Written by Howie Chan
(Read the Jan 25, 2026 issue HERE)
You’re a marketing consultant who helps founders turn email subscribers into paying customers.
You’ve got a warm lead — the CEO of a startup who downloaded your free guide a few weeks ago.
Now you’re ready to follow up.
Let’s look at two versions: the salesy follow-up (what most people send) vs. the anti-pitch version (what Nancy Harhut would approve of).
Subject: Let’s schedule a quick call
Hi Alex,
I wanted to follow up since you downloaded our guide on customer conversion.
We’ve helped dozens of SaaS founders like you boost their MRR by 30% with our proprietary Retention Framework. I’d love to hop on a 30-minute call this week to walk you through how it works and explore if it could help your business.
Does Wednesday or Thursday work better for you?
— Jordan
It’s not terrible. But it feels pushy.
There’s pressure baked into every line: hop on a call, explore if it could help, does Wednesday or Thursday work.
And because Alex senses a pitch coming, he does what every human does when they feel their autonomy slipping…
He ghosts.
Not because he doesn’t care.
But because it feels like you’re asking for his time before earning his trust.
Subject: Free idea for you — no strings
Hi Alex,
I saw the post you shared about improving trial-to-paid conversion (smart angle, by the way). Most founders I work with hit the same challenge — too many users drop off right before the upgrade moment.
Here’s something I’ve seen work: a short “nudge” email that uses one behavioral trigger — the fresh start effect. We tested it for another SaaS client and it lifted upgrades by 22%.
If you’d like, just reply “IDEA” and I’ll send you the exact copy we used so you can try it yourself — no meeting needed.
Totally your call.
— Jordan