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How To Write A Gentle Reminder Email? (Steps & Examples)

Whatever field of profession you are in, everything is moving towards digitalization in today’s fast-paced globalized world.

You could be in any business if it involves e-mail marketing in one form or the other, just know that reminders are something you are going to need to have in consideration and work on.

A reminder email efficiently steers the topic back to where you want it to go, will help you navigate conversations in a specific direction, increase engagements and interactions with consumers, and aid in building lasting business relationships.

Although the concept of a gentle reminder email seems quite simple, it has to be well-planned. By this, we mean that it has to be well thought out in terms of how it is written, the tone, the choice of words, etc. The little details go a long way because, at the end of the day, a reminder email aims to persuade readers.

Keep reading this blog to find out all you need to know about crafting a gentle reminder email, we’ve curated the best tips to help you perfect your reminder emails.

What is a Reminder Email and When You Should Write One?

A reminder email is a friendly email you send to someone to request that they take action. They are emails that carry messages that get a certain point across but do not create hard feelings. They are by nature professional and effective, but at the same time, are friendly and gentle.

Here’s one simple example so that it’s even clearer for you – if a client of yours has missed a deadline to make a payment, the email you send to gently remind them and perhaps even ask when you can expect a payment is what is called a reminder email.

Sending a reminder email has two main purposes – the first is that it is a way of prompting customers to a quicker reply in a courteous manner, and the second is that it helps in re-establishing a line of communication that enables you and the people who receive the email to stay on the same page.

There are many situations where a gentle reminder email is necessary, like instances when some important event is supposed to occur or when something should have occurred and didn’t. We have listed out some key scenarios where a reminder email needs to be sent.

1. Upcoming important events

There are just some events that you cannot take the risk of people forgetting. So, sending a reminder email is necessary.

2. Late payments

This is a no-brainer. When payment deadlines are not met, sending a gentle reminder is a must.

3. Missed work deadlines

How To Write Gentle Reminder Emails?

Every business operates with time constraints. Reminding employees in a courteous manner of missed work deadlines is needed.

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4. Pending engagements

Whether it’s pending job interviews or applications, you have to send a gentle reminder email in these scenarios.

5. Communication lapses

With everyone’s busy schedules, it’s easy to promise to do something and forget to do it. I think we’ve all been guilty of this. So, sending a gentle reminder email to re-establish contact is a good move on your part.

Now that you know a little about reminder emails, let’s look at the right time to send one!

What is the Right Time to Send a Gentle Reminder Email?

Determining the right time to send a reminder email can be tricky. You don’t want to send it too early because you don’t want to risk coming off as overbearing. It also depends a lot on what you are emailing about. Is it a personal friend? Is it about an important event? Or perhaps a missed work deadline? Could it be a job interview callback? The nature of the topic will determine the time frame.

For example, if a work deadline is missed, you can send a reminder email in one business day. A similar scenario would be if a payment deadline was missed, sending a reminder email one business day after the due date is appropriate. If you keep postponing it, then the person/persons may eventually forget about it. And then it will be more difficult to re-establish communication after a prolonged period.

However, if you intend to follow up on something with no assigned specific due date, it’s courteous to wait a little longer – maybe even a week. Especially in cases where it was a favor, sending a reminder email too early gives off a bad impression.

In the case of follow-up emails for job interviews, you have to keep in mind that the hiring process for any company cannot be swiftly done. Instead of rushing to send a gentle reminder email on your part, if you can wait for at least a week or two (preferably 10-14 days), it showcases your part’s quality of patience as well as respect for your potential employer’s time and authority.

If it is for an event (work or personal), a gentle reminder 2 business days ahead gives the receiver enough time to physically and mentally prepare for the event.

The takeaway from all these examples we have explained is to give you an idea of an appropriate time frame, depending on the nature of the email.

Since you now know the appropriate time to send an email reminder, let’s look at how to write one! There can be no ‘perfect’ gentle reminder email, but here are some tips to keep in mind when you draft your one.

How To Write A Gentle Reminder Email?

1. Appropriate Subject Line

This will be the first thing a recipient sees before opening your reminder email. So, choosing an appropriate subject line carries weight. Adding a subject line assures whoever receives your email that you are not a spammer. Especially if it is in the case of a job interviewer or even a vendor who does not know you well and may not necessarily have your contact information.

If your reminder email is about something urgent such as a missed work deadline or missed payment, then subject lines such as – ‘Action Required’ or ‘Response Required’ capture attention and persuade people to open your reminder email. If it is in cases of reminding someone about a favor they promised to do, a phrase like ‘Following Up’ is courteous.

2. Greet Your Recipient

A gentle reminder email should always start by greeting your recipient. Jumping straight into the reminder is rude and can be off-putting to the reader. Greeting your recipient instantly gives the reminder email a friendly vibe and sets the tone for the rest of the email.

Greet Recipients In Your Reminder Emails

Although deciding how to greet your recipient can be hard, you don’t need to stress over it. If the subject is related to work, then the standard ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’ is professional; if it is a more personal subject, salutations such as ‘Dear’ can be used. To set a casual tone, you can also use greetings like ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello’.

