How to write an invitation to bid email to subcontractors (with templates)

A subcontractor's estimator gets a lot of invitations to bid. Most get a few seconds of attention before being sorted into "look later" or "never." A good invitation answers the reader's first four questions before they scroll: who is this from, what's the job, when is it due, and is my trade actually on it or was I Bcc'd with the whole list.

Here's what to include, what to avoid, and templates you can use today.

The 8 things every invitation to bid needs

1. A subject line with the project, the trade and the due date. "Invitation to bid, Div 26 Electrical: Riverview Apartments (due Fri Oct 16, 2 PM)."
2. A greeting by first name. To a person, not "Dear Bidder" or an estimating@ inbox.
3. One sentence on the project. What it is and where it is.
4. One sentence on the scope you want. Cost code and name, plus any notable inclusions ("fire alarm under 28 31 00 included").
5. A link to the documents. Not a 200 MB attachment.
6. The due date, time and time zone, stated once near the top and once at the bottom.
7. A direct question: are you bidding? With a deadline for the answer and permission to say no.
8. Your name and a phone number.

That's the whole email. It fits on a phone screen.

7 mistakes that get invitations ignored

1. Sending to a list. More than one name in To or Bcc tells the sub they're one of a crowd. One person, one email.
2. Not naming the trade in the subject. The sub can't tell if you want them or blasted everyone.
3. Burying the due date in the third paragraph.
4. Attaching the drawings. They bounce, they clog, and they make the email feel like a chore.
5. Not asking for a reply. "Please submit your proposal by" is an instruction to bid, not a request for an answer. Subs who aren't bidding stay silent.
6. Writing like a lawyer. "Please be advised that the undersigned hereby requests" motivates nobody.
7. Sending at 6 PM on a Friday. It's buried by Monday. Tuesday to Thursday, mid-morning, works better.

Template 1: standard invitation

Subject: Invitation to bid, Div 26 Electrical: Riverview Apartments (due Fri Oct 16, 2 PM)

Hi Dana,

We're bidding Riverview Apartments, a 6-storey wood-frame residential building at 1200 Waverley St in Winnipeg, and we'd like a price from Prairie Electric on the Division 26 electrical scope.

Drawings and specs are here: [link]

Bids are due Friday, October 16 at 2:00 PM Central. Please email your proposal to me directly.

Could you let me know by Wednesday whether you're bidding? A quick yes or no is all we need, and no is a perfectly good answer.

Thanks,
[Name], [Title]
[Phone]

Template 2: when you especially want this sub

Use it sparingly, because it works by being obviously not a mass email.

Subject: Riverview Apartments, electrical: we'd like you on this one

Hi Dana,

Prairie Electric did solid work on the Portage Avenue project and we'd like to have you on our team for Riverview Apartments, a 6-storey residential building at 1200 Waverley St.

Div 26 electrical, with the fire alarm under 28 31 00 included. Drawings are here: [link]

Bids close Friday, October 16 at 2:00 PM. If you can bid, we'll make time for a walkthrough or a call to go over anything unclear.

Let us know either way?

[Name]

Template 3: the follow-up

Three or four business days after the invitation, to anyone who hasn't replied. Two lines.

Subject: Re: Invitation to bid, Div 26 Electrical: Riverview Apartments (due Fri Oct 16)

Hi Dana,

Quick check-in: are you planning to bid the electrical on Riverview? Due Friday at 2. A one-word reply is fine.

[Name]

More on follow-up timing and wording.

Template 4: the addendum notice

To everyone who received the original invitation and hasn't said "not bidding."

Subject: Addendum 2, Riverview Apartments, Div 26 Electrical (bid date unchanged)

Hi Dana,

Addendum 2 was issued today. For electrical it changes the panel schedule on E4.01 and adds the exterior lighting on the west parkade.

Updated drawings: [link]

The bid date has not changed: Friday, October 16 at 2:00 PM. Please confirm you've received this.

[Name]

Why every bidder needs the addendum, individually.

5 small things that lift response rates

1. Keep the same subject line for the whole bid round. Subs search their inbox by project name.
2. Say what happens next. "I'll follow up Wednesday" makes the follow-up expected rather than naggy.
3. Give an easy way to say no. A decline on day two is information; silence until bid day is a lost slot.
4. Use their name, not "Estimator." If you don't have a person for a company, get one before you send.
5. Tell them how many are on it when the number is small. "You're one of six" makes the effort worth their while.

Doing this for 40 people

All of the above is easy for one email and a grind for forty, which is why so many estimators fall back to Bcc. The fix is a merge: write the email once with placeholders for first name, company, scope, project and due date, and let something fill them in per recipient. You can do that with Word's mail merge through Outlook (step by step here), which works but gives you no tracking.

Invite All (our product) is built around this exact email, and it's the best way to send it to forty people without losing the personal touch: the same placeholders, sent one per person from your own Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace mailbox, with a private link per sub that carries the drawings and Bidding / Maybe / Not bidding buttons so the "are you bidding?" question becomes a click. Whichever way you send it, the principle holds: one person, one email, four questions answered in four seconds.