with the skill
## How many and how far apart
Send **4 follow-ups after your first email, 5 touches total**, with gaps that widen:
| Touch | Day | Angle |
|---|---|---|
| Email 1 (sent) | 0 | Your original |
| Follow-up 1 | 3 | New angle or insight |
| Follow-up 2 | 8 | Social proof from a similar company |
| Follow-up 3 | 14 | Useful resource, no pitch |
| Follow-up 4 | 21-28 | Breakup |
Send Tuesday to Thursday, 9-11am or 1-3pm in their time zone. Avoid Monday mornings and Friday afternoons. Roughly half of replies come from follow-ups, but returns drop after the fourth, so don't go past this.
## The sequence
Brackets are placeholders. I haven't seen your first email or your proof points, so fill these with real specifics. Send each one as a reply in the same thread (a real reply, not a fake "Re:" subject).
**Follow-up 1 (day 3): new angle**
Show the rest (35 more lines)
> One thing I left out. Teams your size usually lose a few hours a week to [specific pain, e.g., onboarding paperwork and time-off requests living in spreadsheets]. We've been helping [similar company] get that into one place.
>
> Is that on your plate right now?
**Follow-up 2 (day 8): proof**
> [Customer], a [size/industry] company, was dealing with [problem] before they switched. Within [timeframe] they [specific result].
>
> Happy to send the short version of how they set it up if that's useful.
**Follow-up 3 (day 14): resource**
> I put together a one-page checklist on [topic, e.g., what to have in place before a hiring wave]. No pitch attached.
>
> Want me to send it over?
**Follow-up 4 (day 21-28): breakup**
> Looks like the timing isn't right, so I'll stop emailing. If [problem] moves up the list later, reply anytime and I'll pick it back up.
>
> Good luck with [their goal, e.g., the Q3 hiring push].
## Rules to follow
- **Honor the breakup.** Once sent, don't contact them again.
- **Stop everything on any reply**, on any channel, including LinkedIn.
- **Keep each email under about 75 words.** Each must make sense on its own, since they may not have read the others.
- **No "just checking in," "bumping this," or "I never heard back."** All of these lower reply rates.
- **Add a plain-text opt-out line and your postal address** to your signature, e.g., "If this isn't relevant, reply 'no' and I won't follow up."
- **Turn off open and click tracking.** Judge the sequence by replies.
- **Only one link in total, and none in the early emails.** Follow-up 3 offers the checklist instead of attaching it.
## What would make this stronger
If you send me your first email, the prospect's role and company size, and one real customer result, I can tailor each follow-up with actual specifics. If you have a trigger signal like a hiring push, new funding, or a new HR leader, I can build the angle around that, which usually outperforms generic follow-ups.