3. Start with a Friendly Message

After the initial greetings, you should always start your gentle reminder email with a friendly message. Don’t go off-topic; it is best to be specific and reference something related to the recipient. For example – “I hope everything is going smoothly with work” or “Congratulations on the recent success of your….’.

If the recipient has done something nice for you or promised to do a favor, you can start your reminder email by thanking them. An example of this would be – “Thank you so much for your contribution…” or “Thanks for your proposal on…”. If you do not know to who you are sending your reminder email, then playing it safe and greeting with “I hope you’re having a good day/week” is fine as well.

4. Avoid Using Blaming Language

Be cautious of how you write, and try not to use accusatory words or anything that implies that the other person is at fault. It is best to avoid using literal statements like “You are late for your payment…” or “You have missed your deadline…”, instead opt for statements “We would like to remind you to kindly ….”. Doing so allows you to convey your message and not place the blame entirely on the recipient.

5. Make it Specific

After providing an appropriate subject line and finishing your greetings, it’s best not to beat around the bush too much. No matter the content’s nature, nobody has the time or patience to read lengthy, elaborate emails. So, you should get to the point without being blunt.

The ultimate goal of a reminder email is to prompt a follow-up action. Therefore, you must make it clear that they require follow-up action.

You can do this and maintain a friendly tone by using statements like – “I’d appreciate it if you could…” or “Please let me know when I can expect….”.

6. Encourage Follow-Up Communication

Your reminder email should encourage follow-up communication. After conveying the necessary message, you should include a line or two that opens a line of communication.

An example would be to use statements like “Feel free to reach out if you have any questions…” or “I look forward to hearing from you…”. Statements like these create the foundation for establishing cordial relations and open up channels for follow-up communication.

7. Wrap Up

The last tip is never to forget to end your reminder email by properly signing off. Some appropriate sign-off words are – Best regards, Kind regards, Sincerely, etc.

After this, you end it with your full name, or if the recipient is a personal friend, you can end it with just your first name. You should also note that before you wrap up, a good closing sentence along the lines of “Thank you for prioritizing this email…” or “I look forward to hearing from you…” should be added before signing off.

Now you know how to draft a gentle reminder email, but we’d still like to show you some examples to help you understand how it works! Take a look!

Reminder Email Examples

Here are three reminder email examples that we’ve curated for you:

1. Gentle Payment Reminder Email

Subject Line: Sender: invoice (76543) Overdue Payment

Mrs. Lena,

I hope you are having a lovely week.

This is a gentle reminder that we have yet to receive payment from you of $200 in respect of our invoice (76543) due for payment on 15th November 2022.

This invoice is now overdue and becoming quite problematic for us. If you could please let us know when payment can be made on your part, it will be greatly appreciated as this is quite an urgent matter.

Best regards,

Ashley Miles

2. Event Reminder Email

Dear Susan,

This is a gentle reminder email for our upcoming company product launch event on December 3rd, 2022, at 10 am. I look forward to seeing you there. Please feel free to reach out and ask any queries regarding the event.

Warm regards,

Anne Tucker

3. Interview Reminder

Hello,

This is a kind reminder of your scheduled interview with the company on the 5th of December 2022 at Avery Building (3rd Floor, Room 3B).

We look forward to discussing and testing your expertise and assessing whether you will be a good fit for our company.

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your time. We look forward to speaking with you soon!

Sincerely,

Jaden Locke

Avery Records

Before you go, we’d like to introduce you to a tool allowing you to create beautiful professional interactive emails in minutes! Read on to learn more!

Elink: The Perfect Tool to Create Reminder Emails!

Elink.io is the fastest and easiest way to create and send beautifully looking and responsive emails in minutes! It is light on the budget, easy to use, and comes with all the features you need to create and share stunning reminder emails that people want to click through.

The platform has a huge collection of fully responsive templates! You can choose a template, add links to the content you need to share, and elink will create a stunning, fully responsive, interactive business email immediately!

Write A Reminder Email With Elink.io Templates

The best part about these templates is that you can customize them however you want. This means you can add your images, text, bullet lists, numbered lists, buttons, social icons, and dividers to the header and footer of your reminder email.

Gently remind your audience with the help of beautifully crafted emails by elink!

Wrap Up

A great reminder email is both efficient as well as impactful. It fulfills the intended purpose and does so in a kind manner.

Reminder emails assist in remembering useful information and encourage awareness about approaching deadlines and events to recipients, all the while maintaining friendly relations.

Now that you know the ins and outs of crafting a gentle reminder email, all that is left is to start drafting. With elink, by your side, your work got a lot easier too! Happy emailing, folks!

Further Reads:

10 Email Preheader Best Practices To Boost Open Rates!

What are Editable Newsletter Templates & Where to Find Them?

9 Best Email Newsletter Software You Should Know About in 2023

7 Types of Emails You Must Send to Your Customers!