Contents
- What are inactive email subscribers?
- Why is it important to track inactive subscribers?
- How to reactivate inactive subscribers?
- What to do with subscribers that could not be reactivated?
What are inactive email subscribers?
Inactive email subscribers are those who have stopped engaging with your newsletters. This means they do not open emails, do not read them, and do not click on links. Inactive subscribers can be defined as those who have not shown activity for a certain period of time. This period of inactivity depends on the frequency of the newsletters. For example, if you send emails once a month, a subscriber who has not opened emails for over six months is considered inactive. Meanwhile, for newsletters sent three times a week, this period can be shortened to 60 days.
In the Unisender platform, you can easily find such subscribers by filtering those who have not opened emails for more than two months. The reasons why subscribers become inactive can vary: loss of interest in the content, inbox overload, or loss of access to their email account.
Why is it important to track inactive subscribers?
At first glance, it may seem that inactive subscribers are not particularly important, especially if part of the database continues to read emails. However, it is essential to consider several factors:
- Maintaining deliverability rates: A large number of inactive subscribers can negatively affect the sender's reputation. If you continue to send emails that are not read, there is a risk of landing in the "Spam" folder. Email providers closely monitor subscriber behavior, and prolonged ignoring of emails can lead to blocking all future mailings.
- Reducing subscriber churn: Attracting a new audience requires significant investment, so it is important to retain existing users. It is usually cheaper to reactivate an inactive subscriber than to attract a new one.
- Saving on sending costs: The cost of sending emails often depends on the total number of subscribers. If you are sending emails to inactive users, it can increase campaign costs.
Segmenting subscribers into active and inactive is a basic segmentation strategy that does not require complex integrations or precise calculations.
How to reactivate inactive subscribers?
To reactivate inactive subscribers, you can conduct a reactivation campaign aimed at re-engaging users. As a result of such a campaign, subscribers should start reading emails or taking targeted actions. Additionally, it is worth finding out the reasons for their inactivity.
A reactivation campaign typically consists of three emails, each of which is sent only if the subscriber has not responded to the previous one. The subjects of the emails become increasingly provocative to motivate the subscriber to open the messages.
Some formats of reactivation emails include:
- Email with a valuable offer: Offer a discount or bonus to grab attention.
- Survey email: Ask subscribers about the frequency of newsletters and the content of emails.
- Email requesting data confirmation: Ask for updated information to identify interested subscribers.
- Farewell email: Notify the subscriber that you plan to stop sending emails if they do not show interest.
What to do with subscribers that could not be reactivated?
Do not immediately write off those subscribers who could not be re-engaged. They may simply be temporarily inactive. After the first round of engagement efforts, you can conduct a follow-up campaign in a few months. Those who respond should be returned to the active list, while others can remain inactive or be removed if they show no interest.
It is important to remember that there are subscribers who may open emails but show no activity in the statistics, as they use email clients with images disabled. Therefore, it is advisable to conduct reactivation in several stages. If after several attempts there is no response, you may consider removing the addresses from the database.
Also, before starting a reactivation campaign, it is recommended to verify the addresses for activity to exclude inaccessible contacts. Regularly check subscriber activity, and if after several attempts there is no response, remove them from the database to optimize costs and efforts.