The people you're sending emails to are busy and receive a ton of emails on a daily basis. So, we can't think of all the reasons your emails might go unanswered. 

However, the best way to rekindle the conversation is to send your recipient a reminder email or follow up on your past email.

This article will teach you how to write a gentle reminder email and give you access to many templates you can use. 

30 reminder email templates and samples for every use case

Need to send a reminder email? Here you will find all the reminder email templates you need to re-engage your recipients and get your emails answered. 

Follow-up email reminder templates

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Reminder email to boss

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Reminder email to a professor

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Link-building reminder email templates

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Event reminder email templates

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Gentle reminder email template for meeting

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Friendly payment reminder email to client (overdue reminder email)

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Sales reminder emails

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Humble break-up reminder email template

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Collaboration reminder emails

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What is a reminder email?

A reminder email is:

  • An email you send to remind someone of an upcoming event.

  • An email you send to remind someone to act on something they should have done.

  • An email you send when something needs to be done in a given timeframe.

How to write your reminder emails

Let’s discuss the different elements that go into an effective reminder email and how you should structure them together.

This will also inform you on how to edit the templates to maximize your results. 

1 - Add contextual reminder email subject lines

Start writing your reminder emails by providing contextual reminder email subject lines.

If you do it right, the subject line lets the reader what the email is about upfront, and they’ll immediately know what is being expected from them.

You will need to be straightforward and specific. Here is an example of a late payment reminder email. 

payment reminder emails subject line

2 - Start with a courteous and polite greeting

Start your reminder message politely by greeting your recipient. That's a mandatory step for ensuring a polite reminder email. Anything like “Hey, Ernest” or “Dear, Ernest” will do just fine. 

great reminder email samples greeting

3 - Provide context

Thin about it; reminder messages without context can be vague.

So, quick question. 

Why are you writing a reminder email to your recipient? Why do you need to send a reminder email?

  • Because they forgot to reply to your email.

  • Because the due date has passed and you need to bring their attention to the missed deadline in your follow-up email.

  • Because you need to remind them that the payment has not gone through.

  • Because you need to remind them of the upcoming meeting or an upcoming event, so they don’t forget.

  • Because they didn't appear in the call, so you send them an appointment reminder or an event reminder email.

  • Etc.

So, your reason for sending the email reminder is what is being demanded of you here. Including is important to give the reader context about why you are emailing them and what they need to do to satisfy you.  

Whatever the situation is, you need to explain it with as many details and references to paint the full picture to your recipients.

You can include it directly in the email subject line to make it clear for the recipients as they open the email, so they know it's just a reminder email.

Also, make sure to include dates (if need be) and keep it concise and be unequivocal. Here is an excellent sample example. 

missed deadlines on payment email reminder

4 - Provide the solution

Your goal here is to provide recommendations or suggestions appropriate to the situation as you send a reminder email.

For example, if you are sending an appointment reminder email or event reminder emails, you can schedule a new appointment or event and specify it in a gentle reminder.

So, depending on the purpose of your reminder email, this may seem easy and obvious to you. But keep in mind that your ability to be polite, professional, and friendly play here. 

The reason for this is that you don’t know why your prior email has gone unanswered. So, being polite and professional is your best bet. 

email reminders with all the details

5 - Specify the next steps

This boils down to including a clearly defined call to action (CTA) inside your email. The purpose of the reminder email is to get the recipient to act.

And so, you should include the action you want them to take as the next steps they need to take after reading your email.

Also, since your reminder email will be circling the CTA (because you want the reader to act), it can be a good idea to include the CTA twice inside the email.

late payments and missing reminder emails

6 - Include a polite email sign-off 

By this stage, you have already written your reminder email and are ready to click send. All that’s left is for you to add a polite sign-off to your email. 

payment reminder email

Reminder email creation best practice

Now that you know the different elements that go into a reminder email and how to properly write and structure them let’s discuss a few tips you need to know before sending your reminder emails. 

1 - Be direct

Your email should clarify why you’re sending it. Keep in mind that you are writing a reminder email. There is no need to beat around the bush. Be specific and get to the point of your email.

If you intend to remind them about the time of the meeting, just do that and sign off the email. Also, don’t forget to be courteous. 

2 - Be polite and friendly

Getting an answer out of busy people may be hard and take way more time than you’d expect. You need to understand that there are a lot of reasons people might not be replying back to your email.

And whatever the reason, you need to keep your reminder polite and friendly. Also, you need to be patient and not come across as pushy. 

3 - Don’t be passive

Chances are, you are in their inbox for doing business, and you need to mean it. No need to be apologetic or sound passive in your reminder email.

Also, being passive will make you sound unconfident, and it can influence how the prospect views you negatively. 

So, be direct and sound firm. Keep in mind that if the recipient is not interested, they’ll let you know.

4 - Include a clear CTA

It makes no sense to send a reminder email to someone without clarifying the call to action. It’s the most important element in your reminder email because (in most cases) it is the action you’re trying to remind them to take. 

So, always make sure that you clearly explain what you want your recipient to do. Clearly defining the goal is important, so your prospect knows where to go next.

Also, if you can, provide with the necessary to ensure they take action easily without too much effort. So, instead of simply telling them to book a meeting with you on your website, it’s more advisable to include a calendar link in your email and let them do it straight from there. 

5 - Encourage communication

This is especially important if you are writing a reminder email to someone in order to get a response from them.

You don’t want them to read the reminder email and treat it like the previous email. So, you need to lay the groundwork and push for communication. 

Ideally, you’ll need to figure out the potential reasons your recipients might not be responding to your email.

Next, on the basis of those reasons, you can try to include question prompts and opportunities to get them to reply.

Key takeaways

  • Reminder emails are meant to get your recipients to act. So, don’t be afraid to write a demanding email with a clear call to action. Always remember that your email’s ability to drive answers is what makes it effective and successful. 

  • The first rule with reminder emails is to make sure you have a good enough reason before writing a reminder email to someone. 

  • As much as we love our reminder email templates, we cannot advise you to simply copy and paste the templates. Templates are meant to inspire you to write your actual email. So, always make sure you edit them into the email you want.