Ah, the dreaded “keeping in touch” email. It often comes across as clunky — or worse, downright awkward. How do you reach out to someone for merely the sake of keeping up the relationship? It’s easy with friends and family. You just reach out with a specific memory or sentiment, and voilá! You’re back in the swing of things in no time.
What if you could do the same with your business contacts? These working relationships often blur the lines of business and friendship. Regardless of the level of professionalism in your connection with another, there are probably details you remember about them. This could be simply his love for golf or her cat’s name. Whatever little nugget of information you have, keep it at the forefront of your mind as you craft your email!
Keeping in Touch Email
There are a variety of situations that may necessitate a “touching base” email. You may want to stay in touch with an old coworker who has left the company. An old superior or higher-up may have mentored you, and you wish to reach out every so often. Potentially, a virtual client – someone you’ve never met face-to-face – is your intended recipient. Maybe you met a person at an event and want to reach out electronically.
Whatever the case may be, it’s important to keep a few things in mind:
Make it brief – but not too brief. You want to keep it conversational, but not too lengthy. Remember: you know this person in some capacity. He or she is not merely a stranger on the street, so keep it personable yet professional.
When crafting this type of email, it’s best to follow these hints and tricks.
When should you write a keeping in touch email?
As a general rule, you should write a keeping in touch email whenever you determine that a professional contact or an acquaintance that you may want to collaborate with in the future may need to be reminded that the two of you met and may collaborate in the future. You can either write a keeping in touch email for a specific occasion, like a congratulatory email, or without a clear reason, but simply as a transparent way of maintaining a line of communication between you and the contact.
Some of the most often encountered situations in which you should write a keeping in touch email are:
What is a keeping in touch email?
A keeping in touch email is a message delivered via email to a professional contact or a personal acquaintance, with the purpose of maintaining an open line of communication between you and them. As time passes, the network contacts made a while ago start to lose relevance, for various reasons like them pursuing other professional endeavors, making new contacts or simply forgetting that they met you.
Writing occasional emails can be an effective way to keep up to date with the newest developments in the lives and careers of these people, while also ensuring that they are aware of you and have an active relationship with you.
How to write a keeping in touch email
Consider these steps when creating a keeping in touch email:
1. Start with a brief and friendly salutation
Before writing the main body of text, you should start off with a cordial, but formal, greeting.
2. Decide the topic of the keeping in touch email
Such an email can either have keeping in touch as its main message or have a completely different topic, such as mentioning one of the recipients recent achievements or referencing one of yours.
3. Start the emails body by reminding them where you met
Before mentioning the reasoning behind your email, you need to briefly remind the recipient where you two met.
4. Keep it brief and add an invitation to keep in touch
Most keeping in touch emails should only be a few lines long, as the message is usually most effective when it is delivered directly. Briefly state your reasons for writing and then include an open invitation to continue communicating in the future.
5. End with a formal salutation
Similarly to the introductory part, the final greeting should be brief and formal, usually in the form of a short salutation followed by your full name.
Importance of keeping in touch emails
Modern technology allows professionals in every field to have very large numbers of contacts and acquaintances. However, the limitations of time and human memory dont typically allow a person to remember and to maintain an active relationship with every one of these contacts, so they voluntarily or involuntarily prioritize them in order of perceived importance, time passed since they last discussed and other such factors.
Sending an appropriate keeping in touch email shows the recipient that the sender considers them to be a valuable contact and that the two of them may be able to assist each other professionally, either at the time of the email or sometime in the future. A keeping in touch email has the potential of being a way to start a meaningful conversation that may create or strengthen a professional relationship.
Keeping in touch email template
Consider this template for a keeping in touch email:
Dear [recipient name],
It was great meeting you at the [place and occasion where you met]. The reason why I am contacting you is that I think your company and mine can collaborate on [a project that may involve both you and the recipient] in the near future. Lets get together soon and discuss the opportunity.
Regards,
[Your name]
Keeping in touch email examples
Consider these two examples of different ways and opportunities for a keeping in touch email:
Example 1
Dear Gina,
It was great meeting you at the Realtor networking event last week. I think your company has some interesting projects that we could definitely collaborate on and we should discuss them. Lets keep in touch and get together soon, so we can explore the possibility of our two companies working together.
Regards,
Michael
Example 2
Hey John,
Im writing to congratulate you on your big promotion! Youve been a wonderful servant for the company all these years and you fully deserve it. Keep up the good work and Id love to catch up soon!
Cheers,
Ramon
Example 3
Hi Amanda,
It was great to meet you at Ralphs Birthday party. I was especially interested in your insight regarding the proper way to roast coffee without losing any of its taste and smell. I am a coffee importer and Id like to explore the possibility of us collaborating on discovering new sources of coffee from South America. If youre not too busy, Id love to meet up with you and chat about this sometime soon. Please let me know when and if you are available next week.
Thanks,
Raphael Jones
Example 4
Dear Ms. Benson,
It was a pleasure meeting you at the Ben Buck Spring Fling event yesterday! Your tips about finding construction managers were extremely helpful – I actually sent an email summing them up to my team. We will be hiring a construction manager in the near future. I’d love to chat further next week, if you’re available. I hope you have a lovely day!
Best,
Jess Smith
Example 5
Hey Trong,
How are you? I hope you’re doing well at The New Bank. I was browsing online when I saw this article about the Chicago Cubs. I immediately thought of you! Let’s catch up soon.
Cheers,
John Martin
FAQ
How do you say stay in touch politely?
How do you write a catch up email?
- Shift your perspective. …
- Acknowledge the absence of contact. …
- Pay attention to tone. …
- Give them an out. …
- Offer to reciprocate. …
- Show appreciation. …
- Stay in contact.
How do I send an email to a mutual connection?
Hi [name], I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to send you a message to see how things were going at [name of company]. I’d love to reconnect sometime and catch you up on what I’ve been up to [post graduation or since we last spoke].
1) Create a database for potential clients in a spreadsheet detailing all of your past and potential clients. You can also use the Mailbird Contact Manager for that.
2) Trust your gut and take necessary action.
3) Arrange meetings with them.
4) Create a blog with them in mind.
5) Send them newsletters as regularly as possible.
6) Drop comments on their blogs.
7) Reach out to them via Twitter.
How do you send a “keep in touch” email?
8 keys to a good “keep in touch” email sample:
1) Come up with a specific topic, date, and time.
2) Attach a useful resource.
3) Mention familiar challenges.
4) Congratulate them after a promotion/event.
5) Reference a piece of their content.
6) Offer some advice they could try out.
7) Ask for important information.
8) Rehash your value.
