In just 2 minutes, deichweb AI will create an individual AI marketing concept for you – try it now.

The Follow Up Mail: The Secret Key to the Deal

illustration - Zwei Geschäftsmänner unterhalten sich und einer erhält gerade eine Follow Up Mail auf seinem Smartphone
Following up is the ace up the sleeve of many sales professionals. But what about email marketing? Successful follow-up is something that needs to be learned. In this article, we explain why the follow-up email so often makes the crucial difference and how you can use it cleverly to increase your closing rate. Those who follow up strategically are remembered - and increase the likelihood of closing the deal.

Why a Follow Up Mail is Crucial


In today's flood of emails, we receive so many messages that emails that do not come from known people or that look generic are often not read. This is why it is essential to send follow-up emails, especially with cold calling emails, as many potential deals are lost due to the lack of follow-ups.

A follow-up email shows the recipient that you have not given up and that the contact is important to you. It signals persistence and commitment without being intrusive. Especially if the first contact may have been lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the follow-up email offers a second chance to arouse the recipient's interest. A well-placed follow-up email can often be the deciding factor that moves the recipient towards a decision.

The Psychology Behind Successful Follow-Up

The personal touch is particularly beneficial in cold calling, as it strengthens trust in your seriousness. Handwritten follow-up emails with personal explanations are therefore extremely effective. If the recipient feels that you have made an effort, they are more willing to accommodate you. Various psychological mechanisms also come into play here: The principle of reciprocity, for example, means that people are more willing to give something back if they feel that they have been given something valuable - in this case, your attention and time.

Another important principle is that of anchoring: By reminding the recipient of your message again in the follow-up email, you help them to better understand the relevance of your offer. The principle of scarcity, in turn, creates a feeling of urgency - for example, if you mention that your offer is time-limited, the likelihood that the recipient will respond more quickly increases. Overall, follow-up emails give the reader the feeling that the collaboration is important to you - and that is what makes them so successful.

However, make sure that the follow-up part of the follow-up emails is extremely short so that the reader’s attention span can be used.

The perfect subject line for a follow-up email


Let's be honest - why should you worry so much about the perfect subject line when it can be so much easier? The theory that a follow-up email needs a carefully crafted, creative and well thought-out subject line to attract attention sounds nice. But it's unnecessarily complicated and ultimately just a waste of time. The simple truth: all a follow-up email really needs is a simple "Re:" before the subject, because you hopefully already included the creative subject line in your first email.

The "Re:" immediately signals that it is a reply or a follow-up. The recipient immediately recognizes: "Ah, there was something there." And this alone makes the email much more likely to be opened. No fancy trick, no sophisticated word acrobatics, just a very banal "Re:" - and the chances of your email being read increase dramatically. The email programs even help to change the "Re:" to "AW:" for German users. Since this type of email reply is standardized and everyone understands it, this is also the most effective type for follow-up email subject lines. It's almost absurd how easy and efficient this works without you having to struggle with much creativity.

In the end, all we want is for the email to be opened. And for that, you don't need a poetic masterstroke, but simply the power of "Re:" - because directness often works best.

How to cleverly design a follow-up email


Additionally, you can add another short info using the principles of anchoring, urgency and reciprocity that I explained at the beginning of this article.

The design of the follow-up email is simple. If you reply manually, it is best to use the reply function of your email program. This automatically quotes the original message and the recipient immediately sees the context: "On [date], [name] wrote ...". The quoted part is indented in the email and gives the recipient the opportunity to see directly what they may have missed. This method seems extremely organic and gives the impression that you have just taken the trouble to refer back to your original email - which is actually true.

At deichweb, we achieve excellent results with this strategy. However, we do not use the reply function of the email program, but rather automate the organic appearance of the follow-up emails, thus achieving a thousandfold scalable, personal and authentic communication that appears to be a personal response. It is precisely this naturalness that is crucial to attracting the recipient's attention and increasing the likelihood of receiving feedback.

The right time for your follow-up emails


An important aspect of successful follow-up is the right time for the follow-up emails. This question divides opinions: should you follow up immediately after the first contact or let a few days pass to give the recipient time to process it? In practice, there is no clear rule, but best practices suggest taking a strategic approach. A direct follow-up can solidify the first impression and maintain interest, while a well-timed, delayed follow-up creates space to allow the recipient to have an "aha moment".

The key here is to choose the right moment when the likelihood of a positive response is highest. By adapting the timing to the needs and "rhythm of life" of the recipient, not only is the offer better perceived, but also the chance that the recipient will find the message relevant and valuable is increased. Ultimately, timing is everything when it comes to follow-up - it should be neither too intrusive nor too fleeting.

Conclusion: The art of successful follow-up emails


A well-thought-out follow-up email is more than just a reminder - it's a strategic tool that can make a decisive contribution to closing the deal. The most important principles are clarity, brevity and authenticity. Instead of overloading the recipient with too much new information, a simple, polite reminder that a response is still pending is often enough.

It is particularly effective to use the reply function in the email program to include the original email thread. This creates an organic and personal feeling that inspires trust in the recipient. This technique signals that the contact is important to you without appearing intrusive.

The goal of a follow-up email is to make the next step as easy as possible for the recipient - whether through a clear call to action or a reference to previous correspondence. If you follow these principles, there's a good chance that your follow-up emails will not only be read, but also answered.

In the end, if you follow up skillfully, you will stay in people’s minds and increase the likelihood that a potential contact will turn into a successful conclusion.
DISCOVER AI MARKETING SOLUTIONS

Let us develop your AI marketing strategy

Book a free appointment

partner