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Not knowing when or how to send a reminder email is a universal problem that many individuals face, no matter what industry they work in. You don’t want to come across as pushy or condescending, but there’s also no time to deal with missed deadlines.
The good news is that there are easy ways to write up and send a reminder email while maintaining your professionalism and remaining friendly. Whether you’re following up on deadlines or reminding a colleague of a group meeting, here are some ways to send a reminder email with a balance of respect and productivity.
The Top Appointment Scheduling Software to Send a Reminder Email
If you need help with sending a reminder email and want to learn how to do this effectively, here are the best software options to consider:
You can read our full reviews of each appointment scheduling software company here.
5 Steps To Send a Reminder Email
More often than not, sending a reminder email doesn’t just involve addressing the issue and signing off. Here are five crucial steps you should take to send the perfect reminder email:
- Choose an appropriate subject line
- Greet the recipient
- Give friendly context
- Get to the point
- Wrap it up and sign off
The Easy Parts of Sending a Reminder Email
The easiest parts of sending a reminder email are having access to software with templates, prompts, and scheduling functionalities that can help you send these emails. Sending a reminder email has never been easier with appointment scheduling software, such as Booking Koala.
Booking Koala is a leader in the service industry, helping businesses across the globe by managing their inflow of appointments. Alongside appointment management, Booking Koala offers a range of email functionalities that can improve your inbox tenfold.
You can get access to specific email notifications that Booking Koala can send to you, your customers, your providers, and your office employees. Not only that, but Booking Koala provides you with the flexibility to build your own custom email templates or use its default design for ease.
An appointment scheduling software, like Booking Koala, can help you send reminder emails because you can also choose to schedule these emails ahead of time if you don’t hear back from the recipient—making it easier for you to stay on top of your workload.
The Difficult Parts of Sending a Reminder Email
The most difficult part of sending a reminder email is simply not knowing how to do so without coming across as pushy or condescending. Especially when there is a lot of room for miscommunication through text, sending a friendly reminder can sometimes seem sarcastic or just plain rude.
Another common difficulty is not knowing when to send the email either. The timing of the email will depend on what you are waiting for. For example, if you are reminding someone of a missed deadline, you should do this one business day after the deadline has passed.
If you are following up on an interview or another task that doesn’t have a deadline, it would be appropriate to send an email within 7-10 days. However, crafting the perfect reminder email doesn’t have to be difficult when you know exactly how to approach the situation and write an appropriate message. Follow the below steps if you want to learn how to send a reminder email without the fear of being rude.
Step 1: Choose an Appropriate Subject Line
Choosing an appropriate subject line can either make or break a reminder email. Succinct subject lines will get you far when sending a reminder email because the recipient should know why you are sending a reminder and then feel compelled to take action afterward. An appropriate subject line can also help differentiate you from a spammer, which is especially important if you are emailing about an interview or vendor you haven’t worked with before, as they may not have your address in their contact list.
Identify the Reason You Are Following Up
There should be at least one or two words that indicate the reason why you are sending the reminder email in the first place. For example, if you are emailing a colleague who has missed a deadline, it would be appropriate to have the subject line “Response Required: Missed Deadline.” The main idea is to keep the subject line brief and include a sense of urgency, so the recipient knows to respond as soon as possible.
Examples of Eyecatching Subject Lines
Whether you are contacting an interviewee or a colleague, here are a few examples of some subject lines to catch your recipient’s attention:
- “Action Required: [Insert Project Name Here]”
- “Following Up: Our Interview”
- “Info Needed For [Insert Project Name Here] Resolution”
- “I’d Love Your Feedback On [Insert Project Name Here]”
- “Following Up: My CV”
Step 2: Greet the Recipient
Generally, a greeting will set the overall tone of an email, so you should distinguish between formal and informal email salutations and decide which one is more appropriate in your current situation. Since the email aims to remind the recipient of something politely, it’s easier to do this with a more casual greeting.
Casual Greetings
Here are a few casual ways to greet your recipient while still maintaining professionalism and friendliness:
- Use “Hi,” “Hey,” or “Hello” followed by the person’s first name
If you don’t know the person’s name or gender, you can default to a casual “Hello” without using their name.
