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A reactivation email is a targeted message sent to subscribers who have stopped engaging with your email communications over a defined period. Also known as win-back or re-engagement emails, these campaigns aim to revive dormant subscribers by reigniting their interest through compelling offers, personalized content, or direct appeals. Reactivation emails are essential for maintaining list hygiene and maximizing the value of your existing subscriber base before removing inactive contacts.
Reactivation emails matter because acquiring new subscribers costs 5 to 25 times more than retaining existing ones. Your email list naturally decays at approximately 22.5% per year due to job changes, abandoned email addresses, and shifting interests. Reactivation campaigns help you recover a portion of this lost audience before they become completely disengaged. From a deliverability perspective, inactive subscribers hurt your sender reputation. Email providers like Gmail and Outlook track engagement metrics, and consistently sending to non-openers signals that your content may be unwanted. This can push your emails to spam folders for your entire list, including active subscribers. Reactivation emails also provide valuable data about your audience. Subscribers who remain unresponsive after a well-executed campaign should be removed, keeping your list clean and your engagement metrics healthy. This segmentation improves overall campaign performance and ensures you are focusing resources on subscribers who genuinely want to hear from you.
Reactivation emails work by identifying subscribers who have become inactive based on specific criteria such as no opens or clicks within 30, 60, or 90 days. Once these dormant subscribers are segmented, a targeted campaign is deployed with messaging designed to recapture their attention and prompt action. The typical reactivation sequence involves multiple touchpoints. The first email often reminds subscribers of the value they once found in your content, while subsequent messages may include special offers, updates on what they have missed, or direct questions about their preferences. Some brands use a sunset sequence that warns subscribers they will be removed unless they take action. Effective reactivation campaigns leverage personalization, urgency, and clear calls-to-action. They may reference past purchases or interactions, offer exclusive discounts, or simply ask subscribers to update their preferences. The goal is to convert inactive subscribers back to engaged status or identify them for removal from your list.
The ideal timing depends on your typical email frequency and business cycle. For most businesses, subscribers who have not engaged in 60 to 90 days are good candidates. E-commerce brands with frequent communications may start at 30 days, while B2B companies with monthly newsletters might wait 120 days or more.
A typical reactivation campaign recovers 5% to 15% of dormant subscribers. Highly targeted campaigns with strong incentives may achieve 20% or higher. Even modest recovery rates are valuable since these subscribers cost nothing to acquire and often have higher lifetime value than new subscribers.
Yes, removing non-responders after a proper reactivation sequence is a best practice. Continuing to email unengaged subscribers hurts your deliverability and skews your metrics. Give them 2 to 3 chances to re-engage, then remove them to maintain a healthy list.
Effective subject lines create urgency or curiosity while being honest about intent. Examples include phrases like We miss you, Is this goodbye, Your special offer expires soon, or direct questions like Still interested in updates from us. Personalization with the subscriber name can also improve open rates.
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