Emails can get buried in inboxes, and it’s natural for some subscribers to lose interest over time. Instead of letting these inactive email subscribers ride off into the sunset, try re-engaging them.
Use targeted re-engagement campaigns to remind subscribers of past purchases or provide personalized recommendations. These strategies can lead to a resurgence in activity and generate more revenue for your business.
1. Send a Thank You Email
Email is a great way to engage customers with your brand. But, like any other form of marketing, it can get stale over time. According to a study by MarketingSherpa, 22.55% of your email subscribers are dormant, meaning that they don’t open or click on your emails at all. These customers may not be interacting with your business for a reason that is completely outside of your control, but it’s important to try to understand why they have stopped opening your emails. This will help you improve your email strategy and bring back these customers.
The first step in re-engaging dormant email subscribers is to send them a personalized thank you email for their previous interactions with your brand. This is a great way to remind them why they subscribed to your email list in the first place and encourage them to interact with you again. The subject line of your thank you email should include a clear call-to-action (CTA) that tells the subscriber exactly what you want them to do. Whether it is to make a purchase or just give you feedback, you want to be sure that the CTA is prominently displayed so that the subscriber knows what to do and doesn’t miss it.
You should also consider including some case studies and customer success stories in your thank you email to further demonstrate the value of your product. These stories will help to convince the dormant email subscriber that they made the right decision in choosing your product and that it has helped them achieve their goals. This will increase the likelihood of them making a purchase. You can also use a personalized subject line and mention their name to make your thank you email feel more personal and effective.
2. Send a “We Miss You” Email
Imagine losing touch with a friend and then one day they reach out to you asking to reconnect. How would you respond? The same goes for your email subscribers. When someone reaches out to you, it’s your chance to show them that they were more than just data points on your list. They are your loyal customers and a part of your community, and a well-crafted “we miss you” email is your signal flare in the dark, inviting them back into that community.
Your re-engagement emails are an opportunity to share the value that you have provided them in the past and to ask for feedback on anything that might have made their experience less than ideal. Depending on how long they have been inactive, you might also offer a discount to encourage them to return to your mailing list.
The key is to create content that genuinely resonates with each of your subscribers. Using ActiveCampaign’s personalization capabilities, you can ensure your messages feel individualized and meaningful for each of your inactive contacts. This includes sharing new benefits they might enjoy based on life changes, product launches or feedback that you have collected.
Re-engaging your dormant email subscribers can be a challenge. However, the effort you put into your relationship with them pays off. Plus, re-engaging them costs far less than acquiring new customers. If your attempts to re-engage them fail, it’s important to carefully consider whether you want to remove them from your list or not. In some cases, removing them from your list may be necessary to keep your metrics healthy. However, you should always include a link to unsubscribe in your emails.
3. Send a Survey
Doing a little detective work can help you pin down exactly why your subscribers have gone cold on your emails. Analyze your email metrics and look for patterns in your open and unsubscribe rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Pinpointing the root cause of your audience’s disengagement can empower you to create targeted win-back campaigns, preference centers, and respectful permission reminders that will revitalize your list.
Sending a survey is a great way to get your inactive subscribers and customers interested in your brand again. It also provides you with valuable feedback and insights about your products or services that can improve your communication strategies.
Use a personalized approach in your re-engagement campaign by asking your subscribers to provide their name and/or email address. This strategy is also used to help spread emails nest coupons. This will make them feel like you are addressing them directly and they will be more likely to respond. Additionally, you can personalize your re-engagement campaign by mentioning how they’ve been doing or providing a discount offer to entice them back.
In addition to personalizing your re-engagement campaign, you can also use a sense of urgency in your subject lines and copy. For example, using a time-sensitive offer or a call to action like “Act now” will give your subscribers the feeling that they are missing out on something special if they don’t act immediately. By combining the right mix of personalization, urgency, and exclusivity in your re-engagement campaign, you can give your subscribers a reason to reconnect with your brand. You can then continue the conversation with them through your re-engagement campaigns and build a strong relationship with them over time. Keeping this type of connection will ensure that your email program stays relevant and useful to them.
4. Send a Reminder Email
Reminder emails are the first step to bring back disengaged subscribers. However, it can be challenging to demonstrate your value and show why they should stay engaged in just one email. For this reason, it is recommended to create a series of email campaigns that progressively engage the subscriber.
For example, a brand could send a “We Miss You” email, followed by an email asking them to change their subscription preferences and then an email with a personalised discount. This will help to make the campaign more personal, increase the chance of a conversion and reinforce the message that they have missed out on great deals.
Moreover, sending the re-engagement emails at the right time is essential. This is because the more time passes between the original email and the reminder, the less likely it will be that they will remember it. Therefore, it is crucial to determine when it is best to send the email based on past performance.
For instance, brands should send the re-engagement emails at times when the subscribers are most likely to be online, such as during the morning or at the end of the day. Additionally, the re-engagement emails should be short and to the point so that the recipients can easily read them and act on them. Lastly, brands should use emotive language to create an emotional response in the recipient. This can be done by using words that elicit positive emotions, such as gratitude or excitement, or negative ones, such as fear or regret. By doing so, the re-engagement emails will be more memorable and encourage the recipient to take action.
5. Send a Follow-Up Email
In the case of dormant subscribers, a follow-up email can be your best shot at making them pay attention to your brand again. This email can be polite and direct, but more importantly, it needs to add value. A simple, relevant compliment is a great way to do this, and it will help you avoid the “salesy” trap that can turn dormant subscribers away from your business altogether.
Using data from your previous interactions with these subscribers, you can craft a follow-up email that is tailored to their interests and needs. For example, if they have bought your product several times, you can send them a discount offer for a new purchase. This approach will entice them to re-engage with your brand and encourage them to take the next step in their relationship with you.
You can also use data from your subscribers or customers to run re-engagement campaigns on social media platforms. For instance, Facebook allows you to upload a list of email addresses and create a custom audience that you can target with ads. By importing this data, you can deliver highly-personalized recommendations to your past subscribers and give them a compelling reason to return to your email list.
Don’t be afraid to try a few different tactics when trying to re-engage your dormant subscribers. And remember, while there may be a time and place to scrub your email list (such as when it starts to hurt your deliverability), you should always err on the side of trying to re-engage vs. deleting dormant subscribers. After all, you’ve put a lot of work into forging a great relationship with your subscribers, and you don’t want to lose them for good!