How to Write Reminder Emails that Get Responses: Examples Included

reminder emails

Understanding when to send reminder emails to clients and customers is a problem most professionals and business people face. When writing reminder emails, you do not want to sound pushy or impatient; at the same time, you want to remind the customer of their appointment, abandoned cart, or deadline. 

Figuring out how to send the perfect reminder email that doesn’t come across as pushy and gets the job done is an art form. 

In this article, we will teach you how to send the perfect reminder email that doesn’t come off as pushy and passes the desired message simultaneously.  Before jumping into how to write reminder emails and listing various examples, let’s discuss some of the most common reasons to send reminder emails. 

When Should Reminder Emails be sent?

As the name implies, reminder emails notify the recipient of something that’s supposed to happen soon or something that was supposed to happen but didn’t. Here’s a list of the most common cases to send a reminder email to. 

  • Payment issues: If you’re expected to pay for goods or services and you’ve not received the invoice to make payments or require different payment options, sending a reminder to the involved party is a common practice.
  • Work Reminders: This is especially common when working remotely with your team members. If one person’s work can stall a vital workflow, it is important to send them constant reminders to request updates on the task.
  • Payment due reminder emails: Sending a reminder email for payment before and on its due date is a standard business practice. If the due date passes and you’re yet to receive payment, do not hesitate to send a reminder to the client requesting payment.
     
  • Delivery issues: When the delivery date for a package you ordered passes and you don’t get any information or update from the vendor, you’re expected to send a reminder email and request a tracking number or anything that helps your case.
  • Job application reminders: Sending reminders and after-interview follow-up emails to hiring managers sets you apart from other candidates and may be all you need to get the job. When doing this, be careful not to badger the hiring manager, as doing this can drastically reduce your chances.
  • Cart abandonment reminder emails: According to Shopify, 11% of customers who receive cart abandonment emails proceed with purchasing. Cart abandonment is one of the major issues plaguing the e-commerce industry, and sending these reminder emails could be what stands between you and making that sale.
  • Event reminders: Reminder emails for events can be sent for various events ranging from webinar reminders, dinner reminders, and reminders to RSVP, etc. These are events where reminder emails can be sent to various participants. This does the intended job of reminding them and helping them stay on track. 

How Do You Decide the Perfect Time to Send Reminder Emails?

Deciding how long to wait before sending reminders is an important aspect of sending reminder emails. How long after an interview do you wait before sending an email? How long after a submission deadline?

There’s no universal answer to this question. Deciding when to send reminder emails depends entirely on the case at hand and, at other times, your relationship with the party involved. 

If you’re working with a client that has the habit of paying invoices within 3-5 days after they’re due, you won’t send them an invoice until the 6th day. 

If you’re reminding someone about an important deadline, sending a reminder email before and after the due date would be normal. If the reminder isn’t extremely important, you could also send the email 1 or 2 days after the deadline. 

For follow-up application emails, it is best to send these emails at least 11-15 days after the interview or the assessment has been sent in. 

For events, it is important that reminders are sent a few days before the event and a day before, and some hours before the event. This is an even easier option as you can automate sending reminders. 

How to Write a Reminder Email?

A reminder email’s most important aspects are the tone and structure. If you’re sending a reminder email, especially to a customer, it is important that this email is structured and written properly. Getting everything right in a reminder email is tantamount to getting the desired action. 

This section of this article will list a step-by-step guide to help you write the best reminder emails. 

1. Use a Suitable Subject

The subject line is one of the most important parts of your email. This explains to the recipient who you are and what your email is about. 

Having a crappy subject line is acceptable, but it is a cardinal sin not to have one. Not having a subject line is the easiest way to see your email is trashed without being read. Your subject line should give the recipient a brief overview of the project. An example of this is:

“Reminder: October Invoice”

“Webinar Reminder.”

For cart abandonment subject lines, you need to be much more creative as the open rate is astronomically lower than other reminder emails in this article. 

2. Greet the Recipient 

After the subject line, the next step is to greet the recipient. When greeting the recipient, it is advised to use the standard, “Dear,” then the person’s full name. 

If you’re unsure of the credentials of who you’re emailing, a simple, “Hello” suffices. But if you can go the extra mile to find out the recipient’s email, then doing so is advised, as personalizing your email dramatically increases your open rate. 

3. Proceed with the Niceties

After the greeting, start your email with a friendly message. If you can talk about something specific, the recipient has done, the better. If not, a generic, “I hope this email finds you well.” Or “I hope you’re having a good day” works well. 

If you’re emailing someone that signed up for your event, start your email by thanking them for signing up. 

4. Attack the Point

This is easily the most important part of your email. After the nicety, jump right into the main reason for the email. State what the email is about as plainly as possible. Even if you’re not necessarily happy about the issue, your response should maintain a tone of professionalism. 

If you’re emailing a client about an invoice that they’ve completely neglected, granted, you’re not happy, you should also maintain professionalism. The email may be stern, but that doesn’t mean it should be unprofessional. 

5. State a Desired Action

After passing your point across, state exactly what you want the recipient to do. Do you expect them to reply to you? State this. Do you want them to RSVP to the event, and state it?

Including a clear call-to-action of your desired action makes it ultimately easier for the recipient of the letter to take the desired action. 

6. Close the Email

Your email closing should end with gentle appreciation. 

Examples of these include:

“Thank you for getting back to me as soon as possible.”

“Thank you for treating this matter with urgency.” 

After this, the last thing to do is to sign the email and include your name. 

Reminder Email Example: Business Reminder

 Subject: Collaboration Reminder

Dear Jake Simmons, 

I hope you’re having a swell week and this email finds you well. 
Last week I sent an email about a potential collaboration between our companies. I reached out on social media and was told you were the best person in the position to assist. 

Our brands serve the same audience and I think a collaboration would be beneficial to both our brands. 

I’d like to schedule a meeting with you to discuss this. Please get back to me as soon as you can. 

Kind Regards, 
Jim Blessed
Outreach Manager, Oculus. 

Invoice Reminder Email Example: Invoice 008

Subject: Invoice 008 Reminder

Dear Sandra Moore, 

I’ve checked on my end and my record shows that payment hasn’t been made for invoice 008. 

This invoice has been due for over a week and I would appreciate it if you got back to me as soon as possible. 

For ease of payment, the invoice has also been attached to this email. Please get back to me if you’d prefer other payment options. 

Thank you, 
Jane Stark

Reminder Email Example: Meeting Reminder

Subject: Meeting Reminder

Hi Jeremy, 

I’m sending you this email to remind you of our meeting on the 8th of January. Please confirm this invitation by reverting to me. 

Also, please remember that you’ll present the Rash Case Study. If you could send me a copy of the slides before the 8th, that would be great. 

Please get back to me if you have any questions. 
Kind regards,

Jake Sully

Conclusion

You must go straight to the point when writing reminder emails, as with all other emails. While the type of reminder email dictates your tone and intensity, the general rule remains that your email must follow general email etiquette. We’ve also included some samples to help you write the perfect reminder emails. 

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