How to Send an Email the Right Way: Track, Follow Up, and Get a Response

In today‘s digital age, email remains one of the most powerful tools for communication, whether you‘re a salesperson trying to land a big account, a job seeker aiming to get your foot in the door, or an entrepreneur looking to network with influencers.

However, with the average office worker receiving 121 emails per day, it‘s more challenging than ever to get your messages opened, read, and responded to. Sending a great email is both an art and a science – and by using the right strategies and tools, you can dramatically boost your chances of success.

In this guide, we‘ll walk through everything you need to know to send emails the right way, including:

• The best days and times to press "send" for maximum engagement
• How to track your emails to gain valuable insights
• Proven tactics for writing irresistible subject lines and body copy
• The secrets of highly effective follow-up emails
• Essential tools for managing your pipeline and measuring results

Whether you‘re a complete beginner or a seasoned email marketer, this post will give you a complete framework for crafting emails that get opened, clicked, and responded to at an incredibly high rate. Let‘s dive in!

The Importance of Email Tracking

Far too many people still treat email like a black box. They spend time carefully writing a message, hit send, and then wait and wonder whether their email was opened or acted upon.

But some of the most successful emailers I know track their messages religiously. Doing so allows you to collect immensely valuable data like:

• Whether your email was opened, and how many times
• Which links within the email were clicked
• Whether any attachments were downloaded
• The (approximate) location of the recipient when they opened it
• Which device type (desktop vs mobile) they read it on

This information provides a wealth of actionable insights you can use to optimize your approach. For example, if you notice that a key decision maker clicked a link to your product page but didn‘t respond, you can craft a timely and relevant follow up. If an email wasn‘t opened at all, you may decide to try a different subject line and resend it.

Popular Email Tracking Tools

There are a number of great tools on the market that make it dead simple to track your emails. Here are a few of the most popular:

• Mailtrack – A free browser extension that integrates seamlessly with Gmail and provides instant open and click notifications. Paid plans unlock more detailed insights.

• Yesware – A more robust, sales-oriented tool with email tracking, templates, CRM integration and more. Pricing starts at $12/month.

• Bananatag – Specifically built for employee communications, Bananatag offers email tracking as well as advanced measurement and collaboration features. Pricing begins at $10/month.

• HubSpot Sales – HubSpot‘s freemium sales tools include email tracking as well as meeting scheduling, live chat, and predictive lead scoring. Higher tiers include CRM integration and automation.

Whichever tool you choose, once you start tracking, you‘ll wonder how you ever lived without it. The real-time notifications and analytics are invaluable for gauging interest, timing your outreach, and optimizing your emails.

The Best Time to Send Your Emails

Now that you‘re armed with email tracking, when should you pull the trigger and hit send? Timing has a major impact on open and response rates, so it‘s well worth being strategic about when you deliver important emails.

The Best Day to Send Emails

Multiple studies have analyzed millions of emails to determine the ideal day to press send. While results vary, Tuesdays and Thursdays consistently come out on top. Here‘s the logic behind this finding:

Mondays tend to be the most hectic, with employees working through emails that piled up over the weekend and planning the week ahead. Friday, meanwhile, is a common day off and even among those in the office, minds often start to drift toward the weekend.

Tuesdays and Thursdays represent a sweet spot – the week is in full swing but employees aren‘t yet drowning in meetings and deadlines. One caveat is that since many email marketers are keen to these trends, inboxes are more crowded on these popular days.

The Best Time to Send Emails

As for timing, studies show that emails sent in the late morning between 10 am and noon tend to get the best response rates, with a peak around 11 am. If you‘re aiming for the top of the inbox, catching people right as they settle into their workday is a good bet.

That said, it‘s worth experimenting with off-times as well, such as 8 pm to midnight. While open rates tend to be lower in the evenings, those who do open are more likely to click and engage since there are fewer distractions.

How to Schedule Emails for the Perfect Time

Once you determine your ideal send window, an email scheduling tool allows you to compose emails whenever you want but have them delivered at a specified date and time. Most email clients now have this functionality built in:

• In Gmail, compose your email and then click the downward pointing arrow on the "Send" button. Choose "Schedule Send" and pick your date and time.

• In Outlook, click "Send Later" under "Tags" on the "Options" tab. Enter your desired delivery time or choose from the suggested options.

Scheduling is especially handy if you‘re catering to recipients in different time zones. By sending emails at each person‘s local optimal time, you can ensure that everyone has an equal chance to see and respond to your messages promptly.

