How to Follow Up After a Networking Event (With Message Templates)

You had a good chat with someone at an event, swapped details, and said you'd be in touch. Now you're looking at a blank email and wondering what to write. Following up after a networking event is where most new connections either turn into something or quietly disappear, and the difference usually comes down to a short message sent at the right time. This guide covers when to send it, what to put in it, and templates you can adapt in a couple of minutes.

When to follow up after a networking event

Aim for the next day, or the day after. The conversation is still fresh for both of you, and a quick message reads as keen in a good way. Sending it the same evening is fine too, especially if you promised to send something.

If a week has slipped by, still send it. You'll just need a line more context, because the other person may have met forty people that day. After a month, the message changes a bit, and there's a template for that further down.

One habit makes all of this easier. Straight after each conversation, or on the train home, jot down a line about each person you met: their name, what they're working on, and anything you said you'd do. "Hannah, runs a cleaning company in Cardiff, wants a bookkeeper, I said I'd send her Mark's details." That note is your follow-up message half written.

What a good follow-up message includes

The messages that get replies tend to have the same four parts, and they fit in a few lines.

• Where you met, so they can place you straight away.
• One specific thing you talked about. This is the part that proves you were listening, and it's the part most people skip.
• Anything you promised, sent there and then. An article, a name, a link.
• One clear next step, or none at all if you just want to stay in touch.

Keep it short enough to read on a phone. Leave out your life story, your full CV and a list of five ways they could help you. You're picking a conversation back up, not starting a new one from scratch.

Networking follow-up email templates

Adapt these rather than pasting them in word for word. The specific detail in the middle is what makes each one work, so don't leave it generic.

1. You had a good chat and want to meet properly

2. You promised to send something

This one is the easiest follow-up there is, and often the most valuable. You're giving rather than asking, which is the best possible way to be remembered.

3. Following up with a speaker

Speakers get a lot of messages after a talk. Quoting their actual point back to them, and showing you did something with it, puts yours near the top.

4. A LinkedIn note after an event

Connection request notes have a short character limit, so keep this one to a couple of lines.

Once they accept, you can send a longer message if you want something more, such as a call.

5. It's been a month or more

Own the gap in one line and move on. Nobody minds a late follow-up. They mind a vague one.

6. The polite second nudge

If a week or so passes with no reply, reply to your own message so the original is right there underneath.

Giving them an easy way out makes a reply more likely, oddly enough. It takes the pressure off.

Email, LinkedIn or WhatsApp?

Use whatever you swapped. If someone gave you their email, use email. If they said "find me on LinkedIn", do that. If you ended up on WhatsApp because you were organising a drink there and then, a WhatsApp message is perfectly normal.

For anything that needs a proper reply, like a coffee or a call, email usually works best. People treat it as something to deal with, while a LinkedIn message can sit unread for weeks. If you're curious why LinkedIn inboxes behave like that, we wrote about how LinkedIn was built for broadcasting.

Subject lines that get your email opened

Put the event in the subject line. "Good to meet you at the Leeds Digital Festival" tells them instantly who you are and why you're writing. Avoid subject lines that look like sales emails, such as "Quick question" or "Opportunity", and don't leave the subject blank.

What to do if they don't reply

Send one nudge after about a week. If that gets nothing, stop. Two messages is the limit. People are busy, inboxes are full, and silence usually means "not now" rather than "no".

Keep them in your notes, though. If you see something a few months later that's useful to them, a job they'd suit, an article about their industry, an event they'd like, send it with no ask attached. That's often the message that finally gets a reply.

Staying in touch after the first follow-up

The first follow-up gets you a second conversation. Staying in touch is what turns a contact into someone who'll pick up the phone for you later. It doesn't need to be a system. A message every few months is plenty: congratulations when they post about a new role, a link that reminded you of them, an introduction to someone they should know. Our guide to building a professional network from scratch goes into how those small habits add up.

Make the first message easier to write

The hardest follow-ups are the ones where you can't quite remember why you were talking. The easiest are the ones where both of you already know. If you want more of the second kind, it helps to meet people with a clear reason in the first place. Going in with a few good things to say helps too, and we've put together what to say at a networking event for exactly that.

That's the idea behind Linktwos. You text it who would help you and it introduces you to one well-matched person at a time, with a reason to meet. At events, you check in and get matched with the right people in the room. When you write to someone afterwards, the reason you met is already there, so the follow-up almost writes itself.

Common questions about following up after networking

How soon should you follow up after a networking event?

Within a day or two is ideal, while they still remember the conversation. Within a week is fine. After that, you'll need to remind them who you are and where you met.

Should I follow up by email or LinkedIn?

Use whatever you swapped at the event. If you only have a name, a LinkedIn connection request with a short note works. For anything that needs a reply, such as a coffee or a call, email tends to get read more carefully.

What should a networking follow-up email say?

Where you met, one specific thing you talked about, anything you promised to send, and one clear next step. Keep it short enough to read on a phone.

What if they don't reply to my follow-up?

Send one polite nudge after about a week. If that gets nothing, stop and get back in touch only when you have a real reason, such as something useful to share.

Is it too late to follow up a month after meeting someone?

No. Be upfront about the gap, remind them where you met and what you discussed, and give them a reason for getting in touch now.