Nobody likes being ignored after sending an email. But in business communication and especially in cold outreach, not getting a response is a frequent outcome.
The good news is that you don't have to limit yourself to a single email. And when done right, the second email has a 21% chance of being answered. But that's where many people fall short.
As much as 70% of unanswered sales email chains stopped after the first attempt. And only 19% bothered with emailing again. Some of that hesitation may come down to not wanting to sound pushy. But that can be easily avoided if you know how to write a follow-up email that aligns with the recipient's actions and needs.
In this guide, let's look at how you can use email tracking to create a better follow-up email strategy in any situation.
Email Tracking: How It Can Help Build Up Your Follow-Up Strategy
Why email tracking matters for creating a more personalized follow-up strategy
Create tailor-made follow-up emails
Improve timing
Send more relevant messages
How you can use email tracking data to customize your follow-ups
Email wasn't opened
Email was opened
Link in the email was clicked
Attachment was clicked
Important tip: always mention the recipient's status in your follow-up
Why email tracking matters for creating a more personalized follow-up strategy
Without email tracking, sending an email is like a shot in the dark. You don't know what happens once the message is sent and can only guess whether you should follow up now, in three days, or even what your message should emphasize.
Luckily, email tracking exists and can eliminate most of the guesswork. But how can it help?
Here are a few compelling ways email tracking can take your follow-up email planning to a new level.
Create tailor-made follow-up emails
The single biggest advantage email tracking can offer your follow-up campaigns is the ability to personalize them based on the recipient's actions. Instead of wondering whether they even bothered to read your email, you can know specific details about when it was opened, how many times it was opened, and even whether they clicked your link.
But how can this help you?
Well, if you know that a person has opened your email but hasn't replied, you can create a different angle for your message that might work better. And if they haven't opened the email at all, you can then try out a different subject line that captures their attention. And if they opened your email but didn't click on your link, you can make the link more prominently visible and list more reasons why it benefits them to check it out.
Improve timing
Another massive advantage of using an email tracker extension for crafting a follow-up letter is that you can become much better at timing your emails. And timing is crucial to boosting email engagement and reducing instances when you frustrate the recipient because your email came at a time they didn't want to receive it.
For example, by tracking when a person typically opens your emails, you can figure out the time of day when they are the most engaged. If you manage to hit their inbox during that window, getting a response will become much more likely.
At the same time, you can eliminate sending times that produce poor results, which can result in an immediate boost in performance.
Send more relevant messages
Sometimes, you'll be sending follow-up emails that build on the information shared in the initial email. But in order to include more information, you must first know whether the initial email was read and that the recipient already knows what you're talking about.
Tracking emails is a crucial part of creating a smooth customer experience, with every email you send building on the previous one. This helps minimize disruptions and gives you the best chance of making a compelling and unified pitch that your leads will be much more likely to respond to.
How you can use email tracking data to customize your follow-ups
Even though it's clear email tracking is helpful when writing follow-up emails, you may not be entirely sure how to use them. Finding specific applications to your email tracking data can be tricky, especially since the metrics from your initial email may not always tell a clear story.
To help you figure out how to approach different email recipient actions and make that data useful, let's explore some of the most common scenarios you will deal with.
Email wasn't opened
The chances of your email getting opened after 24 hours are very small. So that's a good cutoff point when considering how long to wait before you start planning your follow-up.
But one thing to remember is that since your email wasn't opened, that means the recipient didn't see anything that was inside. Because of that, it doesn't make sense to experiment with new angles or expand on the initial ideas; the body of your email was not the problem.
Instead, consider how you can get the email opened using a more compelling or relevant subject line. When you're writing a follow-up email after no response and know that the email wasn't even opened, the subject line is the only variable that can make a difference.
Email was opened
When a person opens your email but doesn't reply, the decisions you'll need to make about the follow-up will become a bit more complicated. Still, it mostly comes down to what type of decision you want the recipient to make.
