Sending to more subscribers isn't always the best solution. Every time you send to a subscriber that isn't interacting with your message content, that's a sign to ISPs that someone isn't interested in receiving your content and is one step closer to your important messages winding up in the spam folder. But if you pay attention to who is not engaging with your content, you can make sure those who do want to receive your messages will receive it more consistently.

Re-engagement campaigns are a great way to ensure that you are only sending to subscribers who still want to hear from you. It's a wonderful opportunity for you to show your subscribers what kind of value you are bringing to the table before you have to make the hard decision to remove them from your lists. But how do you do it?

 

What is the goal of a re-engagement email?

A re-engagement email is an email or series of emails that is sent to your least active subscribers. This line of communication usually indicates the subscriber's lack of engagement/interest and attempts to entice the subscriber to reengage with your company's content. If the subscriber doesn't reengage, this usually results in an unsubscribe for the subscriber.

 

Ok, but what do I do?

1. Identify your least active subscribers

Dynamic lists are a great way to create a list of subscribers who haven't either opened or clicked in a set amount of time. You can put these segmented subscribers in an Advanced Automation to start a re-engagement series.

 

2. Put your best foot forward

Consider using a call to action subject line or offering a discount to your subscribers. They are already showing signs of being disinterested in your communications. It's time to pull out all the stops. Putting something interesting and compelling in your subject line is important.

 

3. Remind your subscribers why they signed up

These subscribers signed up for a reason. Whether it's because you have the quickest reaction to the news or that you are an expert in your field, they wanted to hear from you! Remind them why they came to you in the first place by offering them some highlights of previous content and some of the things they can only find through you.

 

4. Show them a new reason to stay

If they haven't been reading your recent communications, you may benefit from taking the time to educate them on some recent additions your company has made. If you have recently added a new service, feature, or product, let them know! This is also a great time to mention little-known features or product stories that don't get to be public-facing frequently, but make your company shine.

 

5. Let the subscriber set the pace

This is a great opportunity to highlight your profile center and allow your subscriber to modify their list subscription preferences. Inform them that they have control over what content they want to hear about, especially if this has been updated or if it is something that wasn't part of the sign-up form. Letting the subscriber choose what they receive messages about is a great way to show you care.

 

6. Continue the communication or don't

If the subscriber decides to open or click any of your content, you can add decision splits in your list or make sure to check the option to "Require subscribers to be on entry trigger list for all actions" so that the subscriber would be removed if they open or click your messages (which would take them off the entry trigger list). Or, if they reach the end of the automation and don't open or click, you can add a Modify Custom Field node in your automation to switch the subscriber's "Unsubscribe From All" status to "Yes".

 

 

A Step by Step Guide

1. Create a dynamic list that follows the rules you would like to set. For this example, I looked for subscribers that didn't click any job in 90 days and were sent to at least 15 times in 90 days. 

 

2. Create an Advanced Automation that looks at the dynamic list rules to send to these subscribers. This automation is still in testing mode and will send to a limited number of subscribers while you are ensuring the automation is working as intended. The key here is the "Require subscribers to be on entry trigger list for all actions" if you would like the subscriber to be removed from the automation if they click any link in any message based on the rules in step 1.

 

3. Edit the automation. This example sends a message, waits, then sends another message, waits again, then unsubscribes. No decision split logic is needed because of the checkbox from step 2. It's always important to end your automations with an End Automation node.