If you’re tired of chasing people down with reminders or hate babysitting your inbox, this guide’s for you. Automating follow-up emails can save you hours each week, and it spares you those awkward “just circling back” moments. Here’s how to set up automatic follow-up emails in Mailreef — and what to watch out for, so you don’t end up spamming people or burning bridges.
Why bother with automatic follow-ups?
Sending follow-up emails by hand is easy to push off until tomorrow (or next week, or never). But replies rarely happen after just one email. Most people genuinely forget to respond — or your first message gets buried. That’s why smart email senders automate follow-ups. It:
- Saves you time and mental energy.
- Increases your reply rate (by a lot, if you do it right).
- Keeps your pipeline fresh, whether you’re selling, recruiting, or just trying to get an answer.
But let’s be honest: done badly, automated follow-ups come off as robotic and annoying. The key is to set things up so they sound human, go out at the right time, and don’t cross the line into nagging.
What you’ll need
- A Mailreef account (any paid plan gets automation; free trials sometimes work, but check first).
- A list of the people you want to email — in spreadsheet or CSV format.
- The actual follow-up messages you want to send (write these first; you’ll thank yourself later).
Don’t have these ready? Pause here and get your list and drafts in order. Automation is only as good as the stuff you feed into it.
Step 1: Prep your follow-up sequence
Before you touch Mailreef, decide:
- How many follow-ups? Usually one or two is plenty. Three is pushing it, unless you’re SURE it’s welcome.
- Timing: Most people do 2–4 days after the first email, then a week after that. Don’t follow up daily — you’ll look desperate.
- Content: Each follow-up should add value, not just repeat “Did you see my last email?” Try to rephrase, offer something new, or make it easier for the person to reply.
Pro tip: Write your emails like a real person. Avoid stiff templates and don’t pretend you’re following up “just in case you missed this.” Be direct and polite.
Step 2: Import your contact list into Mailreef
- Log into Mailreef.
- Go to the “Contacts” section (sometimes called “Audience” — Mailreef’s UI changes now and then).
- Click “Import” or “Add Contacts.”
- Upload your CSV or paste in your list. Make sure columns like First Name, Last Name, and Email are mapped correctly.
What can go wrong:
- If you upload duplicates, Mailreef usually tries to de-duplicate, but it’s not perfect.
- Watch out for typos or blank emails. Those will bounce and hurt your sender reputation.
Ignore:
- “Custom fields” and tags for now, unless you have a super-targeted campaign. You can always segment later.
Step 3: Create your initial email campaign
- Hit “New Campaign” (or whatever button starts a new email sequence).
- Choose your audience — usually the list you just imported.
- Write your subject line. Keep it short, real, and specific. “Quick question about [topic]” is better than “Exciting Opportunity Awaits!”
- Draft your first email. Use personalization fields (like {First Name}) if you want, but keep it simple.
What works:
- Short, conversational emails get more replies.
- If you’re asking for something, make it dead easy to say yes.
What to ignore:
- Overly fancy design. Plain text works best for follow-ups.
Step 4: Add automatic follow-up emails
Here’s where most people get lost — but Mailreef makes this pretty straightforward.
- In your campaign editor, look for “Add Follow-Up” or “Sequence Step.”
(This is usually below your first email draft.) - Set when the follow-up should go out. Choose “X days after no reply.”
(Don’t pick “regardless of reply” unless you want to annoy people who already wrote back.) - Write your follow-up message. Again, keep it short and human.
- Bad: “Just following up on my previous email.”
- Better: “Hey {First Name}, wanted to check if you had a chance to think about [topic]. Any thoughts?”
- Repeat if you want a second (or third) follow-up, but don’t overdo it.
Pro tip:
Mailreef lets you tweak the sending window (like only on weekdays, or within certain hours). Use this. No one likes getting a business email at 2 a.m. on a Saturday.
Step 5: Review your settings before launching
This part matters more than you think. Double-check:
- Who’s getting the campaign? (Did you accidentally select your whole list?)
- Are the “if no reply” conditions set up?
If you miss this, everyone gets all your emails, even if they respond after the first one. - Timing makes sense?
Don’t stack follow-ups too close together. - Unsubscribe link included?
Mailreef usually adds this by default, but check. It keeps you legal and polite.
What to ignore:
- Overly granular tracking settings. Open rates are unreliable thanks to modern email privacy. Focus on replies.
Step 6: Hit send (or schedule) and monitor replies
When you’re ready, hit “Send” or “Schedule.” Mailreef will queue everything up and take care of the automation.
- Replies will show up in your inbox, not in Mailreef (unless you’ve set up their reply tracker).
- If someone replies, Mailreef should automatically stop sending them further follow-ups. Check this by sending a test to yourself first.
- Monitor your campaign for a few days. If you’re getting angry replies or bounce-back errors, pause and adjust.
Pro tip:
Don’t obsess over open rates. Instead, look at how many actual replies you get. That’s what matters.
What works — and what doesn’t
Works: - Follow-ups that reference your earlier message, but don’t just repeat it. - Being straightforward about why you’re following up. - Giving people an easy out (“Just let me know if you’re not interested.”)
Doesn’t work: - Too many follow-ups. After two, you’re probably wasting your time (and annoying people). - Fake “re:” subject lines. People see through this. - Over-automation. If your sequence sounds like a robot, no one replies.
Common pitfalls to avoid
- Sending to the wrong list. Double-check before you launch.
- Not testing. Always send a test to yourself. Make sure the follow-up really stops after you reply.
- Overwriting your own messages. Save drafts in a separate doc so you don’t lose your work if Mailreef times out.
If you want to get fancy
Mailreef offers extras like A/B testing, conditional branching, and analytics. These are fine if you’re running big campaigns, but for most people, they’re distractions. Start simple, get results, then layer in complexity if you need it.
Wrapping up
Automating follow-up emails in Mailreef isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to mess up if you rush. Start with a clear plan, write like a human, and keep your process simple. Monitor what works, tweak your timing or message, and don’t be afraid to ditch what doesn’t work.
If your follow-ups aren’t getting replies, change one thing at a time and try again. The goal isn’t to pester people — it’s to get answers without losing your sanity.