How to Write a Good Reminder Email

A good reminder email is important for a variety of situations. These messages help people keep upcoming appointments, missed payments, events and more top of mind. When writing a reminder email, it’s crucial to keep the tone professional, polite and to the point.

Writing a good reminder serves as an effective way to engage people who are often busy with a number of other tasks. Writing a reminder can also be the deciding factor between a great visit and a no-show appointment. It’s easy to assume that clients will have their own calendar notifications in place, but it’s safer to provide them yourself.

What is a reminder email?

Reminder emails can also include directions to your office, forms that need to be completed, or post-visit instructions.

Other than alerting your clients to an upcoming appointment, reminder emails can serve additional purposes. Emails make communicating easier and save everyone time. Connecting with clients before a visit gives you the opportunity to answer questions or reschedule if they can’t make it. Plus, instead of your front desk spending a part of the day leaving voicemails, you can write reminder emails and automate them for a faster response.

Steps to writing the perfect reminder email

Crafting a reminder email sure to get your clients to their appointments isn’t as tricky as you may think. For people who have written them in the past, you might already have a good template to start from. If you keep the following tips in mind, you’ll be sending your email off before you know it.

Nail the subject line

Emails are judged before they’re opened. In a crowded inbox, it can be easy for your message to get lost. Your clients should be able to identify your emails right away and get a sense of what they’re about.

When writing an eye-catching subject line, your biggest focus should be clarity. You need to grab your clients’ attention immediately without coming across like spam. The best subject lines for reminder emails get right to the point and encourage recipients to find out more.

Start friendly

Remember that you’re interacting directly with your clients. Keeping your tone light and positive puts your clients at ease and adds a human touch to an automated message. After the greeting, start your email with a friendly line relating to your clients. If your reminder email is being sent for an appointment, maybe thank them for booking a visit and mention that you look forward to servicing them. When you send reminders to book a follow-up appointment, let clients know it was great to see them last time.

Confirm the appointment

The purpose of your email should be apparent within the first few couple lines. The details included in your message should be as specific as possible and leave no room for confusion on the time, place, type of appointment, or services being rendered.

Depending on the software you’re using, you can include different things in your email. Waivers or intake forms, for example, can be attached to be filled out before the appointment starts. You can also add directions to your office or give advice for parking.

Be actionable

Near the end of your email, you should encourage your clients to take a next step. For emails with paperwork attached, emphasize completing forms before the appointment. If you prefer to get a response from every reminder, ask them to reply with a quick confirmation to secure their appointment.

Clients who are receiving a reminder to book a secondary training course or follow up appointment can be given a link to your main website with an embedded scheduler. If you have a custom booking site, direct them to book their next appointment now by following the link.

What to remember when writing a reminder email

Like all methods of communication, if you aren’t careful, something can get lost in translation or be interpreted as annoying or rude. To make sure your email is in good shape, keep these suggestions in mind:

1. Keep your email personal and friendly - No one wants to read an email that sounds robotic or seems like junk mail. Also be sure to check spelling and grammar.
2. Focus on the key points - If you don’t tell clients when their appointment is coming up or other important information, your email won’t serve its purpose. Remember to inform your clients of everything they need to know prior to the appointment.
3. Provide value - You don’t want your clients to feel like they wasted their time on an email they could’ve skipped. Make sure to include something that can help them on the day of the appointment, like the best route to take.

Sending your reminder email

Once your email is written, it’s time to send them to your clients. When getting ready to send your email, the main component to factor in is your timeframe. A reminder email should be sent 1-2 days before the appointment. This way, your visit is fresh in the clients’ minds, and they still have enough time to prepare.

There are several types of email providers who can deliver your message, but the simplest way to keep track of everything is by using an appointment scheduling software capable of running email campaigns. You can provide clients with online scheduling, unlimited appointments, and email/text notifications.

Now that you know how to write a reminder email, give it a try! Take some inspiration from these tips and find a tone or style that fits your business best. When you send reminder emails, you’re helping clients get one step further to your office.