How to Write Gentle Reminder Email [+8 Examples]

Gentle reminder emails are the necessary evils we all deal with at some point or on a routine.

With email marketing picking up steam and every brand shooting a hell lot of emails to their customers, unread emails are a sizeable category in any inbox.

As a matter of fact, Mailbird found 35% of any typical inbox is unread. In other words, more than one in three emails don’t get opened timely. Now you can either let that important piece of communication slip into those ever-growing inboxes or send a gentle reminder.

What Is a Gentle Reminder Email?

As the name suggests, a gentle reminder email is a polite way of re-pinging the recipient about the intended cause.

The reason is obvious. You didn’t get the reply, or the receiver simply forgot to open your email, among others. In any case, the idea is not to sound desperate and yet avoid missing whatever you wanted to achieve with that first send.

Though this sounds easy, there are a few details to do it right, such as what should be the subject line, how long should be the email body, etc.

Let’s discuss this case-by-case.

Writing to Boss

This can happen all too often as the managers/bosses have so much on their plates.

Put simply, this can be about anything, a specific project you discussed earlier, a reimbursement request, payroll related, etc.

There can be many variations of the subject line and the email body. However, the idea is to keep it short and to the point. Even if there are multiple aspects needing attention, present that in a list instead of writing one paragraph over the other; it helps the receiver to easily understand what needs to be done.

Payment Overdue

Getting paid on time is crucial for any business. But unfortunately, most let go of that ethos when it comes to paying on time.

And since it’s a sensitive subject for either side, a “bold” yet “gentle” approach is the key. The other side needs to understand the gravity of the situation, and business should continue without relations turning sour.

But when to send this payment reminder?

A lot of factors are in play here, such as how old is the specific business relationship, whether this is a common practice with this client, and most importantly, if you want to continue your business if this person is a repeat “offender.” Based on these factors, you can adjust the tone and time of your message.

In most cases, the next business day after the due date is perfect for sending payment reminders. However, I won’t prescribe waiting over a week in most cases.

Feedback Request

While learning is a lifelong endeavor, it’s especially crucial for beginners. I remember asking for feedback on my writing in a freelance writer’s subreddit back in 2020, and I thank that stranger to this date because it made a lot of difference.

But what to do if you don’t get any reply to your feedback request? It can be your teacher, a senior, or someone in your domain you admire beyond limits.

Additionally, the expert can be a renowned professional, getting such requests day in and day out. In that case, and especially when it’s not a personal relationship, you can also include a one-liner, such as “I’m ready to compensate for your effort”, to make it worthwhile for that person.

I know it can feel awkward to say that to someone you do not know, but I’ve encountered a “celebrity writer” who was skeptical about giving “free feedback.”

Needless to say, I turned to other writers (on Reddit) who gave me much more insight than I could ever ask or thank them for.

So, it can be the same case with you, and it’s perfectly okay since such experts are super busy, and offering them payment can catch their attention, especially if you don’t want to seek out other professionals.

Rent Reminder

This one will be the favorite for the landlords. You can always sound threatening, but it can cause legal troubles and isn’t advisable.

Instead, the approach should be professionally assertive.

Event Reminders

Event managers go under tremendous stress to make their projects successful. And the soul of any event is the headcount. Therefore, it’s necessary for event managers to confirm attendance well in advance in order to offer spare seats to others.

These reminders should be impactful and friendly, with clear wording asking for a response or face cancellation for their seat.

Though I made it look a bit more serious, you can relax the tone based on your case.

Meeting Reminder

Meeting absenteeism is one “serious” issue for many businesses, especially remote ones. I won’t delve into the debate about whether they are productive, but this is a fact that at least a few meetings are required for healthy collaboration.

And while there are all kinds of reminders on computers and smartphones, “totally forgot about that one” happened to many of us.

So, here is a meeting reminder template to ensure it gets attended at full capacity.

Job Application Reminder

Job applications are the ones that are answered the least. The reason can be the sheer number of incoming requests and the fact that most employers don’t bother sending decent rejection emails.

In any case, it can be confusing at the applicant’s end. Therefore, sending one or two reminders doesn’t hurt.

Deadline Reminder

We all deal with deadlines in all business spheres, with gentle reminders having a major use case here.

Using AI Tools to Write Emails

The best part about emails is they won’t get flagged for AI content like it’s with publications. Emails are messages, and the only thing that matters is how well you can convey the point.

This is where AI tools like ChatGPT, Bard, or Bing can help you write them.

While ChatGPT is freemium, Bing and Bard are 100% free.

These tools are conversational AI engines. You can talk to them like you would do your assistant to fine-tune the output.

However, like with any AI tool, the output can be a bit off sometimes. Conclusively, these utilities can certainly help but can’t entirely replace human intervention.

Be Gentle in Those Reminders!

Reminders are useful and serve their purpose. I often get approached with emails about a potential partnership with Geekflare. Being a writer with no say in management, I generally forward those to the outreach.

However, I still forget about a few occasionally, and what works in those situations are gentle reminders (sometimes a few🙂).

So, keep sending those reminders to your prospects because they indeed work.

This was our guide to gentle reminders with a few templates to help you get started. And in case you get stuck, the tools we discussed can make sending emails truly a walk in the park.