{"id":5562,"date":"2019-01-24T13:00:03","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T12:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/?p=5562"},"modified":"2025-01-21T10:25:40","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T09:25:40","slug":"follow-up-statistics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/follow-up-statistics\/","title":{"rendered":"These Stats Prove The Importance of Follow-up Emails"},"content":{"rendered":"

A follow-up<\/a> email<\/span> is an integral part of any cold email<\/span> campaign. But is one enough? When should we send it? Should we personalize it? I decided to look into data and answer some of those questions. Today I bring you the results of my research. Time for some numbers.<\/p>\n

Follow-up emails are required<\/h2>\n\"A\n

I learned that if you don\u2019t follow up on your opening email<\/span>, you can reach 9% reply rate on average. However, if you add at least one follow-up message to your email<\/span> sequence, your average reply rate goes around 13%.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the most experienced users, the percentages are higher. In this case, those who send only one email<\/span> without follow-ups achieve a 16% reply rate on average. In comparison, users who send at least 1 follow-up in a campaign reach 27%.<\/p>\n

Even without analyzing the content and the schedule of follow-up emails<\/span>, it gives you solid evidence of how important they are in your outreach strategy.<\/p>\n

Learn more: Why Should You Always Follow Up?<\/a><\/p>\n

How many follow-up emails after no response to your initial email?<\/h2>\n

The most optimal number is 2-3 follow-up emails<\/h3>\n\"A\n

From what I\u2019ve gathered, sending 2-3 follow-up emails<\/span> is the most optimal. Top performers usually send just that, and if you compare it with our last year’s blog post: What we\u2019ve\u00a0learned from sending 20+M Emails<\/a>, it seems nothing has changed.<\/p>\n

The first follow-up email<\/span> is naturally the most effective. It brings the highest reply rate — even about 40% higher comparing to the initial email<\/span>. Definitely worth the effort.<\/p>\n\"A\n

For example, if your initial emails<\/span> have an average reply rate of 6%, a single follow-up may increase the total average reply rate to 8.5%. Nice.<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s see what happens when we compare the reply rate of the whole campaign with two separate reply rates: the one of the first follow-up and that of the opening cold email<\/span>. My research shows that a campaign with so many as one follow-up converts about 22% more prospects, than the one without any.<\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t sending more emails increase the chances of getting a reply?<\/h3>\n

I would like to believe that the more follow-up emails<\/span> in a sequence, the better. Theoretically, each follow-up email<\/span> increases the total reply rate of the whole campaign. So the smartest move would be sending as many follow-up emails<\/span> as we can, wouldn\u2019t it be?<\/p>\n

Well, the data shows that flooding your prospects\u2019 inboxes with messages is not the answer. The 5th, 6th or 7th follow-up email<\/span> brings you merely a fraction of the total percentage, so the people who go for quantity don\u2019t seem to have a better reply rate.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also something else you need to think about. Each follow-up you add takes up your time. You need to write it, personalize it and include it in the schedule. Thus the question is… Should you waste your time on putting more than necessary?<\/p>\n

My advice to you is that enough is as good as a feast. Don\u2019t bury prospects under your emails<\/span>. You may easily overdo it, and get labeled as a spammer from one of the irritated addressees. You don\u2019t want that. Once you lose your sender\u2019s reputation it is hard to recover it.<\/p>\n

How to Check & Improve the Reputation of Your Domain and Email Server IP >><\/a><\/p>\n

Frequency matters more than you would think<\/h3>\n

I found out that the frequency of your follow-ups is more important than their quantity.<\/p>\n\"A\n

Although it\u2019s pretty much a matter of trial and error, there is a golden rule that clearly stands out — sending a follow-up too soon will make you look pushy and intrusive. Give your prospects at least 2-3 days to think stuff over and reply to you.<\/p>\n

Read more about finding the optimal frequency of follow-ups >><\/a><\/p>\n

Woodpecker<\/span> allows to send up to 11 follow-ups within 1 campaign, but it\u2019s up to you how many you chose to schedule. Experiment, analyze, improve, repeat.<\/p>\n

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