Cold email templates

How to follow up when a cold email gets no reply.

A follow up email after no response should add one new thing, not repeat the first email. Send it as a reply in the same thread, say again who you are, ask one easy question and keep the way out. Then stop: a last email that closes the loop, and nothing after a no.

All cold email templates Grade your own email

Should you follow up on a cold email?

Yes, when the first email had a real reason to write. In Belkins' 2026 follow-up study of 7,530,489 emails sent in Belkins' managed outreach in 2025, the follow-ups (steps 2 to 6 of a sequence) brought 58.6% of all replies, and the first email brought 41.4%. Belkins calls 3 to 5 steps the practical sweet spot for most B2B email sequences.

Those are Belkins' own campaigns, not these templates. Belkins builds Dylan. We publish no reply rate for the templates on this page.

Template: the second email

Send it when the first email got no reply and you have one new fact. Not a reminder: a reason to read again.

When to use itYour first email got no reply, and you have one new fact worth a second email.

Why it works

It sits in the same thread as your first email, so the reader sees what came before. That is a real follow-up, not a fake Re: on a first email.
It adds one new thing instead of repeating the first email, so there is something new to answer.
It says again who is writing and keeps the way out, because the reader may never have opened the first email.
One question, with an easy answer either way.

What not to do

"Just following up" or "circling back" with nothing new to say.
A new subject line that hides that this is the same pitch.
Guilt lines such as "I guess you're busy".

Grade the example

Template: The second email: one new thing

Subject: {{topic}} at {{company}}

Hi {{firstName}}, it's {{yourName}} at {{yourCompany}} again. I'm writing once more because {{reason}}. One thing I left out: {{detail}}. Is this worth a short call, or is the timing wrong? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, {{yourName}}

Send it as a reply to your first email, so the subject and the thread stay the same.

See it filled inExample

The second email: one new thing, filled inExample

To: Maya, Nordfeld
Subject: fuel cards at nordfeld

Hi Maya, it's Alex at Harrow Line again. I'm writing once more because Nordfeld's Ohio site opens soon, and fuel cards are easier to set up before the first trucks arrive. One thing I left out: each card can be limited to fuel only, so a lost card buys nothing else. Is this worth a short call, or is the timing wrong? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, Alex

The companies and the people are invented.

Template: the last email

The third email in this shape is the last. It says so, leaves a door open for later and keeps the way out.

When to use itYou have written twice with no reply. This email says it is the last, and it is.

Why it works

It says this is the last email, and then it is. A promise to stop only counts if you keep it.
It leaves a door open for later instead of pushing for now.
It restates the reason in one line, for a reader who never opened the first two.

What not to do

Calling it the last email and then sending another one.
A "breakup" line meant to sting, such as "I'll assume this isn't a priority".
Writing again after a no, from another address or another colleague.

Grade the example

Template: The last email: close the loop

Subject: {{topic}} at {{company}}

Hi {{firstName}}, it's {{yourName}} at {{yourCompany}}, with my last note on this. I wrote because {{reason}}, and I don't want to fill your inbox. Would it be fine if I wrote again in {{month}}? If you'd rather I didn't, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, {{yourName}}

Send it in the same thread as the first two emails.

See it filled inExample

The last email: close the loop, filled inExample

To: Maya, Nordfeld
Subject: fuel cards at nordfeld

Hi Maya, it's Alex at Harrow Line, with my last note on this. I wrote because Nordfeld just opened a second warehouse in Ohio, and I don't want to fill your inbox. Would it be fine if I wrote again in March? If you'd rather I didn't, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, Alex

The companies and the people are invented.

What should a follow-up never say?

"Just following up on my last note" when there was no last note. A follow-up is a reply to an email you really sent.
"Just following up", "circling back" or "bumping this" with nothing new. If you have nothing to add, the follow-up is noise.
A fake "Re:" or "Fwd:" on a first email. A real reply in a real thread is fine; a pretend one is a disguise.
Guilt or pressure, such as "I guess you're busy" or "last chance".
More than the first email had: more links, an attachment, a second ask.

When should you stop following up?

On the first reply. Any reply, even "not now", stops every scheduled email to that person. Dylan does this by rule: the next email stops the moment the reply is read, before any AI sees it.
On a no, and on every opt-out. The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide says opt-outs must be honored within 10 business days, and the law makes no exception for business-to-business email.
After the last email. If you said it was the last, it is.
When a whole company goes quiet. Pause there instead of writing harder. Cold email deliverability in 2026 explains why.

When should you send a follow-up?

In the recipient's morning. In Belkins' data, emails sent between 8 AM and noon had the best reply rate, 0.54%. We do not set a fixed number of days between emails here: give each email its own reason, and send it when the reason is true.

How does Dylan follow up?

Dylan writes, follows up and answers replies from his own mailboxes, in the shape of the templates above. You approve the first emails of every new angle before anything is sent. Read how Dylan writes, or grade your own follow-up with the cold email grader.

If an AI agent sends any of these, change the first line so it says so and names the company: "I'm Dylan, an AI agent working with Harrow Line." Every first email Dylan sends opens that way. Why Dylan says he is an AI.

Sources

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