Summary
Re-engaging stale email subscribers, especially after experiencing deliverability issues, requires a strategic and cautious approach. The goal is to reactivate passive subscribers without further damaging your sender reputation or triggering spam filters. This involves careful segmentation, deliberate outreach, and a willingness to remove those who remain unengaged. Understanding why your deliverability suffered in the first place is crucial to tailor your re-engagement efforts effectively and prevent recurrence.
Key findings
- Gradual re-engagement: After deliverability issues, it's vital to ramp up sending to less engaged segments slowly, sometimes by sandwiching them between highly engaged users.
- Reconfirmation campaigns: Sending a reconfirmation message is a recommended strategy to verify interest and clean your list, especially if you're uncertain whether disengagement was due to deliverability problems or lack of interest. This also aligns with best practices for re-engaging inactive subscribers.
- Identify 'stale' users: Defining a 'stale' user becomes complex when past deliverability issues might have prevented emails from reaching the inbox. Prioritize those who showed some previous engagement, even if it's minimal, or recent purchasers.
- Risk to reputation: Rushing re-engagement efforts can put your sender reputation at further risk, potentially leading to more deliverability challenges or even blocklisting.
Key considerations
- Segmentation: Segment your 'unengaged' list based on their last known activity, purchase history, or type of interaction. This allows for targeted re-engagement messages.
- Volume control: Limit the volume of re-engagement sends, often to no more than 50% of your normal daily volume, especially for subscribers you're less certain about.
- Content relevance: Offer clear value in your re-engagement emails. This could be exclusive content, a special offer, or a simple question about their preferences.
- Sunset policy: Have a clear sunset policy for subscribers who do not respond to re-engagement efforts. Removing them is crucial for maintaining a healthy list and improving domain reputation.
What email marketers say
Email marketers often face the challenge of re-engaging subscribers who have become inactive, especially when past deliverability issues (such as low inbox placement) might have contributed to their dormancy. They emphasize the need for careful segmentation and a gentle approach to avoid further damaging sender reputation. The consensus is to prioritize those who have shown some prior engagement and to use reconfirmation campaigns as a primary tool to gauge current interest and clean the list.
Key opinions
- Reconfirmation is key: Many marketers advocate for sending reconfirmation messages multiple times before removing a subscriber, particularly when it's unclear if disengagement was due to their lack of interest or deliverability problems.
- Target engaged-unengaged: Focus efforts on the segment of inactive subscribers who previously demonstrated some form of engagement, such as opening an email, clicking a link, or making a purchase.
- Slow and steady: Marketers advise against mass-blasting inactive segments. Instead, a gradual, segmented approach helps manage sending volume and protect sender reputation.
- Leverage current engagement: Integrate re-engagement efforts by 'sandwiching' less engaged segments between highly engaged users in your regular sends to balance the overall engagement signals.
Key considerations
- Define inactivity: Establish a clear definition of what constitutes an inactive subscriber for your specific list. This helps in segmenting and targeting correctly, as highlighted by Emailable's guide.
- Personalized content: Tailor the content of re-engagement emails to appeal to specific segments, offering personalized incentives or content they might find valuable.
- Multi-step campaigns: Consider a series of 2-3 re-engagement emails rather than a single attempt to maximize the chances of a response and provide different opportunities to re-engage.
- Preference centers: Offer subscribers options to update their email preferences (frequency, content type). This can re-engage them by giving them more control, as explored in discussions around managing inactive subscribers for Gmail deliverability.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that marketers often overthink how to classify stale users after periods of deliverability issues. The core problem is distinguishing between users who genuinely lost interest and those who simply didn't receive the emails due to blocklisting or other issues. The approach should prioritize gentle reconfirmation attempts. They feel that it is possible a lot of people didn't even see the email, and it's unfair to punish them for it. A reconfirmation message is seen as a key first step.
Marketer from MailSoar emphasizes that re-engaging inactive subscribers is crucial for boosting deliverability. An effective strategy involves offering subscribers options to manage their sending preferences, such as how often they receive emails and the types of content they are interested in. This empowers subscribers and helps reduce complaints.This approach ensures that your emails are only sent to those who truly want them, which naturally improves engagement rates and sender reputation over time.
What the experts say
Experts in email deliverability emphasize that re-engaging stale subscribers after deliverability issues is a delicate balancing act. The primary concern is protecting and rebuilding sender reputation, which can easily be jeopardized by aggressive re-engagement tactics. They advocate for a highly segmented, slow, and consent-driven approach, often prioritizing a reconfirmation strategy to ensure only genuinely interested subscribers remain on the active list. Understanding the root cause of past deliverability issues is paramount for preventing a relapse during re-engagement.