The Anatomy of an Irresistible Email

Of course, even perfectly timed emails will only succeed if they grab the recipient‘s attention and provide clear value. Here are the key components of high-performing emails:

Subject Lines

An email‘s subject line is like a newspaper headline – if it doesn‘t immediately hook the reader, they won‘t make it to the body copy. Great email subject lines are:

• Concise: Aim for 30 to 50 characters so they aren‘t truncated on mobile.
• Specific: Vague subjects like "Quick question" or "Intro" underperform.
• Urgent: Create a sense of timeliness with phrases like "tomorrow," "24 hours left", etc.
• Curiosity-Inducing: Pique the recipient‘s interest so they have to learn more.
• Personalized: Include the recipient‘s name or company to create familiarity.

Some examples of compelling subject lines:

• Noah, your next machine learning project
• I found you the perfect developer. Interview Monday?
• Acme Co + [Your Company]: So many synergies
• $15,000 savings for Acme Co (details inside)

Consider crafting 5 to 10 subject lines for each email and then choosing the strongest one. You can also A/B test different subject lines on a segment of your list before deploying the winner to the rest.

Body Copy

The key to a great email body is to quickly deliver on the promise of the subject line and provide a clear reason for the recipient to respond or take action. The most effective emails tend to:

• Start with a personalized greeting: "Hi Sarah," outperforms stale openers like "To whom it may concern."
• Get straight to the point: Put your key message or ask upfront rather than burying it.
• Stay concise: Keep emails to 5 sentences or less when possible. Break up longer emails with short paragraphs, bullets, or numbered lists.
• Provide obvious value: Make it crystal clear how the recipient will benefit by taking action. Avoid being salesy and focus on them, not you.
• Name drop familiar people/brands: Mentioning a mutual connection or well-known company can build quick rapport and credibility.
• End with a clear call-to-action: Don‘t assume the recipient knows what to do next. Spell out the exact action you want them to take, such as "Book a 30 minute demo here" with a link.
• Feature a professional signature: Include your full name, title, company, and contact details to foster trust and facilitate follow ups.

Keep in mind that writing styles can vary depending on your industry and relationship with the recipient. In some cases, such as emailing a warm lead, a more casual and brief message may work best. When in doubt, put yourself in the recipient‘s shoes and consider what would convince you to open, read, and respond positively.

How to Send a Follow-Up Email

If you haven‘t heard back after a few days, a well-timed follow up email can salvage the opportunity and dramatically boost your odds of getting a response. The key is to be polite, add value, and make responding as easy as possible for the recipient.

Here‘s a general follow-up timeline and approach I recommend:

• 3 days after initial email: Send a quick check in: "Hi Joe, I wanted to put this back on your radar in case it got buried. I‘d love to get your thoughts when you have a chance."
• 7 days after initial email: Share a relevant resource: "Hi Joe, I came across this ebook on machine learning for e-commerce and thought you might find it useful. Let me know if you‘d like to discuss further!"
• 14 days after initial email: Try a fresh angle: "Hi Joe, I noticed Acme Co. recently launched a new AI-powered chatbot. I have some ideas about how we can build on this momentum together. Do you have 15 mins to discuss?"

If you still haven‘t received a response after 3 to 4 follow ups, it‘s usually best to move on and focus your energy elsewhere. Continuously emailing someone who isn‘t engaging can come across as annoying and hurt your chances of connecting down the line.

Putting It All Together with the Right Tools

Mastering the art and science of email outreach is an ongoing process. But by combining the strategies above with key tools and systems, you can execute at scale and continuously improve your results over time.

In addition to email tracking software, some of the most important tools to leverage include:

• CRM software: Platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive help you manage your contacts, track deals, and stay organized as you build relationships over email and other channels.

• Email automation: Marketing automation platforms like Mailchimp and Constant Contact allow you to create complex email sequences that get automatically sent based on triggers, saving you time while fostering lead nurturing.

• A/B testing: Most email tools include A/B testing features which allow you to experiment with different subject lines, copy, send times, and more to continually optimize your emails for your unique audience.

By taking a data-driven and systematic approach to email outreach, you‘ll be able to connect with more people, build stronger relationships, and ultimately achieve your business goals faster.

Now it‘s time for you to put these lessons to work. Commit to tracking every email you send this week, experimenting with 3 new subject lines, and following up on any unanswered thread from the last month. As you start seeing the results, you‘ll be motivated to make this approach to email a permanent habit.

If you found this guide valuable, you may also want to check out:

• [Link to content on writing compelling copy]
• [Link to content on relationship building]
• [Link to content on productivity/time management]

Thanks for reading and happy emailing!