Somewhere around 25-30% of your email list went dark in the last six months. They signed up, maybe opened a few emails, and then just... stopped. They ghosted you like a bad Hinge date.
And every time you hit "send," you're dragging those corpses along for the ride, tanking your open rates and telling Gmail you're the kind of sender nobody wants to hear from. If re-engagement doesn't work, it's time for an email sunset policy.
An email re-engagement campaign is your last shot at saving those subscribers before you sunset them for good.
What Is an Email Re-Engagement Campaign?
A re-engagement campaign is an automated email sequence that targets subscribers who haven't opened or clicked in a defined period, usually 60-90 days. The goal is simple: get them to interact with something, anything, so your ESP knows they're still alive.
This is different from a win-back campaign, which targets lapsed purchasers. Re-engagement is about email activity. Open rates. Click rates. The behavioral signals that ESPs use to decide whether your emails deserve the inbox or the spam folder.
Think of it as triage. You're sorting your list into three buckets:
- Still breathing: They re-engage and stay on your list
- On life support: They need a different approach (frequency, content type)
- Dead: Time to pull the plug and protect your sender reputation
| Campaign Type | Target | Goal | Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Re-engagement | Inactive subscribers | Get an open/click | 60-90 days no activity |
| Win-back | Lapsed buyers | Get a purchase | 90-180 days no purchase |
| Sunset | Non-responders | Clean your list | Failed re-engagement |
Why Most Re-Engagement Campaigns Fail
Most marketers send one email that says "We miss you!" with a sad puppy graphic and a 10% discount code.
Groundbreaking.
That approach has a re-engagement rate of roughly 3-5%. You know what else has a 3-5% success rate? Throwing darts blindfolded.
The reason it fails is because you're treating a behavioral problem with a transactional solution. These people didn't stop opening because they wanted a coupon. They stopped because your content became irrelevant, predictable, or both.
According to Validity's State of Email report, senders who run structured re-engagement sequences see 12-15% reactivation rates. That's 3-4x better than the "sad puppy" approach. The difference? Multiple touchpoints with escalating stakes.
How to Build a Re-Engagement Sequence That Works
You need 3-4 emails spread over 2-3 weeks. Here's what that looks like.
Email 1: The Pattern Interrupt
Send something that looks nothing like your usual emails. Different subject line format. Different design. Maybe plain text instead of your template.
The goal isn't to sell. It's to break the pattern that trained their brain to ignore you.
Subject lines that work here:
- "Quick question for you"
- "Should we stop emailing you?"
- "This is different"
Keep it short. Three to four sentences max. Ask a direct question or give them a single, clear action.
Email 2: The Value Bomb
Wait 5-7 days. Now send your single best piece of content. Not a product pitch. Not a newsletter roundup. Your absolute best resource, guide, or insight.
This email answers the question: "Why should I keep reading these?"
If you don't have a piece of content good enough for this email, that's your whole problem right there.
Email 3: The Preference Play
Another 5-7 days. This time, give them control. Link to your email preference center and let them choose:
- Which topics they want
- How often they want to hear from you
- Which channels they prefer (email vs. SMS)
Litmus research shows subscribers who set preferences have 2x higher engagement rates long-term. Makes sense. People pay attention to things they chose.
Email 4: The Breakup
This is the closer. Be direct. Tell them you're going to stop emailing them unless they click a single button to stay.
No guilt trip. No begging. Just clarity.
"Click here to keep getting emails. If we don't hear from you, we'll remove you in 7 days. No hard feelings."
This email consistently gets the highest open rates in the sequence. Turns out people respond to the threat of losing something more than the promise of getting something. Loss aversion is a beautiful thing.
When to Trigger Your Re-Engagement Campaign
Timing matters more than you think. Too early and you're pestering active subscribers who just had a busy month. Too late and Gmail has already decided you're spam.
The sweet spot for most brands:
- E-commerce: 60 days of no opens or clicks
- SaaS/B2B: 90 days of no opens or clicks
- Media/Publishing: 45 days of no opens or clicks
One important detail: use click data, not just opens, as your primary signal. Apple's Mail Privacy Protection inflates open rates for about 50% of iOS users. A subscriber who "opens" every email but never clicks anything is functionally inactive.
Build your segment using both metrics. No opens AND no clicks for X days. That gives you the most accurate picture of who's actually checked out.
Measuring What Matters
Don't just measure open rates on your re-engagement sequence. Track these four metrics:
- Reactivation rate: Percentage of targeted subscribers who opened or clicked within 30 days after the sequence. Aim for 10-15%.
- List reduction: How many subscribers you removed after the sequence. This is a good number going up, not a bad one.
- Deliverability lift: Compare your inbox placement rates before and after cleaning inactive subscribers. Campaign Monitor data shows a 15-25% improvement in overall deliverability after proper re-engagement and cleanup.
- Revenue per subscriber: Your total email revenue divided by active subscribers should increase after you drop the dead weight.
If your reactivation rate is below 5%, your content strategy has a problem that re-engagement emails can't fix. Go back to email segmentation and figure out where the disconnect started.
Common Mistakes That Kill Re-Engagement Campaigns
Sending from a different address. Your inactive subscribers are already ignoring you. Sending from "updates@" instead of your usual "hello@" just guarantees they won't recognize you at all.
Including too many CTAs. Each re-engagement email should have ONE action. Not a newsletter with six links. One button. One ask.
Skipping the breakup email. This is where 30-40% of your reactivations happen. The "last chance" email triggers urgency that nothing else can replicate. Don't chicken out.
Not actually removing non-responders. The whole point is to clean your list. If you run the sequence and then keep emailing people who didn't respond, you wasted everyone's time and your sender reputation continues to erode.
Re-engaging too frequently. Run this once per subscriber. If someone goes through your re-engagement sequence and doesn't respond, they're done. Respect the decision and move them to your sunset flow.
FAQ
How often should I run re-engagement campaigns?
Set them up as automated triggers, not manual sends. Any subscriber who hits your inactivity threshold (60-90 days) should automatically enter the sequence. Review the automation monthly to make sure it's performing.
Should I offer a discount in re-engagement emails?
Only in the final breakup email, and only if you're e-commerce. For SaaS and media, content and preference options work better. Leading with discounts trains people to disengage on purpose and wait for the coupon.
What if my re-engagement rate is really low?
If you're below 5%, the problem started long before the re-engagement campaign. Look at your welcome sequence, your send frequency, and your overall segmentation strategy. People don't go inactive for no reason.
Can I re-engage subscribers through SMS instead of email?
Yes, if you have consent. SMS marketing can be a powerful backup channel. Some subscribers simply moved away from email but will respond to a text. Just make sure you're compliant with TCPA regulations before sending.
How many subscribers should I expect to lose?
Plan to remove 20-30% of your inactive segment. That sounds painful, but those subscribers were already hurting you. A smaller, engaged list outperforms a bloated one every single time. Your email marketing ROI will improve once the dead weight is gone.