A friendly
reminder email can be an effective tool in running your business. But most of
us aren't sure how to write good reminder emails.

We don't
want to come across as pushy or unfriendly, but we do want to get our message
across appropriately. Most importantly, we want the email recipient to do the task we are
reminding them about. Finding the right balance for your reminder email can be
a struggle.

Fortunately,
there are ways to write a friendly reminder email that are both effective and
professional. In this tutorial, we explain how to write a friendly reminder
email that gets better results. We also share some email best practices and provide an effective
reminder email sample you can work from. 

6 Situations That Require a
Reminder Email

Here are
just some of the instances when you may need to send an email reminder:

1. 
   Late Payment - No one wants to wait to be paid. If
   someone owes you money and it's late, you need to find out when you can expect
   payment.


2. 
   Late Work - Teamwork is a common scenario in
   business or school situations. If you work on a team and someone hasn't done
   their part, it can affect the whole project. You need to tactfully let them know they're
   behind.


3. 
   Follow Up on a Job Application - If you are job hunting, you'll want
   to follow up on interviews and applications. At the same time, you don't want to
   alienate your contact at a potential employer.


4. 
   Late Shipment - When you've ordered something and it
   hasn't arrived. You need to let the vendor know that their shipment is late. If
   the item is out of stock or unavailable, you need to request a refund.


5. 
   Inaction on the Part of the Recipient - Any time someone promises to do
   something for you and fails to follow through in a timely fashion, you want to
   encourage them to act. A friendly reminder email can help.


6. 
   An Important Milestone is Near - Sometimes you want to remind your
   contact not to miss an upcoming event. Sending a gentle reminder before a
   required meeting or important deadline might be helpful.

The key to
writing an effective reminder email is to remain professional and friendly. This is
particularly true for a first reminder, since your contact's lack of action may
be the result of an oversight. You don't want to damage your relationship with
that person.

At Envato Tuts+ we have several tutorials that explain email
best practices for writing a professional email and provide examples. To learn
more, study:

• 
  Email
  
  
  How to Master Proper Business Email Format - and Avoid Professional Disaster
  
  
  Laura Spencer


• 
  Writing
  
  
  How to Write Clear and Professional Emails
  
  
  David Masters

The first tutorial clearly explains how to decide whether
to write a formal or informal email. The second explains how to make your
emails clear and concise.

When Should You Send a
Reminder Email?

You may
wonder how long to wait before you send out a reminder email. Should you wait a
day, a week, longer?

The answer
partly depends on your agreement with the other party.

If the
action you are waiting for is due on a specific date, send a gentle reminder
email on the first day that the action is actually late. Usually, this is the
first business date after it was due. Examples include:

• Late
  payments


• Unmet
  deadlines


• Late
  shipments

Generally
speaking, if a set date was agreed upon and that date isn't met—extra
waiting doesn't help. Waiting could even hurt your chances of getting a
response since the details of your agreement may be forgotten over time. The
longer you wait, the less likely it is that your contact will remember what
they are supposed to do.

In contrast,
if the action you are waiting for does not have a specific due date, you can
give your contact a little extra time. This is particularly true when you ask
an acquaintance for a favor. For example, you ask an acquaintance to deliver
your resume to their company's HR department and you don't hear back from them
right away. You may be anxious about a possible job and want to contact them on
the first business day after they agreed to help. But, it's better to wait a
week or so before you check back with them.

One way to
make sure that you send reminders in a timely fashion is to schedule the
reminder in advance. Tools like Boomerang can be set to automatically send a
follow up message if you don't receive an email reply.

To learn more about using Boomerang to automate
reminders, review:

• 
  Gmail
  
  
  How to Send an Email Later With Boomerang for Gmail (At the Best Time)
  
  
  Laura Spencer

How to Write an Effective Email Reminder

Now that
we've discussed some of the circumstances of writing a reminder email, it's
time to look at a more specific example of what to write in a reminder email.

For the
purposes of this tutorial, I'll take a look at one common type of reminder—a
missed deadline.

Before we
get started, however, I want to let you in on a big timesaver when it comes to
writing emails that you are likely to send more than once—use templates. By
creating email templates for various situations, you avoid starting fresh each
time you send a particular type of message. Plus, templates can easily be
customized to include specific details.

Gmail has a feature, Canned Responses, that can
help you set up drafts of emails to reuse. Here is our Canned Responses
tutorial:

• 
  Gmail
  
  
  How to Create Email Templates in Gmail: With Canned Responses
  
  
  Laura Spencer

Another good
point about using a Canned Response is that you are less likely to add emotion
into your reminder email, which keeps it friendly and helpful.

Now, let's get started with our friendly
reminder example and analyze each component of how to write a reminder email.

1. Email Reminder Subject Line

After you've
chosen your message recipients, the first part of your reminder message to
consider is the subject line. If you're tempted to skip the subject line,
don't. Email messages without a subject line often go directly to Spam.

The subject
line is also important because it's the first thing the recipient sees. If
they receive lots of emails, the subject line may determine whether they open
the email message you send.