Formal Greetings
And here are a few formal ways to greet your recipient while still maintaining general friendliness:
- Use “Dear” followed by the person’s first or full name
- Use “Mr,” “Ms,” or “Mrs” followed by the person’s surname or full name
However, if you are contacting a recipient on behalf of a company, you should use your company’s default greeting to maintain consistency. Just make sure that if you are greeting a recipient by name, you should always spell it correctly and avoid greetings like “To whom it may concern,” which are impersonal and overused.
Step 3: Give Friendly Context
The body of your reminder email is where you will give context surrounding why you are emailing the recipient in the first place. Since you want this email to come across as a gentle reminder, it’s crucial that you start with a friendly message and slowly ease into the context.
Start With the Niceties
Before jumping into the email with your request, you should start with a friendly message that is specific to the recipient or relevant to the situation at hand. For example, if you know the recipient is working on another project, you could say: “I hope [insert project here] is going well, as I know you’ve been spending a lot of time on it.”
You could also lead with a “Congratulations” or a “Thank you” message if the recipient reached a milestone or recently did you a favor.
Identify Your Relationship With the Recipient
While you should always start with the niceties at the beginning of a reminder email, identifying your relationship with the recipient beforehand will help you craft the perfect message. Is the recipient a colleague or a recent interviewee? Different relationships will determine a completely different response and outcome.
For example, if you aren’t familiar with the recipient you are emailing, it wouldn’t be appropriate to pretend you know what is going on in their life. Instead, a simple “I hope you’re having a nice week” or “I hope you had a great weekend” will usually suffice.
Step 4: Get to the Point
Now, after you have opened the line of communication with a positive and friendly message, it’s time to get your point across and make your request. Getting to the point of your request doesn’t have to be aggressive, and there are ways to be clear about what you want to happen without blaming anyone.
Make Your Request Immediately
You shouldn’t get too long-winded during this process, as you may lose the recipient’s attention or confuse them. Making your request doesn’t have to be overcomplicated, as you can do it in just a few short sentences. We would recommend two paragraphs at most, as you also don’t want to overwhelm the recipient with information.
For example, if you are chasing an invoice, you could say something similar to:
“Please send your invoice for this month’s work to [insert email here] and CC me. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.”
Avoid Blaming Language
You should be careful when you craft your message, as you don’t want to inflict blame or come across as aggressive. It can be frustrating to chase overdue projects or missed deadlines, but a nice and respectful follow-up can go a long way.
It’s important to avoid blaming language, including sentences like:
- “Why did you do this?”
- “What you have done is unacceptable.”
- “It’s your fault that we are behind schedule and [insert punishment here].”
Blaming the recipient for whatever you are reminding them of is not helpful to anyone. Instead, you should always remain calm and respectful, as if you were dealing with someone in person.
Ask a Question
It’s helpful to ask a question or call to action at the end of your request to encourage the recipient to respond right away. For example, if you are requesting a meeting with someone, you could end your message with, “Please let me know what days are easiest for you, and we can schedule a short meeting.”
Another way Booking Koala is valuable for sending reminder emails is that if you need to schedule a meeting with someone, the software can do it for you. With its powerful scheduling functionality, you can set up a meeting on the go and resolve any situation as quickly as possible.
Step 5: Wrap it Up and Sign Off
A big part of sending a reminder email is making sure you wrap it up nicely and sign off professionally. You don’t want to leave any loose ends or end the email abruptly, so it’s crucial to use a closing sentence and a professional sign-off.
Use a Good Closing Sentence
You should always end the email by giving the recipient the benefit of the doubt. You can easily do this by using an appropriate closing sentence. Here are a few common closing sentences you could choose from:
- “Thank you for prioritizing this matter.”
- “Thank you for getting back to me as soon as you can.”
- “I look forward to hearing from you.”
- “I appreciate your effort as we finish [insert project here].”
- “Thank you for taking the time to work through this.”
By utilizing any of the above closing sentences, you are not only giving the recipient the benefit of the doubt, but you are also appreciating the circumstances and making sure not to blame anyone in the process.
Use a Professional Sign Off
Just like a closing sentence, you should use a professional and friendly sign-off to make sure the tone of your email matches through until the end. As you did with the email salutations and the body of the email, you should consider your relationship with the recipient and decide how you wish to come across to them. When in doubt, you can use one of these common sign-offs:
- Kind regards
- All the best
- Thanks again
- Regards
- Sincerely
Depending on how casual or formal you want the email to be, you can sometimes opt for an emoji to close things out, too. The most important thing to remember is to be friendly and think about how your message could come across before sending it.
