You’ve switched things up on nearly every level you can think of, trying out various send times and days, experimenting with different subject lines, changing the type and structure of your content… all to no avail. No matter what you try, it seems like you just can’t get your subscribers to actually engage with your emails.
Having people engage with the content you send obviously has an impact on your bottom line, but it also affects your sender reputation and email deliverability rates.
If you’re at the point of ripping your hair out because you’ve tried everything else, it’s probably time to grab their attention by launching a re-engagement email campaign.
According to multiple studies, re-launch campaigns can be a powerful tool in your email marketing arsenal. Research from Salesforce claims that 63% of marketers surveyed said their re-engagement campaigns were “very effective”. Furthermore, a study from Return Path discovered that 45% of people who received re-engagement emails also read subsequent, future emails.
Sending a quick email to subscribers who have been dormant for some time is a great way to find out who is still interested, and you could also generate some immediate sales this way. Moreover, if some people still don’t engage, you can organise your subscriber list a bit.
A LOOK AT THE TOP 7 RE-ENGAGEMENT EMAIL CAMPAIGNS
So, now that you’re sold on the benefits of sending a re-engagement email, only one question remains: what kind of campaign should you choose? Of course, that depends on the type of product or service you’re selling, but below are a few ideas that have proven to be effective. Check them out, and hopefully one of these tactics will work for you!
1: ANIMOTO
After a period of inactivity, cloud-based video creation service Animoto sends out one simple question, “Do you still want to hear from us?”. This gives people the option to decide if they still want to receive emails from Animoto, and allows them to update their preferences via a CTA (call-to-action) button that takes them to a preference-setting centre.
2: PAUL MITCHELL
Beauty industry leader Paul Mitchell uses a bit of emotion in their re-engagement campaign by sending a quick message that starts with “We hate goodbyes”, followed by a note informing the subscriber that this is the last email they will receive. Readers can then follow a CTA at the bottom that prompts them to remain on the email list.
3: PLANET FITNESS
When it comes to re-engagement campaigns, Planet Fitness knows what people want: deals. People who want to rejoin the gym can do so at a discounted rate if they rejoin in a certain time frame. Offering an exclusive deal can be just what people need to re-commit to a subscription or membership.
4: STARBUCKS
This coffee giant has an expert marketing team. Their re-engagement email offers subscribers a free treat on their birthday. Not only does this encourage people to stay subscribed, but Starbucks also benefits from the additional data they gain on their customers. Age demographics can help them create more relevant advertising content in the future.
5: FASHION NOVA
If you have any items left in your cart, Fashion Nova will send you a snapshot of this, along with an exclusive discount code. Their emails also typically include a countdown timer showing the exact amount of time the discount will stay valid—just to really light that fire under your tail.
6: HBO SHOP
In their emails, HBO shows inactive subscribers all the new products they’re offering, plus a 20%-off “welcome back” promo code. They also make sure to mention that they miss you, to add that little bit of pathos to the equation.
7: HEAL THE BAY
This non-profit organisation in Los Angeles, CA works to clean, maintain, and protect the coastline and urban waterways throughout the county. In their email campaign, they send a lighthearted pun informing inactive subscribers that they need to “clean up” their email list. It also includes an attention-grabbing GIF of a large whale in a clean, blue ocean.
YOU SENT YOUR EMAILS—NOW WHAT?
Now that you’ve sent out your emails, naturally you’ll deal with any immediate sales and contracts first—then it’s time to gather data. Did you ask for feedback or send out a survey? If so, you’ll need to analyse the results and figure out what they mean for your business.
There is also the issue of people who still don’t respond, despite your perfectly crafted re-engagement email. If this is the case, it might be time to purge your list. As unpleasant as it is to see your subscriber list shrink, there are many valid reasons why a subscriber might not engage with your message.
It could be an email they lost the password to, or just don’t check anymore. If you’re working with B2B clients, it’s possible that the email address is no longer active at all. This is common when people change jobs.
Regardless, if you want to maintain a good sender reputation and keep your emails out of the spam folder, cleaning up your subscriber list is certainly beneficial. Re-engagement emails are an effective final attempt to rekindle the subscriber interest that you worked so hard to obtain in the first place.