If your product or service is based on an emotional purchase, following up as soon as possible makes more sense. You want to build on the emotional momentum of the initial email and provide additional reasons for the recipient to take action.
However, if you are selling a high-priced item or selling to more rational audiences, such as those in the B2B world, it makes more sense to allow for a few days to pass before following up so that they can digest and think through the initial email. This will also allow you to craft an email that builds on what you shared before and helps create a logical argument for why they should work with you.
In general, if you didn't receive a reply or get a click-through, that may mean you need to rework your call to action. Sometimes, you may find that the CTA wasn't clear enough or emphasized enough in the initial email, which might not even be a wording but rather a design issue. Other times, you might want to reposition your call to action, highlighting another advantage or adding scarcity elements.
Link in the email was clicked
Getting people to click links in your emails is a crucial part of making sales and moving them toward the next step they need to take. And that's why staying on top of whether a recipient clicks the email link is essential when deciding what you need to do next.
If you're sending a link to a helpful resource, getting a click means the person was interested and willing to learn more about the subject. And that's an ideal time to build on that initial interest by linking to the next resource that expands on the topic or covers the next step of the process they are going through.
If you sent an email with a link to an offer, but they clicked through and didn't buy, you can consider some strategies to create a more compelling case for why the proposal makes sense in their situation. That can be done by highlighting different benefits your solution offers, sharing customer success stories that bolster your social proof, or adding a scarcity element such as a temporary discount or a buying window.
Attachment was clicked
Email attachments are different from links because they typically serve a different purpose. Most often, attachments are much more personalized to the person receiving the email, and can include educational resources (white papers, case studies, etc.), presentations, or proposals.
And because of that, the chance of the attachment getting clicked and downloaded is usually higher. At least if the person trusts you enough to believe in the attachment's authenticity.
If they download your attachment but don't reply to your initial email, it's a good idea to use the attachment as a point of emphasis in your follow-up email. They already showed interest in what you had to share but, for some reason, didn't feel compelled enough to reply and take the next step you wanted them to take.
For example, you could begin the email by asking them whether they need more information about the materials you shared and if they have any questions. You could also simply ask if the attachment was clear and helpful. If you need them to provide a response or take action, you can also encourage them to take that step.
Important tip: always mention the recipient's status in your follow-up
Context plays a huge role in whether you receive a reply or not. And that's especially important in a follow-up, since you need to make it clear that this is not the first communication and that you have already reached out before.
That's why when writing a follow-up, you should make sure that you let the recipient know that this is a second email in the subject line. This will add context but will also make it more likely for your email to be opened, especially if they opened before and already have an idea about who you are.
But what's the best way to include context in a follow-up email's subject line?
Well, the best approach is usually the one that's clear, straightforward, and relevant. And since you're tracking email performance, that means you can be very deliberate and address the specific step that the recipient took (or didn't take) after receiving your initial email.
Source: Tidio
For example, if you know that the person opened your email and clicked through to a video you shared, you can be very personal and write something along the lines of "{name}, you watched our video, what did you think?" or "{name}, what did you think of our video?".
Being relevant and specific can help break through the barriers and stand out in the recipient's inbox. And that may be all that's needed to get them to respond or take action.
Conclusion
Email tracking can be a revolutionary tool that empowers you to make better decisions in your follow-up strategy. And the best news is that getting valuable email tracking data doesn't have to be a complicated or expensive process.
By installing a simple email tracking extension on your browser, you can track every email you send out, learning if it was opened, when it was opened, how many times it was opened, and whether the links and attachments have been clicked.
MySignature offers an email tracker extension on Chrome that's completely free, offers unlimited email tracking, and a simple process that takes just a few minutes to set up.
You can also use MySignature to create professional email signatures that will showcase your brand, allow you to highlight the most important details about your business, and make it easy to promote your best offers or new content.
Get started with MySignature today!
