How to follow up on an email politely

The polite way to follow up on an email is to restate the ask in one line, make the question smaller or yes/no if you can, and give the reader an easy way to have simply missed it.

Following up on an email politely is mostly about making the second message easier to answer than the first. Don't just forward the thread with 'any thoughts?' - restate the ask in one line, make the question smaller or binary if you can, and give the reader a graceful way to have missed it. Silence is rarely rejection; inboxes are simply brutal. A good follow-up assumes goodwill, adds a reason for the timing, and lands close enough to the top of the inbox to get actioned. These phrases escalate gently from first nudge to final attempt.

9 polite ways to follow up on an email

Ordered from most gentle to most direct.

  1. 1.“Just floating this back to the top of your inbox - no rush if this week is packed.”
  2. 2.“Following up on the below - is this something you can weigh in on this week?”
  3. 3.“I know inboxes are brutal, so a quick re-send. The one-line version: [restate ask].”
  4. 4.“Circling back on this - even a quick yes/no would unblock me.”
  5. 5.“Wanted to nudge this before [event/date], since we'd need your input by then to act on it.”
  6. 6.“Following up once more - if you're not the right person for this, could you point me to who is?”
  7. 7.“This is my second follow-up, so I'll keep it short: [ask]. Does [proposed option] work?”
  8. 8.“I'll assume [default action] unless I hear otherwise by [date] - just reply 'hold' if that's wrong.”
  9. 9.“Last try on this one - if I don't hear back by [date], I'll close it out and move on.”

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Frequently asked questions

How long should I wait before following up on an email?
Two to three business days for routine asks, up to a week for big requests, and same-day only when genuinely urgent. Following up on a Monday or Tuesday morning tends to outperform Friday afternoons, when messages sink fastest.
How many times can I follow up before it's rude?
Three well-spaced, well-written follow-ups is the practical limit for most asks. After that, switch channels - a call, a chat message, or a mutual contact - or gracefully close the loop with a deadline-based final message.
Should I re-send the original email or write fresh?
Reply on the same thread so the context travels with you, but always add a fresh one-line summary of the ask at the top. Making the reader scroll down to reconstruct what you need is the main reason follow-ups get ignored twice.

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