A networking follow up email after no response needs one new thing in it, sent a week or two later, in the same thread. Five templates, the timing, and when to stop.
After no response to a networking follow up email, wait one to two weeks, then reply in the same thread with one new thing they would find useful. If that gets nothing, send one last note with no ask three to four weeks later, and stop. This page is for people you met: the gaps are longer than in cold sales, because you are building on a conversation, not starting one.
By Kai, Founder of Cardr. Updated . Every template here is our own writing, and every figure links to the study it comes from.
A person you met has a reason to reply that a stranger does not, so give it time. And a second email that adds nothing hurts more than silence does.
You cannot know which it is, so each template below fixes one of them. Pick the one that fits what you remember.
| What is likely | What to change | Template |
|---|---|---|
| It got buried | Reply in the thread with one new thing | 01 |
| The ask was too big | Swap the call for one question they can answer in a line | 02 |
| Email is not where they live | One note on the channel they use | 03 |
| The timing is wrong | A last note that asks for a month | 04 |
| They told you when | Wait for that date, then write | 05 |
Words in brackets are yours to fill in. None of them guilt-trips, and none says “just following up”.
SubjectRe: [your first subject line]
Hi [first name], Bringing this back to the top of your inbox, with one thing I didn't have last time: [a new link, result or name, and one line on why it fits what they told you at (event)]. If now isn't the time, no problem at all. Best, [Your name]
Make it yours. The new thing. A reply that only says "bumping this" asks them to do the work of remembering you.
SubjectRe: [your first subject line]
Hi [first name], I asked for a call last time, which may have been more than you need. A simpler question instead: [one question they can answer in a sentence]. A one-line answer is plenty. Thanks, [Your name]
Make it yours. Make the question answerable from a phone, in one line. That is the whole point of this one.
Hi [first name], we met at [event] and I emailed about [topic], but email may not be the best way to reach you. Happy to pick it up here if that is easier.
Make it yours. Only switch to a channel they gave you or clearly use. Turning up in every inbox they have reads as pressure.
SubjectRe: [your first subject line]
Hi [first name], I won't keep filling your inbox, so this is my last note on [the topic]. [One genuinely useful thing: an article, a name, or a lesson, with no ask attached.] If the timing is better later in the year, just reply with a month and I'll come back then. Best, [Your name]
Make it yours. Mean "last". Then write their month down if they give you one, and come back on it.
Subject[Their timing], as you suggested at [event]
Hi [first name], When we met at [event], you said [their timing, such as after Q1 close] would be the time to talk about [what they needed]. Here we are. Is it still on your list? If the timing has moved, tell me when works and I'll come back then. Best, [Your name]
Make it yours. This only works if you wrote the date down on the day. It is also the one case where writing after silence needs no new reason: they gave you one.
Both studies counted cold outreach, not people the sender had met. They are the floor for you, not the ceiling.
+65.8%
replies with one follow-up
In 12 million outreach emails, sending one follow-up went with 65.8% more replies, and 8.5% of all the emails got a response (Backlinko, with data from Pitchbox, last updated April 16, 2019). Source. How we checked it.
6.8%
replies to three messages, against 3.3% for one
Sequences of three messages got more replies than single emails, 6.8% against 3.3%, in 31 million emails sent by Hunter users in 2025 (Hunter, State of Email Outreach 2026). Source. How we checked it.
The figure most pages lead with, that 80% of sales take five or more follow-ups, could not be traced to anyone who measured it. Nor could “44% give up after one follow-up”. Where those lead.
Your card, your page and every contact it brings in are free. Pro writes each follow-up from what you talked about and emails it to you at 9 a.m., ready to send.
See what Pro doesFor someone you met networking, one to two weeks after your first email. Sooner reads as pressure from someone they barely know. If they told you a date, wait for it instead.
Twice after your first email, then stop: one reply in the thread, then a last note three to four weeks later. In Hunter’s 2025 data, sequences of three messages in all got the most replies (6.8% against 3.3% for one), and that was for cold email.
The same thread, when it is the same topic, so they see the history without searching. A new thread only when you have genuinely new news that deserves its own subject line.
One new thing (a link, a name, a result) and one line on why it fits what they told you, then a small ask or none. A message that only says “just bumping this” asks them to do the remembering.
Once, if they use it. Say you emailed and offer to continue there. Messaging them on every channel they have reads as pressure, and loses the goodwill the meeting earned.
After your last note goes unanswered. Write it down and move on. The exception is a date they gave you, or real news of theirs, either of which is a fair reason to write again months later.