Answers · New customer acquisition · As of 6 October 2026
Is it worth following up on an unanswered email?
Short answerYes. A single follow-up email increases the number of replies in a campaign by 65.8%1. Even so, 48% of salespeople never follow up after an unanswered first email1.
What follow-up delivers
Woodpecker compared campaigns with and without a follow-up email. Even one additional email increases the total number of replies by 65.8%1.
Instantly's 2026 benchmark report paints a similar picture: 42% of all replies come from follow-up emails2.
Why it so often fails to happen
48% of salespeople do not send a second email after an unanswered first email1. Usually, it is not intent that is missing, but the follow-up reminder.
Multiple channels are more effective
Campaigns that combine LinkedIn, email and telephone achieve, according to figures from Salesmotion, 40% more responses and 31% lower costs per prospect than campaigns on a single channel3.
Where the limit lies
More emails only help if they arrive. Around 17% of cold emails never reach the inbox4. For new domains, SmartReach names 15 to 25 emails per mailbox per day as a safe upper limit4.
Sources
- Woodpecker: Cold email statistics: woodpecker.co
- Instantly: Cold Email Benchmark Report 2026: instantly.ai
- Salesmotion: B2B prospecting guide: salesmotion.io
- SmartReach: State of cold email, 23 July 2026: smartreach.io
Every figure on this page comes from the source named next to it and was read on the date shown above. Figures from studies describe the sample examined; they are no promise for an individual case.