can use to help them make a decision.

#Email sending time interval

So, how long should you wait before sending follow-up emails?

The answer is… It depends.

You definitely want to keep the situation moving, but don’t make it seem like you’re spamming them. The best way to do this is to agree with your leader on an ideal time to follow up. But since this isn’t always possible, or maybe you forgot, let’s start discussing general guidelines.

• If you’ve already had a meeting and want to follow up to remind them of the next step, then contact them within 24 hours. But if you are following up on a previous email, or if you have given them a lot of room to think, then wait two days.
• It’s wise to send emails on different days and times, just so they don’t always get delivered at a bad time.
• If you’re interacting with someone you’ve never met, then don’t send more than three follow-up messages.
• Every niche and situation is different, so be sure to adjust this rule if you feel the need to. It never pays to be a slave to the template.

#Starting off right

If you write a bad subject line, your email will die there. People get a lot of emails, so you need to give them a reason to open your emails.

People like it when you use their name, so address them or their company by their name in your subject line.

#The main content of the writing

Do everything you can to make sure your emails don’t sound like automated mass emails from a robot. Sure, you can take inspiration from subsequent email templates, but you shouldn’t copy them word-for-word. Always include a hint of personalization in your emails.

However, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this type of communication.

• Don’t just shoehorn the recipient’s name, alma mater, or business into your message. You’re better off doing some real research so you can reference some of the work this person has done or something unique and relevant about their company.
• You really only need to personalize the first or second sentence.
• Don’t waste time, get straight to the point, and state what your purpose is from the beginning. Trying to be creative and trick the reader into reading your sales material doesn’t work and is a waste of time and energy.
• Ask yourself, is what I am offering really relevant to this person? You may have a great new product or valuable information, but if it’s not applicable to a specific person, it’s practically worthless.

#Attactive guide link to the landing page

You should always take into account your call to action (CTA). Everything you write should be designed to get the other person to make a decision that will lead to a CTA. Write short and persuasive CTAs, and remember that many times the answer is no, and that’s okay.

It’s much better to send these CTAs and get a response than to waste time beating around the bush in an email without a CTA.

#Use automation tools

Following up on email is a numbers game, so it’s important to be familiar with and use automated tools to save time.

• Start with LinkedIn, which is a great source for finding contact information and building lists.
• Close.io is great for organizing your sales and email workflow into one central location.
• MailChimp is the standard for email marketing, so be sure to use it to automate your follow-up emails campaign.
• Yesware can help you by syncing with your CRM data and providing analytics that are appropriate for the email campaigns you are pursuing.

#When should you stop?

It’s important to be persistent, but it’s also important to know when it’s time to stop.

Email campaigns are very inexpensive, but they do consume resources, so know when it’s not worth continuing to work with someone. Your final message should be a polite email that says goodbye and offers one last chance to engage.

Keep it light, and don’t forget to give them a link to the most relevant information you have (just in case).

#Collect and analyze your data

Even if you don’t get any responses, your follow-up can still be useful.

That’s because now is the time to analyze the data and see what you can learn. If your campaign didn’t work as well as you hoped, you can make the next one better if you do this work.

You’ll be more successful if you invest in some analytics software and run some A/B tests to see what’s working and what’s not. Determine which of your email templates are getting the most responses and whether those responses are translating into actual conversions.

#Be flexible

Every situation is different, and general best practices do not apply to all situations.

• Once your follow-up begins, don’t be afraid to make changes.
• Don’t stick to a pattern just because it seems like a good idea or works for someone else.

Things change, and a strategy that once worked very well may no longer work. That’s why it’s so important to constantly test and reevaluate your ideas. Leave your ego at the door and learn to acknowledge what isn’t working.