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Appropriate time before a follow-up e-mail?

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Hey, I am wondering what an appropriate time would be to wait before sending a follow-up message after your last message has not been returned.

 

Several days ago I contacted an SP for the first time, who replied warmly to my e-mail and gave me some basic information (A portion of the message was standardized but that's expected.) When I replied to that e-mail I gave her my phone number as she said I would have to at some point. However, it's been 4 days since then and she has not replied.

 

I am wondering how long I should wait before messaging her again, as well as what possible reasons there would be for not receiving a reply.

 

The most obvious one I can think of is that she is just busy. In that case I would not want to risk hassling her as she will reply when she can. However, I am worried that I might have accidentally said something to offend her and she is not replying intentionally, in which case I would not want to harass her with further e-mails but would also want to know what I did wrong so I can correct it in the future.

 

Or, the worst possibility (aside from something bad happening to her) is that she did reply via text to my phone but for some reason my phone did not receive it, in which case I am accidentally ignoring her! In that case I'd want to send a message asap.

 

Any advice on my situation or on timing for follow-up messages in general?

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Guest Ou**or**n

It all depends on how often she works. Have you seen her advertise since you emailed her? If so then likely something got missed and it would be appropriate to email her a follow-up. On the other hand maybe she is away on vacation or just not working at the moment.

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It also very much depends on the nature of your first email.

Was it to clearly set up a date and did you make that clear and for when?

Or was it a more general - hi how are you? With maybe a brief introduction of yourself and a question or two?

 

I don't know the circumstances but it is important to remember that these ladies are professionals. Their time is money and they aren't usually looking for pen pal relationships.

 

As mentioned I would also watch for other activities of the lady I've contacted. So for example if my first message was respectful and clear to set up a date this Friday I would clearly state that and also say that "I'm hoping you can get back to me by this Wednesday as I would very much enjoy meeting you and would like to confirm our time together". And if I saw that she is active on this board or other and advertising I would double check that I have the correct email/phone number and try once more. Then move on.

 

If your contact was more general in nature and didn't have an imminent date then again keep in mind these ladies are busy and they will get back to you.

 

Hope that helps.

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I would think there would be no issue to send another email. I would state, " Hello again, just wanted to follow up on our last email. I hope everything is alright and you are well. I am anxiously awaiting your reply. " then leave it there. She could have other obligations that is causing her to not be able to reply right away, but nothing wrong with sending another email. If no responds after that, then see if she posts her phone number as well. For me, I do tend to loose emails as I have so many to sift threw, so I post my number for an easier connection. If she does post her number on ads, then I suggest sending a friendly hello with a reference to your email.

 

You are a gentlemen from what I can see, so I am sure she must have lost track of your conversation or perhaps otherwise obligated.

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One thing I may add, if you use hotmail, live or outlook there is a good chance your email went into her spam - so resend or get a new email.

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