How to Write a Friendly Reminder Email (Using Best Practices)

If you’re unsure of what to write in a friendly reminder email, here's some helpful ideas. Learn how to write an effective reminder email that get results.

A friendly reminder email can be an effective tool in running your business. But most of us aren't sure how to write and send a good reminder email.

We don't want to come across as pushy or unfriendly, but we do want to get our message across appropriately. Most importantly, we want the email recipient to do the task we're reminding them about. Finding the right balance for your reminder email can be a struggle. This can be especially tough if you don't know how to remind someone to pay you or follow up on an interview, for example.

Fortunately, there are ways to write a friendly reminder email that's both effective and professional. In this tutorial, we explain how to write a friendly reminder email that gets better results. We also share some email best practices and provide an effective reminder email sample you can work from.

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Jump to content in this section:

• How to Write an Effective Email Reminder
• 6 Situations That Require a Reminder Email
• When Should You Send a Reminder Email?
• When to Pick Up the Phone
• Master Your Inbox With Our Free eBook
• Find Everything You Need to Create From Envato Elements

How to Write an Effective Email Reminder

For the purposes of this tutorial, I'll take a look at one common type of reminder—a missed deadline. This will be the basis of my reminder email template example.

Before we get started, however, I want to let you in on a big timesaver when it comes to writing emails that you're likely to send more than once—use templates. By creating reminder email templates for various situations, you avoid starting fresh each time you send a particular type of message. Plus, templates can easily be customized to include specific details.

Now, let's get started with our friendly reminder example and analyze each component of how to write and send a reminder email.

1. Email Reminder Subject Line

After you've chosen your message recipients, the first part of your reminder message to consider is the subject line. If you're tempted to skip the subject line, don't. Email messages without a subject line often go directly to Spam.

The subject line is also important because it's the first thing the recipient sees. If they receive lots of emails, the subject line may determine whether they open the email message you send.

To get the recipient's attention, I use the phrase "Response Required" in the subject line. I also include the project name since they may be involved with more than one project.

So far, our "this is a friendly reminder" message looks like this:

After deciding on a subject line, you're ready to move on to the next step in creating your friendly reminder email. Let's look at how to write a "this is a friendly reminder" email salutation.

2. Email Reminder Salutation

While you may be tempted to jump right into the body of your reminder email and not include a salutation, avoid the temptation. Your email will be much better received if you address your recipient by name.

In our example, we know that the project team member's name is Joan Perez. We'll address this reminder email example message to her. Since we know Joan well, it's okay to start with an informal salutation using the word "Hi" followed by a first name, as in the example below:

If we didn't know Joan well, we could start with a more formal greeting such as "Dear Joan." If we didn't know Joan's name, we could address her by position. For example, "Dear Project ABC Team Member."

For more specific examples of how to start and end a professional email, take a look at this tutorial:

3. Email Reminder Body Text

Now that we've chosen an email subject line and salutation, we're ready to move on to the body of the email reminder message. This is where you actually communicate your main message.

You can divide the body of your email reminder message into several parts:

1. First Sentences. Since this is a friendly reminder, it's a good idea to start the message on a positive note. This keeps your message from seeming too harsh. If you can't think of anything specific, state something friendly like "I hope you're doing well."
2. Main Message. This is where you need to communicate the purpose of the message. Think carefully about what you want to say here. Be as clear as possible. Explain exactly what is overdue (work, payment, shipment, etc.) and when it was supposed to have been delivered.
3. Call to Action. Finally, tell the message recipient what you'd like them to do. Usually, this is a request for them to perform a desired action—but in some instances, such as a late shipment, you may want to ask for a refund instead. It's also a good idea to offer help in the body of your message, such as an offer to answer questions.

In the friendly reminder email sample, we're writing to Joan Perez for Project ABC. We incorporated these elements as follows:

Note that the body of the reminder message starts on a positive note by complimenting Joan's earlier work. It moves on to a direct paragraph about the missed deadline.

Finally, the message closes with a call to action, asking Joan for a date when the missed work will be submitted. The project manager also offers to answer questions and even provides their phone number.

4. Closing Your Friendly Email Reminder

The final step in creating a friendly reminder email is to close your message. You'll do that with one last sentence and your email signature.

Your final sentence should reflect the tone of the rest of your email. If you used a formal tone throughout the email, you should close on a formal note as well. Likewise, if your email is informal, your closing should be informal as well.