To get the
recipient's attention, I use the phrase "Response Required" in the
subject line. I also include the project name, since they may be involved with
more than one project.

So far, our message looks like this:

After
deciding on a subject line, you're ready to move on to the next step in
creating your friendly reminder email. Let's look at how to write a reminder email salutation.

2. Email Reminder Salutation

While you may be tempted to jump right into the body of
your reminder email and not include a salutation, avoid the temptation. Your
email will be much better received if you address your recipient by name.

In our example, we know that the project team member's
name is Joan Perez, so we'll address this email reminder message to her. Since
we know Joan well, it's okay to start with an informal salutation using the
word "Hi" followed by a first name, as in the example below:

If we didn't know Joan well, we could start with a more
formal greeting such as "Dear Joan." If we didn't know Joan's name,
we could address her by position. For example, "Dear Project ABC Team
Member."

For more specific examples on how to start and end a
professional email, take a look at this tutorial:

• 
  Email
  
  
  How to Start and End a Professional Business Email
  
  
  Laura Spencer

3. Email Reminder Body Text

Now that
we've chosen an email subject line and salutation, we're ready to move on to
the body of the email reminder message, and cover the main part of what to write in your reminder email. This is where you actually communicate
your main message.

You can
divide the body of your email reminder message into several parts:

1. 
   First Sentences - Since this is a friendly reminder,
   it's a good idea to start the message on a positive note. This keeps your
   message from seeming too harsh. If you can't think of anything specific, state
   something friendly like "I hope you are doing well."


2. 
   Main Message - This is where you need to communicate
   the purpose of the message. Think carefully about what you want to say here. Be
   as clear as possible. Explain exactly what is overdue (work, payment, shipment,
   etc.) and when it was supposed to have been delivered.


3. 
   Call to Action - Finally, tell the message recipient
   what you'd like them to do. Usually, this is a request for them to perform a
   desired action—but in some instances, such as a late shipment, you may want to
   ask for a refund instead. It's also a good idea to offer help in the body of
   your message, such as an offer to answer questions.

In the reminder email sample we are writing to
Joan Perez for Project ABC, we incorporated these elements as follows:

Note that the
body of the reminder message starts on a positive note by complimenting Joan's
earlier work. It moves on to a direct paragraph about the missed deadline.

Finally, the
message closes with a call to action asking Joan for a date when the missed
work will be submitted. The project manager also offers to answer questions and
even provides their phone number.

4. Closing Your Friendly Email
Reminder

The final
step in creating a friendly email reminder is to close your message. You'll do
that with one last sentence and your email signature.

Your final
sentence should reflect the tone of the rest of your email. If you used a
formal tone throughout the email, you should close on a formal note as well.
Likewise, if your email is informal your closing should be informal as well.

Let's look more closely at our example:

For our
closing sentence, we end on a positive note by assuming that the recipient is
going to take action. Also, we did not include the company name or further
contact information since the email recipient is well known to us.

For a more
formal reminder email (such as contacting a vendor about a late shipment),
include more of the sender's information, such as:

• Name


• Title


• Company


• Address


• Phone


• Email

You may even wish to incorporate an email signature into your reminder message. Here's a list of some professional email signature templates you may wish to consider, as well as tips on how to best use them:

• 

  12+ Professional Email Signature Templates: With Unique Designs

  A great email signature comes across as both creative and memorable. In this article, we curate over a dozen professional email signature template designs.
  
  


• 

  9 Professional Email Signature Tips—With Best Template Examples

  In this article, we take a close look at email signatures and include template examples. Here are nine tips for creating email signatures that are both...
  
  

When to Pick Up the Phone

A friendly
email message can be an effective reminder. Often, that's all it takes to get a
matter resolved. Sometimes, though, a phone call is more effective than an
email reminder. This is especially true when you've already sent an email and it's
been ignored.

If you do
decide to make a phone call, here are some quick guidelines to help you make a
successful call:

• 
  Call During Business Hours - You are more likely to reach someone who can help you if
  you call at a time when they are likely to be in.


• 
  Be Friendly and Courteous - A professional attitude can help smooth over
  misunderstandings.


• 
  Don't Threaten or Make Accusations - Your contact is less likely to cooperate if they
  are upset or angry.


• 
  Get Right to the Point - You need to be clear about what the problem is and what
  they can do to resolve it.


• 
  Make It Easy for Them to Comply - If you are collecting a payment, explain how they
  can pay online and direct them to the link.

In
certain cases you may need to resort to extreme measures (such as hiring an
attorney or escalation the situation to your manager). But, those measures are
a last resort. When you can, it's best to try to resolve the situation with a
friendly reminder email or a friendly call. A friendly approach leaves your professional relationship
intact for future transactions.

Conclusion

If you've
ever wondered what to write in a reminder email, you now have some guidelines
you can follow. Just remember to follow the email best practices
outlined in this tutorial and in the resources I've shared.

Above all,
remain friendly and professional as you write your reminder email. Maintaining
the relationship leaves the door open for future transactions with your
contact.

Have you ever had to write a friendly reminder
email? How did you handle it? Share your experiences in the comments below.