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Reminders: how often to chase
Where reminding helps and where it starts to annoy, with numbers.
A well-placed reminder closes signatures. Four in a row get you marked as spam, and then none of them arrive.
A rhythm that works
| When | What goes out | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | The request | — |
| Day 3 | Gentle reminder | Most people sign here |
| Day 7 | Reminder with a deadline | Gives a reason to do it today |
| Day 12 | Final notice | And then, a phone call |
Worth knowing
If they have not signed after twelve days, what is missing is not a reminder: either they disagree with something, or the document is not reaching them, or the right person is someone else. All three are solved by talking, not chasing.
Changing channel beats repeating
The fourth email lands in the same inbox as the previous three. An SMS lands somewhere else, and gets seen.
›Can they be scheduled automatically?
Yes, you set the rhythm when sending and they go out on their own.
›Do they stop once the person signs?
Yes, immediately.
›Can I stop them halfway?
Yes, at any point.
A real case
The situation
A company sends forty employment amendments and wants them closed in two weeks.
What you do
- Schedules reminders at days 3, 7 and 12
- On day 8 phones the five still outstanding
What you get
Thirty-five sign on their own; the remaining five are sorted by phone in an afternoon.
The situation
Reminders go out daily and the signer stops reading them.
What you do
- Spaces the reminders out
What you get
The nudge works again.
The situation
There are no reminders and the document is forgotten.
What you do
- Turns on automatic reminders
What you get
The signature arrives without anyone chasing by hand.
The situation
Reminders reach somebody who already signed.
What you do
- Checks the reminder excludes those who signed
What you get
Nobody gets notices that are not theirs.
The situation
The reminder does not say when it is needed by.
What you do
- Includes the deadline in the notice
What you get
The signer prioritises sensibly.
The situation
After several reminders it is still unsigned.
What you do
- Changes channel and records it
What you get
Follow-up does not stay stuck in email.
This article answers
- how often to send signature reminders
- set up automatic reminders
- the signer will not sign what do i do
- stop sending reminders