Let's look more closely at our reminder email example:

Take a look at our closing sentence in our friendly reminder email sample. We end on a positive note by assuming that the recipient is going to take action. Also, we did not include the company name or further contact information since the email recipient is well-known to us.

If you want to know how to send a formal reminder email (such as contacting a vendor about a late shipment), include more of the sender's information, such as:

You may even wish to incorporate an email signature into your reminder message. Here's a list of some professional email signature templates you may wish to consider, as well as tips on how to best use them:

6 Situations That Require a Reminder Email

Here are just some of the instances when you may need to send an email reminder:

1. Late Payment. No one wants to wait to be paid. If someone owes you money and it's late, you need to know how to remind someone to pay you.
2. Late Work. Teamwork is a common scenario in business or school situations. If you work on a team and someone hasn't done their part, it can affect the whole project. You need to tactfully let them know they're behind.
3. Follow Up on a Job Application. If you're job hunting, you'll want to follow up on interviews and applications. At the same time, you don't want to alienate your contact at a potential employer.
4. Late Shipment. When you've ordered something, and it hasn't arrived. You need to let the vendor know that their shipment is late. If the item is out of stock or unavailable, you need to request a refund.
5. Confirm an Appointment. If you've set up an appointment with someone, send a reminder a few days in advance. This will make sure they still plan on attending and potentially give both parties time to reschedule.
6. An Important Milestone is Near. Sometimes, you want to remind your contact not to miss an upcoming event. Sending a gentle reminder before a required meeting or important deadline might be helpful.

The key to writing an effective reminder email is to remain professional and friendly. This is particularly true for a first reminder since your contact's lack of action may be the result of an oversight. You don't want to damage your relationship with that person.

At Envato Tuts+, we've got several tutorials that explain email best practices for writing a professional email and provide examples. To learn more, study:

The first tutorial clearly explains how to decide whether to write a formal or informal email. The second explains how to make your emails clear and concise.

When Should You Send a Reminder Email?

You may wonder how long to wait before you send out a reminder email. Should you wait a day, a week, or longer? The answer partly depends on your agreement with the other party.

Is there a specific due date? Send a gentle reminder email the first business day after it was due. Examples include:

• late payments
• unmet deadlines
• late shipments

Try not to wait if a set date was agreed upon. The longer you wait, the less likely it is that your contact will remember what they're supposed to do.

If there isn't a specific due date, you can give your contact a little extra time. This is particularly true when you ask an acquaintance for a favor.

For example, you ask an acquaintance to deliver your resume to their company's HR department, and you don't hear back from them right away. You may be anxious about a possible job, but it's better to wait a week or so before you check back with them.

When to Pick Up the Phone

A friendly email message can be an effective reminder. Often, that's all it takes to get a matter resolved. Sometimes, though, a phone call is more effective than an email reminder. This is especially true when you've already sent an email, and it's been ignored.

If you do decide to make a phone call, here are some quick guidelines to help you make a successful call:

• Call During Business Hours. You're more likely to reach someone who can help you if you call at a time when they're likely to be in.
• Be Friendly and Courteous. A professional attitude can help smooth over misunderstandings.
• Don't Threaten or Make Accusations. Your contact is less likely to cooperate if they're upset or angry.
• Get Right to the Point. Be clear about what the problem is and what they can do to resolve it.
• Make It Easy for Them to Comply. If you're collecting a payment, explain how they can pay online and direct them to the link.

In certain cases, you may need to resort to extreme measures (such as hiring an attorney or escalating the situation to your manager). But, those measures are a last resort. When you can, it's best to try to resolve the situation with a friendly reminder email or a friendly call. A friendly approach leaves your professional relationship intact for future transactions.

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Find Everything You Need to Create From Envato Elements

You've seen how to send a reminder email with an example above. Now, see how you can spice up your emails and other creative projects with templates from Envato Elements.

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Don't Forget to Send That Email!

If you've ever wondered how to write and send a friendly reminder email, you now have some guidelines you can follow. Just remember to follow the reminder email template outlined in this tutorial and in the resources I've shared.

Above all, remain friendly and professional as you write your reminder email. Maintaining the relationship leaves the door open for future transactions with your contact. So, this is a friendly reminder to send your email and to check out more tutorials and templates from Envato Tuts+.

Editorial Note: This content was originally published in March of 2017. The tutorial has been reviewed by Nathan Umoh to ensure the content is still accurate and relevant.