How often to contact a prospect spacing your mails over a year
Mail a company too often and it stops reading; too rarely and it forgets you. A plain rhythm per company, with the history in view.
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The question is per company, not per list
How often to contact a prospect has no single right answer, but it has a clear starting point: look at what the company already got from you. On every company in Riftjaw you see every mail that already went to it, so you can decide per company instead of per list.
Within one campaign the rhythm is set by its follow-ups: up to 5 after the first email, each after a number of days you choose, to everyone, to those who did not open or to those who did not click. When a company replies, you set it to Replied and its follow-ups stop. After that, the next contact is yours to plan.
Between campaigns, give each company a pause. A company that did not answer this spring may have a different need in the autumn; a company that said not now told you when to come back. You decide when to write; Riftjaw keeps the history and the dates in order. Google's sender guidelines for Gmail also ask senders to make unsubscribing easy, and anyone who unsubscribes is skipped in every later campaign.
An example rhythm for one company over a year
This is an example, not a rule. Use the moment a company named, and skip a round when you have nothing new to say.
| Moment | Contact | Note on the company |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | First email with one reason to write | Status Contacted |
| Week 2 to 4 | One or two follow-ups in the same campaign | Follow-ups stop if you set Replied |
| About three months later | A new email with a new reason, such as a season or a change at the company | Date field for the next look |
| About six months later | One more try if there is a real reason | Tag not-now if they asked for later |
Rules of thumb for spacing your mails
A new reason each time
A second campaign with the same message is a reminder nobody asked for. Write again when something changed.
Their date beats yours
If a company said come back in spring, put that date in a field and save a segment on it.
One sender per company
Check the history before you write, so a company does not get mail from two colleagues in one week.
No means no
Anyone who unsubscribes or objects goes into the opt-out register and is not mailed again. See lead records.
Before every new round
- Open the history of the company.
- Check the date field you set last time.
- Write down the new reason to write.
- Leave out companies on Replied and Customer.
- Send the round in batches of 10.
Frequently asked questions
How often should you contact a prospect?
There is no fixed number. Within one campaign, one or a few follow-ups are common; after that, write again only when you have a new reason, and space it by months rather than days.
How many follow-ups should a cold email get?
Riftjaw allows up to 5 follow-ups per campaign, each after a number of days you choose. Many messages need fewer; set the number per campaign rather than always using the maximum.
How do I know when a company was last contacted?
On every company you see every mail that already went to it, with the date. Your own notes and date fields sit on the same lead.
When should I stop contacting a prospect?
When they ask you to, when they unsubscribe or when you have nothing new to say. Anyone who unsubscribes is skipped in every later campaign.
Do follow-ups stop when someone replies?
Yes, once you set the contact to Replied. Riftjaw does not read replies itself; they arrive in your own mailbox.
What is Riftjaw?
Riftjaw is a B2B lead database you own: import the companies you collect, keep every record with its source, sort them into segments and reach them by email in small batches. Each account runs on its own private server with its own database.
Source: Google: Email sender guidelines (Gmail Help) (consulted on 2026-10-24)
A rhythm per company, with the history in view
See every mail a company already got, set the date for the next contact and let follow-ups stop on Replied. See lead records or start free.
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