# Follow-up email after no response: five templates you can copy > Follow up email after no response template, five versions: a short nudge, a value add, a new angle, a formal chase and a polite final email. Source: https://askmomo.app/templates/follow-up-email-after-no-response ยท Updated 16 October 2026 A follow-up after no response does one job: bring the original email back to the top of the inbox with the ask restated in one line. Send the first one three business days after the original, in the same thread. Below are five versions for the first nudge, the second, a new angle, a formal chase and the last email before you stop. ## What should a follow-up email after no response say? Three things, in this order: a one-line reminder of what you asked, the single easiest way to answer, and a deadline or a graceful exit. Reply in the original thread so the first email sits underneath. Do not apologise for following up and do not ask whether they received it. Keep it under a hundred words; a long follow-up reads as pressure. ## Template 1: short nudge after three business days Use this for the first follow-up when nothing has changed since the original email. ``` Subject: Re: [original subject] Hi [Name], Bringing this back to the top of your inbox. I had asked about [the one thing you asked for] and would like to [what happens next, e.g. lock the date, send the revised scope] this week. A one-line reply is enough: yes, no, or a better time to ask. Thanks, [Your name] ``` ## Template 2: second follow-up with something new Use this a week after the first nudge, and only when you can add one useful thing: a document, a number, an answer to a question they are likely to have. ``` Subject: Re: [original subject] Hi [Name], Since I last wrote, [the new thing: we finished the pilot numbers / the venue confirmed availability / the draft is attached]. I thought it would make the decision easier. The question is still the same one: [restate the ask in one sentence]. If this is not the right quarter, tell me and I will stop chasing. If it is, [the specific action: a 20-minute call, a yes on the draft, a date] would move it along. Best, [Your name] ``` ## Template 3: change the angle Use this when two follow-ups in the same thread have gone unanswered. A new subject line and a shorter ask give them a fresh reason to open it. ``` Subject: Quick question on [topic] Hi [Name], Different question from my earlier emails. Is [topic] still something you are looking at this year, or has it dropped off the list? Either answer helps. If it has dropped off, I will close the file and check back in [month]. If it is still live, I can send a one-page summary instead of the long version. [Your name] ``` ## Template 4: formal follow-up for a senior or external contact Use this for a government office, a senior executive, a lawyer or anyone where a casual nudge would land badly. ``` Subject: Re: [original subject]: following up Dear [Mr/Ms Surname], I am writing to follow up on my email of [date] regarding [matter], in which I requested [the specific request]. I would be grateful for your response by [date], as [the honest reason: the filing window closes / the board meets / the quote expires on that date]. If the matter should be directed to a colleague, please let me know who, and I will write to them directly. Thank you for your time. Yours sincerely, [Your full name] [Title, organisation, phone] ``` ## Template 5: the final follow-up Use this as the last email, two to three weeks after the first. It closes the loop without guilt and often gets the reply the others did not. ``` Subject: Re: [original subject]: closing this out Hi [Name], I have written a few times about [topic] and have not heard back, so I will assume the timing is not right and stop here. If that is wrong and you would still like to [the outcome], reply to this email at any point and I will pick it straight back up. Thanks for your time either way. [Your name] ``` ## What to change before you send Each template has placeholders, but the parts people forget to edit are the ones that matter. - Reply in the original thread, so the subject line starts with `Re:` and the first email is quoted underneath. Only Template 3 starts a new thread, on purpose. - Restate the ask in one sentence. If the original email had three asks, pick the one you most need answered. - Replace the deadline placeholder with a real date and a real reason. A made-up deadline is obvious and costs you the next follow-up. - Delete any sentence that starts with "Just checking", "Sorry to bother you" or "I know you are busy". They lower the status of the ask without helping the reader. - In Template 2, if you have nothing new to add, use Template 1 again instead. An empty value-add is worse than a plain nudge. - Check who else was on the original thread. If a colleague of theirs was copied, keep them copied; dropping people reads as going around them. ## How long to wait between follow-ups Three business days after the original for the first nudge, one week after that for the second, and one to two weeks after that for the final email. That is three follow-ups over roughly a month, which is enough for almost any work request. Compress it when there is a real external deadline and say so in the email. Stretch it for senior people, holidays and anything that needs their finance or legal team. If the original email offered a date, the follow-up goes out the morning after that date passes, not three days later. [How many days to wait before following up](/blog/how-many-days-to-wait-before-following-up) covers the exceptions, including investors and job applications. ## Let Momo AI chase it The hard part is not the wording, it is remembering which of forty sent emails is still waiting. Momo AI's [follow-up tracking](/follow-up-tracking) reads your Gmail Sent folder, lists every thread with no reply after the days you choose, and writes the nudge in your own voice to Gmail Drafts. You open the draft, change a word if you want, and tap Send. Nothing goes out without that tap. Founders chasing a quiet investor can see how it fits on the [founders page](/for/founders). ## Questions ### How do you politely follow up on an email with no response? Reply in the same thread, restate the ask in one line, offer the easiest way to answer and give a real date. Leave out apologies and "just checking in". ### How many times should you follow up on an unanswered email? Three times over about a month is the usual limit for work email: a nudge, a second email with something new, and a final close-out. After that, stop or change the channel. ### What is a good subject line for a follow-up email after no response? The original subject line with `Re:` in front, because it keeps the thread together. Change the subject only when you are deliberately changing the angle. ### Should I apologise in a follow-up email? No. A follow-up on a reasonable request needs no apology, and apologising makes the request easier to ignore. Be brief and specific instead. ## Related - [Know who hasn't replied, before you forget you asked](https://askmomo.app/follow-up-tracking) - [Email templates you can copy, then stop writing by hand](https://askmomo.app/templates) - [Follow-up email after a meeting: five templates for the same day and the week after](https://askmomo.app/templates/follow-up-after-meeting) - [Follow-up email after sending a proposal: five templates, from first check-in to close-out](https://askmomo.app/templates/follow-up-after-sending-proposal) - [How to follow up on an email with no response, with six polite templates](https://askmomo.app/blog/how-to-follow-up-on-an-email-with-no-response) --- Momo AI (Ask Momo, askmomo.app) is a personal AI assistant and chief of staff for Gmail and Google Calendar, built in India. It triages your inbox, drafts replies in your voice to Gmail Drafts, tracks who hasn't replied and what you promised, schedules meetings over email, and sends a morning brief. 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