9 Best Gentle Reminder Email Examples for Polite Follow-Ups

Ingrid Johansen

Copywriter

March 5, 2025

20 min read

We are always with a million tasks on our hands, and it’s difficult to remember them all. This is one of the main reasons why gentle reminder emails are so important. And you don’t need to take our word for it. Just take a look at your email today and carefully see how many different emails you get. However, this doesn’t mean that you’re going to open and read them all. We never do. This is why it’s crucial to know how to write the best gentle nudge email.

You want to make sure that you are always polite and that you’re not too pushy. But you don’t want to be forgotten either. Simply put, it’s a somewhat difficult balance to achieve. However, with our help, you can do it. Just keep reading and discover the right strategies to use, the tone, frequency, and you’ll even get to see different gentle reminder email examples to help you.

What Exactly Is a Reminder Email?

A reminder email is a message you send to ensure someone doesn’t forget something important. Generally, they fall into two broad categories:

• Upcoming reminders – These emails notify someone about an event or deadline in the future, like a meeting, appointment, or subscription renewal.
• Follow-up reminders – These emails prompt action on something that has already happened, such as an overdue payment or a missed deadline.

Depending on the situation, reminder emails can also serve as gentle nudges, urgent alerts, or simple check-ins. The key is striking the right tone—clear, courteous, and to the point.

Why Are Reminder Emails So Important?

As you probably already know, reminder emails exist to help us remember important things. As we said at the beginning of this article, it may be difficult to remember everything you need to do when your hands are full.

That’s where tools like Flowlu can help. Instead of manually keeping track of every follow-up, you can automate reminders for tasks, invoices, and appointments—ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

When you want to know how to professionally remind someone of an email, it’s important to keep in mind that you need to be polite but never nagging. To avoid this, you should try to maintain a professional tone in your email.

Writing a gentle reminder email is never easy, but you’ll get the hang of it. The more emails you write, the better you’ll become.

When Should You Send a Reminder Email?

As you can easily understand, the best time to send a reminder email depends on what you need to remind the person about. For example, if you’re about to send a gentle reminder email about a meeting or appointment that will happen, you should make sure that you send it one or two days before the date. This will give the person time to read it and add the meeting or appointment to their calendar. However, if you’re sending a gentle reminder email about the rent payment, you want to send it one week in advance.

5 Most Popular Types of Gentle Reminder Emails

As we already told you above, there are many different types of reminder emails. Some of the most common are:

1: Meeting / Appointment:

This includes a business meeting or a personal appointment, such as a doctor appointment.

2: Event:

This email is sent when you want to let people know about an upcoming event. It may be a celebration at your company, for example.

3: Deadline:

This email can be sent to remind you of a project deadline or a tax payment you need to make.

4: Cart Abandonment:

If you do online shopping, you may have already received some cart abandonment emails. These alert you to the fact that you left some items in the shopping cart and urge you to continue shopping and complete the purchase.

5: Subscription Renewal:

When you have a subscription that is nearly ending, it’s likely that you receive this kind of email. They usually try to convince you to renew your subscription to continue enjoying the service.

Reminder Email Examples for Every Occasion

When you’re trying to learn how to politely remind someone of an email, it may be a bit difficult even if you search your email for ideas. So, there’s nothing better than taking a look at the next reminder examples. Here’s how to remind someone politely through email examples:

#1: Polite Reminder Email to Boss Sample:

When you’re looking to know how to politely remind your boss of something, how to remind your boss to do something, or how to remind your boss about something, you can use this message-to-boss sample:

Subject: Follow-Up on [Subject]

Message:

Dear [Boss’s Name],

I hope you're doing well. I just wanted to follow up on the email I sent last week regarding [Subject]. I know things can get busy, but I would greatly appreciate your input when you have a moment.

Thank you so much for your time!

Best regards,
[Your Name]

As you can see, this is just a message that is incredibly simple to write. When you’re looking for how to remind someone politely in an email, you can use this example.

2: Friendly Reminder Email Sample for No Response:

If you’re looking for a way to write a friendly reminder email, look no further. Here is a template you can use:

Subject: Follow-Up on [Subject]

Message:

Dear [Name],

I hope you're doing well. Thank you again for considering me and taking the time to discuss [Subject]. I’m genuinely excited about this opportunity.

I just wanted to follow up to ensure you have everything you need regarding [Subject]. If there’s anything missing or if you have any further questions, please feel free to let me know.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

This kind reminder example is perfect to make sure that you get a response from the receiver fast.

3: Gentle Reminder Message for Meeting / Appointment:

If you’re looking for how to remind someone politely through email about a meeting or appointment, you want to make sure that you keep the message simple. Here’s a reminder sample you can use:

Subject: Appointment Reminder: [Appointment Detail] at [Time]

Message:

Dear [Recipient Name],

I hope you’re doing well. I just wanted to send a quick reminder about your upcoming appointment scheduled for [Date & Time]. If you have any questions or need to reschedule, please feel free to reach out.

Looking forward to seeing you then!

Kind regards,
[Your Name]

When you’re looking to learn how to send a gentle reminder, you can use this gentle reminder example in an email.

4: Event Reminder Email Example:

Here’s a simple and effective message for an event that is about to occur:

Subject: Just a Reminder: [Event Name] in 4 Days!

Message:

Hi [Recipient Name],

We’re excited to see you at [Event Name] this Saturday! Just a quick reminder to bring your ticket and ID with you.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Best regards,
[Your Name]

#5: Deadline Reminder Message Sample:

You can use the following message as a reminder about a deadline:

Subject: Just a Reminder: [Project Name] Deadline in 1 Week!

Message:

Hi [Team],

I just wanted to send a quick reminder that the project proposal for [Project Name] is due in 1 week. Please come prepared with any questions or concerns you may have to help ensure we meet the deadline.

