What to do with your inactive subscribers

Keeping your subscribers engaged is not always easy. Over time, some subscribers may become inactive and stop opening or engaging with your emails. This article will discuss what to do with your inactive subscribers, including how to identify them, re-engage them, and decide when to remove them from your list.

Identifying inactive subscribers

The first step in dealing with inactive subscribers is identifying them. An inactive subscriber is typically someone who has not opened or clicked on any of your emails in a certain period. Depending on your business and industry, this period will vary, but a common timeframe is three to six months.

To identify inactive subscribers, you can use email marketing software to run a report on subscribers who have not opened or clicked on any of your emails in the defined period. Once you have identified your inactive subscribers, you can start to take action to re-engage them.

Re-engaging inactive subscribers

Here are a few tips for re-engaging inactive subscribers:

Segment your list

Segmenting your list based on subscriber activity can help you target inactive subscribers with specific messaging and offers.

Offer incentives

Offering incentives, such as a discount or freebie, can encourage subscribers to engage with your emails and take action.

Send a re-engagement email

Sending a targeted re-engagement email to inactive subscribers can remind them of your value and encourage them to start engaging with your emails again.

Change up your content

Changing up your email content and design can help to re-engage subscribers who may have grown bored or uninterested in your previous emails.

Deciding when to remove inactive subscribers

While re-engaging inactive subscribers is important, it’s also important to recognise when to remove them from your list. Keeping inactive subscribers on your list can hurt your email marketing efforts in several ways, including lowering your open and click-through rates, increasing your bounce rate, and potentially damaging your sender’s reputation.

When deciding whether to remove inactive subscribers, consider the following factors:

• Timeframe: How long has the subscriber been inactive? If they haven’t engaged with your emails in over a year, it may be time to remove them from your list.

• Value: Is the subscriber valuable to your business? If they have made or have a high potential to make purchases in the future, it may be worth keeping them on your list.

• Effort: How much effort does it take to re-engage the subscriber? If you have tried multiple re-engagement strategies and the subscriber still does not engage with your emails, it may be time to remove them from your list.

Keeping a healthy email list

Dealing with inactive subscribers can be a challenge for email marketers, but with the right strategies, it is possible to re-engage subscribers and keep your list healthy. By identifying inactive subscribers, re-engaging them with targeted messaging and offers, and deciding when to remove them from your list, you can maintain a healthy and engaged email list that drives results for your business.