Key opinions
- Prioritize reputation: Any re-engagement strategy must put sender reputation at the forefront, avoiding actions that could lead to higher complaint rates or spam trap hits.
- Consent verification: Reconfirmation campaigns serve as a critical tool to re-establish explicit consent from subscribers who may have become inactive or whose engagement signals are ambiguous due to previous deliverability problems. This helps maintain a healthy email domain reputation.
- Segment by recency: Segmenting inactive users based on the recency of their last known engagement is essential. Start with the most recently inactive and gradually move to older segments.
- Cautious volume increases: Experts advise against sudden or large volume increases to inactive segments, recommending a slow, deliberate ramp-up to monitor reactions and maintain inbox placement.
Key considerations
- Engagement signals: After deliverability issues, accurately determining who is 'stale' requires a deeper look into all available engagement signals, not just opens and clicks, which might have been suppressed. Consider website activity or purchase history as well.
- Spam trap avoidance: Aggressive re-engagement can trigger spam traps. Regular list cleaning and thoughtful re-engagement are essential to avoid this.
- ISP feedback loops: Monitor ISP feedback loops closely during re-engagement campaigns. High complaint rates indicate that the strategy is too aggressive or the list needs further cleaning. This directly impacts deliverability metrics.
- Long-term list health: The ultimate goal of re-engagement is not just to revive old contacts but to foster a healthy, responsive email list for long-term deliverability success. This means being prepared to prune truly unresponsive subscribers.
Expert from SpamResource explains that maintaining good list hygiene is non-negotiable for deliverability. Re-engaging stale subscribers presents a significant risk if not handled correctly. They advise that senders must be prepared to accept that some portion of their list will never re-engage and should be removed to protect the sender's reputation.This proactive cleaning prevents future deliverability issues and improves overall inbox placement for active subscribers.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that a structured approach to re-engagement is essential when recovering from deliverability problems. They recommend creating distinct segments of inactive users based on their last known interaction. This allows for controlled testing and monitoring of engagement rates as you attempt to re-activate.They emphasize the importance of small, measured steps to avoid any further negative impact on sender reputation.
What the documentation says
Official documentation from major mailbox providers and industry best practices guides typically emphasize user engagement as a key factor in deliverability. When re-engaging stale subscribers, the documentation implicitly advises a cautious approach, prioritizing valid addresses and active consent. They suggest that consistent low engagement, or worse, high complaint rates from old segments, can significantly harm sender reputation. Therefore, list hygiene and carefully managed re-engagement campaigns are not just good practice, but critical for maintaining positive sender scores and avoiding spam folders.
Key findings
- Engagement metrics: Documentation (e.g., from Google Postmaster Tools) consistently points to user engagement (opens, clicks, unsubscribes, complaints) as vital signals for inbox placement.
- List health: Regular list hygiene, including the removal of inactive or stale subscribers, is recommended to improve overall sender reputation and avoid spam traps.
- Permission-based marketing: Reconfirming consent, especially for old or inactive segments, aligns with permission-based marketing principles and helps avoid unsolicited mail issues, which can impact email deliverability.
- Complaint rates: High complaint rates from re-engagement efforts are a clear negative signal to ISPs and can lead to immediate deliverability issues. Documentation advises monitoring these closely.
Key considerations
- Gradual ramp-up: When re-engaging, particularly after a deliverability issue, documentation suggests a gradual increase in sending volume to allow mailbox providers to re-evaluate your sending patterns.
- Bounce management: Documentation emphasizes effective bounce management, especially for old lists, to avoid hitting invalid addresses that could be recycled spam traps. This also links to general advice for email deliverability best practices.
- Explicit opt-in: For dormant subscribers, seeking re-opt-in confirms active interest and improves list quality, adhering to stronger consent standards that many ISPs prefer.
- Sender authentication: Ensure your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are correctly configured and aligned to maximize trust signals, especially when attempting to restore sender reputation for improved deliverability.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools states that a high spam complaint rate or very low engagement can negatively impact sender reputation. When re-engaging, if these metrics do not improve, it indicates an issue with list quality or content relevance. They advise that maintaining a clean, engaged list is paramount for optimal inbox placement and avoiding the spam folder.Regular monitoring of these metrics provides actionable insights for adjusting re-engagement strategies and improving sender health.
Microsoft's Outlook.com Postmaster guidelines explain that senders should actively manage their mailing lists to remove inactive accounts. Sending to dormant accounts can lead to higher bounce rates and spam complaints, both of which degrade sender reputation. They recommend a consistent review and sunsetting policy for unengaged subscribers.This practice helps ensure that only active and interested users receive emails, thus improving the overall deliverability to Microsoft properties.
