How to Manage Your Inactive Email Subscribers
Introduction
Plenty of brands all over the world compete for potential customers’ attention. With so many things trying to stop them in the tracks, sometimes, subscribers sway away. Don’t fret. It’s not a lost cause but it’s something that you have to fix ASAP!
Inactive email subscribers can be detrimental to any email marketing campaign. But just like every dark cloud has a silver lining, there are ways to identify and manage inactive email subscribers and convert them into active customers.
Types of Inactive Subscribers
Email list segmentation is very important to achieve a good email campaigns open rate. We can broadly classify inactive email subscribers into two different categories. Identification is a must to plan out a customized engagement strategy for each category. Let’s take a look.
Never Actives
If a subscriber hasn’t clicked on or opened a single email, they belong to the never-active category. They are an indicator of an unhealthy relationship and failures in on boarding and acquisition. The engagement is nil and there might be some reasons behind the same.
There is a chance they used an email account they really check to sign up to your email list. Sometimes, subscribers don’t even realize that they opted in for something. Another reason could be that the user subscribed out of impulse and now regrets as they don’t particularly need your service.
Long-Term Inactives
If a usually active subscriber hasn’t opened an email for quite some time, they are long-term inactive. Even if a subscriber used to engage before, prolonged inactivity can increase the risk of a spam trap.
Tip : A subscribers who has not opened any email in the last 60 days can be essentially considered an inactive subscriber. Its time to move him to a different list of inactive subscribers. If you keep sending him frequent emails it will also impact your deliverability. This is called a sun setting policy. Depending on your case you may have a sun set policy of 30, 60 or 90 days but mostly people use 60 days.
Top Ways to Engage With Inactive Email Subscribers
Now that you have identified your inactive subscribers, it’s time to do some calculated re-targeting. On that note, let us take a look at the top ways to engage with inactive email subscribers.
Offer Only What’s Relevant
In marketing, it’s a famous saying. No one likes to be sold. On the other hand, if you keep on providing interested subscribers with what’s relevant to them, they are likely to engage more. But if you constantly keep sending out sales emails, they start seeing you as spam.
For example, send them content related to the problem you are trying to solve. Then, at the end of the email, you can let them know that you can offer a great solution without any hassle for them.
Cut Down Your Email List
What? Aren’t we always focusing on how to expand our email list? Mostly, yes. But a list of 1000 subscribers with 800 being inactive isn’t really much of use. Consider cutting down your email list by focusing on relevance over quantity.
For instance, you can send out an email asking your inactive subscribers to reconfirm whether they still want to be a part of your email list. Remove those who don’t respond. This increases your likelihood of better open rates and click-through rates of your email sequences.
Don’t Bombard Them With Emails
Your subscribers’ inbox is not a battlefield. Therefore, don’t turn on the attack mode and bombarded them with such a huge amount of content that they freeze. No one likes being snatched, out of fear of which, they are unlikely to respond. Keep it slow and steady.
Ask Them To Update Their Email Info
If someone has signed up to your email list from their secondary or tertiary account, it’s time you try to change that into their primary one! Even if they open their other email in weeks, if you choose the right subject line, it will catch their attention.
If a subscriber wants to stay connected to you, they will take action and probably update their current email address. If your services are no longer relevant, they will either refuse or simply ignore you. Take the hint and move on.
Watch What an Inactive Email Subscriber is Doing From Another Channel
Emails are not everyone’s cup of tea. There is a chance that an inactive subscriber could be an active buyer. What if the person you are trying to engage with in their inbox is already buying from your Facebook page? For instance, if your target audience is homemakers, they’re more likely to hang out on social media platforms than their inboxes.
Final Words
The bottom line, never underestimate the power of subscriber engagement. It’s a crucial factor in determining the overall return on revenue for a business. As it must be pretty clear by now, bombarding inactive subscribers with desperate emails won’t do the trick.
It’s no secret that customers want help in making their lives easier. If your services are doing just that there is no reason to fail. All you need is to remind your inactive subscribers how much you have to offer. Always remember that re-engaging dead leads is always easier than generating new ones.So, are you ready to spruce up up your engagement by waking up some of your inactive fans? Which one of the above-mentioned strategies are you going to apply first? Have I missed a successful tactic that worked for you in the past? Sound off in the comments section below.
