Re-engagement Drip Campaigns: Win Back Inactive Subscribers

Every email list and user base has inactive subscribers - people who signed up with interest but stopped engaging. Re-engagement drip campaigns attempt to revive these dormant contacts before they're lost forever. Done well, re-engagement drips can recover 10-15% of inactive subscribers, representing significant value from an audience you've already acquired.

The alternative to re-engagement is accepting list decay. Without intervention, inactive subscribers hurt your sender reputation, skew your metrics, and represent wasted acquisition spending. Re-engagement drips give you a chance to either revive interest or cleanly remove disengaged contacts.

Identifying Inactive Subscribers

Before creating re-engagement drips, define what "inactive" means for your business:

Email Engagement Based

Subscribers who haven't opened or clicked an email in a defined period. Common thresholds:

• 30 days for high-frequency senders (daily/weekly)
• 60-90 days for moderate-frequency senders (weekly/bi-weekly)
• 90-180 days for low-frequency senders (monthly)

Product Usage Based

For SaaS, users who haven't logged in or used key features. Common thresholds:

• 7 days for daily-use products
• 14-30 days for weekly-use products
• 30-60 days for occasional-use products

Combined Signals

The most sophisticated approach combines email engagement and product usage. A user who opens emails but never logs in is different from one who uses the product but ignores emails.

Re-engagement Drip Structure

Most re-engagement drips have 3-5 emails over 2-4 weeks. After the sequence completes, non-responders are typically removed or suppressed.

Email 1: The "We Miss You" Email

Acknowledge the inactivity directly. Express that you've noticed they've been away. Ask if everything is okay. This personal touch often triggers responses from people who simply got distracted.

Email 2: The Value Reminder

Remind them why they signed up. Highlight new features, content, or improvements since they last engaged. Give them a reason to come back.

Email 3: The Special Offer

Provide an incentive to re-engage - exclusive content, a discount, or extended access. Make it time-limited to create urgency.

Email 4: The Last Chance Email

Be direct that this is their last email unless they take action. Ask them to click a link to confirm they want to stay subscribed. This gives them a chance to opt back in before removal.

Email 5: The Breakup Email

Announce that you're removing them from the list. Include a prominent "Wait, I want to stay!" link. This final email often gets the highest engagement in the sequence.

Re-engagement Email Content Strategies

Personalization

Use what you know about them. "We noticed you were exploring [feature] when you last logged in" is more compelling than generic "Come back!" messaging.

What's New

If you've shipped features or content since they disengaged, highlight the most relevant updates. "Since you've been away, we've added..."

FOMO Triggers

Show what active users are achieving. "Our users sent 2 million emails last month with a 45% open rate." This creates fear of missing out on value.

Easy Re-entry

Remove friction from coming back. Include direct links to log in, skip re-authentication, or jump straight to valuable features.

Timing Re-engagement Drips

When should re-engagement drips trigger? Consider:

• Not too early: Seasonal users or occasional buyers may seem inactive but return naturally
• Not too late: After 6+ months, re-engagement becomes much harder
• Account for your frequency: If you email weekly, 8 weeks of silence is different than for monthly newsletters

Most businesses trigger re-engagement drips after 60-90 days of inactivity, with the full sequence completing over 2-4 weeks.

What Happens After Re-engagement

Your drip should end in one of three outcomes:

Re-engaged Subscribers

People who click, reply, or take action should exit the re-engagement drip and return to normal communication. Consider a "Welcome back" follow-up acknowledging their return.

Unsubscribed

Some will choose to unsubscribe. This is healthy - they're self-selecting out, which protects your sender reputation and metrics.

Suppressed/Removed

Non-responders after the complete sequence should be suppressed or removed from active lists. You can move them to a "sunset" segment for occasional future attempts, but don't keep emailing them regularly.

Re-engagement for SaaS Users

For SaaS products, re-engagement drips based on product inactivity require different approaches:

• Understand why they left: Did they hit a roadblock? Solve it proactively
• Show product progress: Highlight improvements and new features
• Offer help: A personal demo or support call may address unspoken issues
• Consider billing status: Paying customers who stopped using deserve different treatment than free users

Sequenzy integrates with billing providers to distinguish between paying and free inactive users, enabling appropriate re-engagement messaging.

Measuring Re-engagement Success

Track these metrics:

• Re-engagement rate: Percentage of inactive contacts who take action
• Unsubscribe rate: Expected to be higher than normal - that's okay
• Long-term retention: Do re-engaged subscribers stay active, or disengage again?
• Revenue from re-engaged: For SaaS, track if re-engaged users convert or expand

Common Re-engagement Mistakes

• Never removing non-responders: They hurt your deliverability and metrics
• Too aggressive: Daily "Come back!" emails feel desperate
• No clear end: The sequence should have a definitive conclusion
• Generic messaging: Personalize based on what they actually did with you
• No follow-up for re-engaged: Don't let them slip away again

Getting Started

Start with a simple 3-email re-engagement drip:

1. Day 0: "We noticed you've been away" - personal acknowledgment
2. Day 7: "Here's what you're missing" - value reminder
3. Day 14: "Last chance to stay connected" - final opportunity with opt-in link

Suppress or remove contacts who don't respond to any email in the sequence. Sequenzy can automate this entire process with behavioral triggers based on email engagement and product usage.