Like most businesses, you probably clean your lists routinely, removing inactive contacts to improve deliverability and engagement. But what if you could re-engage this audience before they’re out the door?

A re-engagement campaign is a great way to rekindle interest and interaction with your audience who may have become less active or responsive over time. Successful re-engagement campaigns are about understanding your customers’ needs and offering relevant incentives to bring them back into the fold.

Goals of Re-engagement Campaigns

The primary goal of a re-engagement campaign is to revive the interest and interaction of inactive or disengaged customers with your business. Here are some more specific goals you may have for your re-engagement campaign:

• Increase customer retention
• Boost customer lifetime value
• Improve brand loyalty
• Gather feedback and insights
• Enhance data accuracy
• Encourage referrals and word-of-mouth
• Rebuild brand awareness
• Promote new products or features
• Support sales and revenue generation
• Enhance email deliverability

When to Launch a Re-engagement Campaign

Implementing a re-engagement campaign should be a strategic decision based on specific indicators that suggest a significant portion of your customer base has become inactive or disengaged. A proactive approach to re-engagement can significantly impact customer retention—and, in turn, overall business success.

Here are a few indicators that it may be time to launch a re-engagement campaign:

• Declining engagement metrics
• Increased churn rate
• Inactive or dormant customers
• Product or service updates
• Lapsed subscriptions or memberships
• Unopened or ignored communications
• Seasonal or event-based opportunities
• Change in customer behavior
• Customer feedback or complaints

Steps for an Effective Re-engagement Campaign

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you create an effective re-engagement email campaign:

• Segment Your Audience

Start by segmenting your email list into groups based on engagement levels. Identify subscribers who haven’t opened or interacted with your emails in a while. This will allow you to target the right audience with personalized content.

• Set Campaign Goals

Define clear goals for your re-engagement campaign. It could be to increase email open rates, drive traffic to your website, encourage re-subscriptions, or gather feedback from inactive subscribers.

• Craft a Compelling Subject Line!

The subject line is crucial in grabbing your reader’s attention. Make it intriguing, personalized, and time-sensitive.

• Create Engaging Content

The content of your email should be compelling and value-driven. Highlight what subscribers might have missed during their inactivity, offer exclusive content, discounts, or incentives to encourage them to take action.

• Consider Whether to Use Eye-catching Design or Plain-text

A visually appealing email can make a significant impact… but so can plain text. Which format has your audience had a positive response to in the past? No matter what, make sure your email design is clean and mobile-responsive.

• Include a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

Your CTA should be clear and actionable. Use action-oriented language to encourage subscribers to click, such as “Get 25% Off Now” or “Download Your Free Guide.”

• Consider a Series of Emails

Instead of sending just one re-engagement email, plan a series of follow-up emails. In our experience, this is typically the best approach. These can be spaced a few days apart and should gradually increase in urgency and relevance.

• Monitor and Analyze Results

Track the performance of your re-engagement campaign. Measure email open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and overall re-engagement success. Analyze the data to learn from your campaign and make optimizations for the future.

• Consider a Final Goodbye

If some customers remain unresponsive despite your efforts, consider removing them from your mailing list or subscriber base. This helps keep your engagement metrics accurate and prevents you from wasting resources on uninterested individuals

• Use Automation

Automating a re-engagement campaign can save time and resources while ensuring consistent and timely outreach to inactive customers. Set clear criteria for identifying which customers should be included in the re-engagement campaign and use this as a trigger for your automation to run as subscribers become inactive.

Remember, the key to a successful re-engagement campaign is delivering relevant and valuable content to inactive subscribers, making them feel valued and interested in your brand all over again.