Every email list experiences a certain level of subscriber inactivity over time. Inactive subscribers are those who have stopped opening or interacting with your emails after a certain period. Ignoring them can hurt your engagement rates and affect your email deliverability. However, with the right re-engagement strategy, you can win back their attention and bring them back into the fold.
In this guide, we’ll explore why re-engaging inactive subscribers is essential, the best strategies to re-ignite their interest, and tips for running successful re-engagement campaigns.
Why It’s Important to Re-Engage Inactive Subscribers
Inactive subscribers can drag down your overall engagement metrics and hurt your sender reputation. ESPs (Email Service Providers) pay close attention to open and click-through rates, and a large number of inactive recipients can signal that your content isn’t relevant, causing ESPs to deliver your emails to spam folders.
Here’s why it’s important to address inactivity:
- Improves deliverability: Re-engaging inactive subscribers or removing them from your list can boost your engagement rates, improving overall email deliverability.
- Reduces churn: Instead of losing inactive subscribers completely, a re-engagement campaign can bring them back to your email list, potentially increasing customer retention and revenue.
- Cleans your list: If a re-engagement campaign doesn’t work, it’s an opportunity to clean up your list and remove inactive subscribers, ensuring you’re sending emails to an engaged audience.
1. Segment Your Inactive Subscribers
Before you can re-engage inactive subscribers, it’s essential to segment them based on their level of inactivity. Not all inactive subscribers are the same—some may have stopped opening your emails a few months ago, while others haven’t engaged for over a year.
Types of Inactivity to Segment:
- Recent inactives: Subscribers who haven’t engaged in the past 3-6 months but have been active before.
- Long-term inactives: Subscribers who haven’t opened or clicked on an email in over 6-12 months.
- Never engaged: Subscribers who signed up but never engaged with your content.
By segmenting your inactive subscribers, you can tailor your re-engagement strategy to each group, offering the most relevant content to rekindle their interest.
2. Use a Re-Engagement Email Campaign
A re-engagement email campaign is designed to recapture the attention of inactive subscribers and encourage them to interact with your brand again. This campaign typically consists of a series of emails that highlight the value of staying subscribed or offer incentives for re-engaging.
Tips for Crafting Re-Engagement Emails:
- Acknowledge their absence: Open your email with a message that recognizes the subscriber’s inactivity. For example, “We’ve missed you!” or “It’s been a while since we last heard from you.”
- Offer an incentive: Encourage subscribers to engage by offering something valuable, such as a special discount, exclusive content, or a free resource. For example, “Come back and enjoy 15% off your next purchase.”
- Highlight what they’re missing: Remind subscribers of the benefits of staying on your list by showcasing the valuable content, products, or offers they’ve missed.
- Provide an easy opt-out: Make it clear that if they no longer wish to receive your emails, they can easily unsubscribe. This helps clean your list and avoids future deliverability issues.
A well-crafted re-engagement campaign can remind inactive subscribers of the value your brand offers and bring them back to active status.
3. Personalize Your Re-Engagement Content
Personalization is key to making your re-engagement emails feel relevant and tailored to the recipient. Rather than sending a generic email, use the data you have on your subscribers to craft a more personalized message.
Ways to Personalize Re-Engagement Emails:
- Use their name: Address the subscriber by their first name to create a personal connection.
- Reference past behavior: Include details from their previous interactions, such as items they viewed or purchased in the past. For example, “Still interested in those running shoes?”
- Tailor offers to their preferences: If you know the subscriber’s preferences or purchase history, offer them personalized recommendations or discounts on products they’ve shown interest in.
Personalized content is more likely to resonate with the recipient and increase the chances of re-engagement.
4. Test Different Subject Lines and Incentives
A compelling subject line is crucial for capturing the attention of inactive subscribers. Testing different subject lines can help you determine which messaging works best for re-engagement. Additionally, experimenting with different incentives can help you understand what motivates your audience to re-engage.
Subject Line Ideas for Re-Engagement Campaigns:
- “We’ve missed you—here’s a special offer just for you!”
- “It’s been a while—let’s catch up!”
- “Is this goodbye? We don’t want to lose you.”
- “Come back for 20% off your next purchase!”
Incentive Ideas:
- Discounts: Offer a discount on their next purchase to encourage re-engagement.
- Exclusive content: Provide access to premium content, such as an e-book, guide, or webinar.
- Early access: Give subscribers a first look at new products or services before they’re available to the public.
By testing different subject lines and incentives, you can optimize your re-engagement campaign for maximum effectiveness.
5. Clean Up Your List if Subscribers Don’t Re-Engage
Not every subscriber will re-engage, and that’s okay. It’s important to clean up your list periodically and remove subscribers who remain inactive despite your efforts. Keeping inactive subscribers on your list can hurt your sender reputation and reduce email deliverability.
Best Practices for List Cleaning:
- Send a final opt-in email: Send a final message asking inactive subscribers if they still want to hear from you. Make it clear that if they don’t opt back in, they will be removed from the list.
- Provide an easy unsubscribe option: Make it simple for inactive subscribers to unsubscribe if they’re no longer interested. This reduces the risk of your emails being marked as spam.
- Monitor engagement: Regularly review your email engagement metrics and remove subscribers who consistently fail to engage over a set period.
By removing inactive subscribers, you can improve your list quality, boost engagement rates, and maintain a healthy sender reputation.
6. Re-Engage Through Other Channels
If subscribers aren’t responding to your re-engagement emails, consider reaching out through other marketing channels to capture their attention. Using a multi-channel approach can increase the likelihood of reconnecting with inactive subscribers.
Other Channels to Use for Re-Engagement:
- Social media: Use targeted ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to reach inactive subscribers with special offers or relevant content.
- SMS marketing: If you have phone numbers for your subscribers, consider sending a re-engagement message via SMS with a personalized offer.
- Remarketing ads: Use display ads to re-target inactive subscribers when they browse other websites, reminding them of your brand and encouraging them to come back.
By using multiple channels to re-engage subscribers, you increase your chances of bringing them back into the fold.
Conclusion
Re-engaging inactive subscribers is a vital part of maintaining a healthy email list and improving the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns. By segmenting your inactive audience, personalizing your re-engagement efforts, and offering compelling incentives, you can reignite their interest and bring them back to active status. And if subscribers don’t respond, it’s important to clean your list and ensure you’re sending emails to an engaged audience. A successful re-engagement campaign helps boost engagement rates, improve deliverability, and ultimately drive better results for your business.