If you need anything or have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

#6: Final Humble Reminder:

If you’re thinking about the humble reminder meaning, you can think of this kind of email reminder as a message that emphasizes the importance of the subject and that action needs to be taken quickly. Here’s a sample message:

Subject: Final Humble Reminder

Message:

Dear [Recipient Name],

I hope you're doing well. I just wanted to send a gentle reminder about [Subject], as it remains unresolved. This matter is quite important, and I kindly request your prompt attention and response.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

As you can see, this is a friendly reminder email sample.

#7: Follow-Up Reminder Email:

When there wasn’t a response to a previous follow-up email, you may consider sending a polite reminder email similar to this:

Subject: Following Up on Previous Email

Message:

Dear [Recipient Name],

I hope you're doing well.

I’m following up on my email regarding [Subject] from last week. I understand that things can get busy, and it may have slipped through the cracks.

I would greatly appreciate your input or response whenever you have a moment.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

This is a reminder example that serves this purpose.

8: Overdue Payment Reminder Email:

Here’s an example that you can adapt and use when there is an overdue payment:

Subject: Friendly Reminder: Invoice # [Invoice Number] Due

Message:

Dear [Recipient Name],

I hope you're doing well.

This is a friendly reminder that payment for Invoice # [Invoice Number] is due on [Due Date]. If you’ve already processed the payment, please feel free to disregard this email.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Kind regards,
[Your Name]

In this case, you may add a payment link in the email copy if you wish. This way, customers and clients don’t need to reply to any messages. They can simply respond by proceeding with the payment process.

9: Policy Reminder Email Template:

This is the kind of email that you send when your policy changes:

Subject: Reminder: Policy Change Effective [Date]

Message:

Dear [Recipient Name],

I hope you're doing well.

This is a gentle reminder that our policy will be changing as of [Due Date]. Please take a moment to review the updates.

If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to reach out.

Kind regards,
[Your Name]

It’s important to note that there are many more types of friendly reminder examples, such as a sample reminder email for the submission of documents, for instance. You can search for a friendly reminder template on the Internet if you wish. As we mentioned above, these are the most popular email reminder types.

Writing Your Own Gentle Reminder Message

You want to ensure that you make your message amicable and professional at the same time. Besides, you should be short and direct so the recipient knows what they need to do.
Below you can find some tips for each part of the soft reminder:

1: Subject Line:

When trying to learn how to remind someone of something important, you always want to make sure that your subject is not only clear but also engaging. For example, it might say something like "Reminder: Invoice #132 Due on [Date]" or "Just a reminder: Don’t forget about tomorrow’s meeting!"

2: The Message / Body:

Your message should start with a quick greeting (with the name of the receiver), and it should be to the point. Notice that if you’re sending a courteous reminder about an overdue invoice or an upcoming event, for example, you need to make sure that you include all the details. At the end of the message, you need to include the call to action. This is the same as saying that you need to use some reminder phrases such as “Please pay the unpaid invoice immediately” or “Please confirm your attendance,” depending on the goal of your quick reminder message.

Finally, you need to add a closing to the email followed by the sign-off. You may add something like "If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know" or "I know you're busy, so I'll just remind you again tomorrow," for example. As a sign-off, you can use "Kind regards" and your name, for example.

5 Most Common Mistakes When Sending a Friendly Reminder

1: Sending Too Many or Too Few Reminders:

Even though you want to make sure that your recipient reads your polite reminder, you don’t want them to feel overwhelmed. Try to space out some of your reminders. On the other hand, you don’t want your receiver to miss your important courtesy reminder email. It’s crucial that you reach a balance.

2: Don’t Be Demanding or Pushy:

While you are requesting something from the recipient, it’s important to maintain a professional and polite tone. Make sure to always check that your email is respectful.

3: Not Providing Clear Details or Instructions:

When you’re sending a message, you want to make sure that you add all key information, details, and instructions. If the receiver gets your email and doesn’t know what you’re talking about or what needs to be done, they will ignore it.

4: Being Too Vague:

You want to make sure that you’re not too vague. After all, the main goal of sending such a message is to remind the recipient about something specific. So, be specific in your communication. This ensures that the customer knows what they are expected to do and makes the right approach.

5: Don’t Be Impatient or Angry:

When writing a reminder email to a client, you need to have the right tone. A professional, polite tone is crucial to improving the chances of the client doing what you want. Even if you’re feeling frustrated for some reason, the receiver doesn’t need to know it or deal with it. A very simple gentle reminder email example you have is that instead of writing "just a reminder," you should write "just a friendly reminder." These small differences can make a lot of difference.

6: Not Personalizing the Final Reminder Email:

Personalization is crucial when it comes to reminder emails. After all, it adds a connection to the recipient. So, make sure that you add the receiver’s name whenever you can, and a "reminder please" is also a good idea.

7: Not Proofreading:

You can’t think of a reminder email as just an amicable message. You need to think of it as a tool that is working with and for you. So, before you actually send it, it’s important that you proofread it and confirm that it sounds good.

8: Not Following Up When Necessary:

Even though it depends on the message format that you have, some reminder emails, especially the first ones, may require an answer. Therefore, you want to make sure that you send the follow-ups timely. It may be in just a day or two, but it’s important to get back and provide your customers with your offer, discuss a specific topic, send templates or samples to help them, a guide to your product or service, among others.

Bottom Line

A reminder email is a short, direct message that prompts someone to take action right away. To make it effective, be clear and specific in your wording.
As we've covered, different situations call for different types of reminder emails. The key is to tailor your message to fit the context while keeping it kind and professional. This article walked you through how to write such a message and how to follow up in a way that’s both polite and effective.